New Territory

No choir post this weekend...we were out of town, so no choir. ;-)

But the time has come for me to face up to some sewing that NEEDS doing but that I have not been enthusiastic about.

Home dec stuff.

I've been accumulating the various required goods and such from Hancock's during sales in the past year or so, and it's all big and bulky and needing to be out of the way.  So, with plenty of items to wear for the next couple of months...it's time to face the giant and tackle my fears of wonky seams, lumpy corners and ill fitting covers.

The first item up is a cushion for our porch swing.  I got a foam slab from Hancock's...on sale, and with an additional small discount as the foam was damaged on one end.  But it was well oversized so the damaged area is easily avoided.

I pulled out a utility knife and hacked it down to the correct size.  It wasn't beautifully even...I had to cut each side 3-4 times, so it's a little jagged...but it'll do.  I made a slipcover out of an old sheet so that I can slide the cushion in the cover once I get it made.

I got some outdoor fabric from Hancock's last year; I probably have way more than I need but I'm allowing for goofs and re-dos. ;-).  I got two 22" zippers, which I will tack together so that they zip from the center to the edges, and install that whole assembly on the back side.  I need to get some bias tape to use for ties, so that I can secure the cushion to the swing; I thought I could use the same fabric but the upholstery fabric is really stiff so it's not going to make nice ties.

I've also got some square pillows to cover for the chairs we have around a table on the porch.  Mostly because I'm a shrimp and without a cushion on the chair it feels like I'm a little kid pulling up to the table.  I'll use the same fabric, and I'll make envelope-style covers, for which there conveniently are instructions in the current issue of Sew News. 

I also have foam slabs and some upholstery hopsack style fabric to replace our dinette chair cushions.  The table and chairs was a flea market purchase...new, not used...back in 1996 and, well, it wasn't terribly high quality furniture.  The cushions have gone flat and the fabric just looks tired and faded.  I don't think there's going to be much sewing involved with those...just cutting the foam to size and then wrapping fabric around the foam-and-chair-seat and fastening it down with a staple gun and screws.

So it should spruce/comfort things up considerably when I finish it, but I have to admit this is not my preferred kind of sewing.  So I'm gritting my teeth and, with the exception of the fabric I have en route from a sale-I-couldn't-resist-because-I've-been-wanting-that-fabric-for-ages, I'm not going to let myself get anything new until it's done.

I find that is usually sufficient motivation to stay on a long term tedious task...