Comforter turned chair

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but Boy and I have been doing a lot around the home to repair, maintain, and update all sorts of things, which partly explains my long absence here. I’m nearly all moved in to my new craft space, with mostly just a little cabinetry work to go, the counter tops, and new carpet. We do it ourselves (and mostly Boy, really), so it’s slow work, but rewarding (and cost saving!), and tiring and messy so I haven’t been making any art. I like tidy spaces, you understand.

That said, my office chair that I had recovered in 2014 with some cheap cotton had definitely seen better days and likely needed to be changed years ago. I had an old comforter that has nice machine crewel embroidery on it, so I opted to give it a go and repurpose it as upholstery. It’s not really meant to take the abuse of a chair, I’m certain, but I will enjoy it while it lasts. And if the chair needs a change again, I’ll happily find something new. The way it changes the space is fun.

To think this 80$ chair has lasted about 20 years is pretty awesome, if you ask me. I didn’t realize it would fall into the BIFL category more than the toss-it-shortly one, but hey! Can’t say I’m complaining. And, since my younger self had thought that price tag was an expense almost impossible to swallow, I know she’d be thrilled to see it still in use today. Oh, wait, she is! That’s me!

The original was a dark blue. The fact that most chairs are still dark blue, black, or dark brown confounds me. Where are the women designers? Don’t give me that garbage that it hides stains – have you seen the plethora of couch colors?

Here’s my late heartsong Sasha after I had refinished it with the cotton in 2014:

I did not take a photo of it just before this new reupholstery. It was worn thin and had many tears along the seat edge. In total, it didn’t look as bad as I would have guessed though. It never took a stain, and except for the two areas of tears, it looked almost like new.

For now, this is the best pic you’ll get of today’s celebration, though. The process was exactly the same as the 2014 version, sans interfacing. We repaired the (now larger) crack with JB Weld this time. I have plenty of the comforter left and am thinking about perhaps making a curtain for the window that now is part of my office study space. (It’s just a fancy name for office, to match my new craft room studio, mostly completed new bedroom sanctuary, and still-on-the-list bathroom spa;)

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Comforter turned chair

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but Boy and I have been doing a lot around the home to repair, maintain, and update all sorts of things, which partly explains my long absence here. I’m nearly all moved in to my new craft space, with mostly just a little cabinetry work to go, the counter tops, and new carpet. We do it ourselves (and mostly Boy, really), so it’s slow work, but rewarding (and cost saving!), and tiring and messy so I haven’t been making any art. I like tidy spaces, you understand.

That said, my office chair that I had recovered in 2014 with some cheap cotton had definitely seen better days and likely needed to be changed years ago. I had an old comforter that has nice machine crewel embroidery on it, so I opted to give it a go and repurpose it as upholstery. It’s not really meant to take the abuse of a chair, I’m certain, but I will enjoy it while it lasts. And if the chair needs a change again, I’ll happily find something new. The way it changes the space is fun.

To think this 80$ chair has lasted about 20 years is pretty awesome, if you ask me. I didn’t realize it would fall into the BIFL category more than the toss-it-shortly one, but hey! Can’t say I’m complaining. And, since my younger self had thought that price tag was an expense almost impossible to swallow, I know she’d be thrilled to see it still in use today. Oh, wait, she is! That’s me!

The original was a dark blue. The fact that most chairs are still dark blue, black, or dark brown confounds me. Where are the women designers? Don’t give me that garbage that it hides stains – have you seen the plethora of couch colors?

Here’s my late heartsong Sasha after I had refinished it with the cotton in 2014:

I did not take a photo of it just before this new reupholstery. It was worn thin and had many tears along the seat edge. In total, it didn’t look as bad as I would have guessed though. It never took a stain, and except for the two areas of tears, it looked almost like new.

For now, this is the best pic you’ll get of today’s celebration, though. The process was exactly the same as the 2014 version, sans interfacing. We repaired the (now larger) crack with JB Weld this time. I have plenty of the comforter left and am thinking about perhaps making a curtain for the window that now is part of my office study space. (It’s just a fancy name for office, to match my new craft room studio, mostly completed new bedroom sanctuary, and still-on-the-list bathroom spa;)

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read more
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read more
Stitch Club: Weighton 2.1

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Haf Weighton lead another TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on architectural layering, and I was inspired to render New Albany’s Culbertson Mansion based on a photograph by Daniel Andis.

read more
Stitch Club: Sproule

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April Sproule led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club using a spiral concept. I felt like this would be a nice project for a friend and asked her for a color palette, hence the unusual-for-me color theme.

read more
Felted Crimson Toadstool

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A long while ago I purchased the Crimson Toadstool needle felting kit from Benzie Designs and finally worked it up.

read more
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I made a quirky and weird slow-stitched collage to try to push through a creative slump. It was much more about doing than the outcome.

read more
Stitch Camp 2023

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I stitched this mixed media piece following Gwen Hedley’s instruction through TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Camp.

read more
Tea Cup study

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I was inspired to stitch up a stack of tea cups which lead to starting a second project that I’m still thinking about.

read more
Stitch Club: Clover

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Jette Clover lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club using scraps and a stamp. I used a country farm stamp with a big red barn as inspiration.

read more
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Kate Time lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on narrative bead texture, and I was inspired to have a play!

read more