jcaroline's blog

Happy New Year to you!

This picture has nothing to do with anything I'm going to write about, but when you can't hold people's interest on your own, pull out cute kid pics. The kids are wading in their granddad's creek in Arkansas over the holidays. 29 hours in the car over 6 days. Draw your own conclusions. But I am obviously still alive, so things went better than expected. 

Okay, so a new year and I'm full of vim and vigor. Okay, I'm probably a little light on the vim. But all the things I swore I was going to get done in the last half of 2011 are going to get done. And now. Right now. (I recommend setting unrealistic goals and then wallowing in self-loathing when they aren't fulfilled.)

Mission One: Get rid of J.O.B. Have made big progress here. I've told them I'm leaving three times in the last three months and I think the last time took. Hope to be out of the land of direct deposit paychecks by the end of February. (Note to self: That doesn't sound great when I phrase it that way. Rethink? :))

Mission Two: Get my house under control. Clutter removed. Repairs made. Redo children's rooms. Make plans for major remodel. I've made some progress here. Washed some fabric to make comforters for Henry's bed. Met with a remodel/designer guy. Sent 20 boxes to Salvation Army. My closet is still in a de-clutter transition, which is always much worse than where it started. But I'm amazed at the clothing I found! 

Mission Three: Create the website I've been threatening to create since last Spring. Oh, and do it before ALT Summit in 10 days. (See previous note about unrealistic goals.)

So this website thing. It will be a site devoted to "creative projects for you and your home". I'll tell you the name in a few days when I actually have a landing site and have something to show you. Sewing will obviously be a huge part of it, because, hey, that's what I do. 

And why in 10 days? Because I'm teaching an upholstery class at Alt Summit (a conference for design bloggers) and am thinking what a great way to introduce the site. And since my more realistic goal of 7 months didn't happen. Ready, set, go!

So, stay tuned. The challenge is on. I'll be back on Monday ready to show you some progress. Or will be prepared with an amazing excuse. Bets, anyone?

 

Belated Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, so I missed a few weeks (again).  I hope you and your families had a great Thanksgiving. We did. Olivia got to play with dozens of cousins for four days straight. She still hasn't recovered. They even put on a Thanksgiving pageant complete with the Mayflower landing at Plymouth.

Now its on to Christmas, yes? Yuck. Not Christmas-- just the craziness of the holiday shopping, year-end, blah, blah, blah. I wish Christmas was like Thanksgiving. Just a dinner with family and no crazy gift giving.

I sound quite pure and unmaterialistic, don't I? I am now that I've got what I wanted-- an Imac. Somehow, I wrangled my husband into buying me one on his birthday. Not sure how I did it, but I did.

I have to admit, it has taken me many years to make the switch, but since processing photos on my old PC was becoming a several minute experience, I decided it was time. The learning curve was not as high as I expected, but I still find myself getting very frustrated with how many devices (printers, scanners) just decided they didn't need to play well with Apple. The screen is a thing of beauty. Installing applications is a non-event. It has only crashed once and thats because I was really hard on it. And one quick little reboot and we were back in business- no blue screen of death or other annoyances.

Unfortunately, I still have some Windows-based software (like accounting) that is not Apple compatible, but thanks to a cool little thing called VMWare, I can run it on the Mac without dirtying up my precious machine.

I do miss a backspace key and I forget to look for the menu at the VERY top of the monitor, but I don't think I'm ever going back.

Okay, now that I've broken my blog dryspell, it's easier to keep it up.

Road Trip

We are on the road to Missouri for the final family wedding of the season. We've had three nieces get married since July, so this trip has been frequent. We are only thirty minutes in and we've already broken into the Twizzlers, so we've got a long 10 hours ahead of us! Oh wait, I did put broccoli in the cooler, so that will be our next treat. Won't they be thrilled.

Thanks to Lisa who got on me last week about writing and earned a $25 gift certificate to Above All Fabric. However, as you may have noticed, it did not prompt me to blog. Two more people have reminded this week, so their prizes are coming and finally, I felt compelled to act.One of the readers that prompted me said she is waiting for her baby to arrive, so I can only assume she interrupted her labor to email. Wow, if she can do that, surely I can write something!

Gearing up for Fabric 2.0 party next week. As usual, I've included more people than the venue was really designed for, but I hate to leave people out. It should be fun and there are some nice prizes this year!

So what else have I been doing? Almost no sewing. I did make Henry two belts yesterday as I discovered in our wedding shopping that toddler size belts are not available. I found a few designer leather belts that were upward of $60 (yes, you heard me), so I opted to make him some webbing belts with ribbon. Man-ly ribbon, of course. Henry was my assistant, which did make it very interesting. He likes scissors and pins.

I also ordered him some suede bucks to go with his navy blazer. It is very likely that he will outshine the bride in his cuteness. Thankfully Zappos ships returns for free as it took four tries. The first time, I ordered the youth size instead of the toddler size, so these nearly man size shoes arrived, which Olivia thought was hysterical. She asked repeatedly to see Henry's new shoes.

Henry didn't think the next two pairs were very funny as they were too small, but I tried like the dickens to cram his foot in them. Now he has a pair that is probably one-half size too big, but we ran out of time and better too large than too small right? I'll provide pictures after the event.

I have so many projects I want to get started on and haven't had time. Does that sound familiar? I hope in the next month or so to have time to get back into it. 

Have a great weekend!

 

Oh How I Forsake Thee

But can I make up for it with cute pictures? Yes, those are Mr. Potato Head glasses he has on. Apparently, Mr. Potato Head's eyes are quite close set.

Where have I been all summer? I have no legitimate excuse other than being OUT OF THE HABIT.

We did just get back from vacation for a week in north Missouri. Which part would you like to know about? The part where the new Ford (okay, 18,000 miles) died three hours into the trip? No big deal- it only took 3 days to fix. The part where the kids and I flew home and the man in the gate area reprimanded me harshly for my child being too loud? Well, revenge is sweet. Henry had a major diaper blowout 15 minutes before landing, so if that man was on my flight, that was for you. 

Other than the last few days, the vacation was good. Hard work with the two little ones, but good. Now I am back, reprioritizing my life and that includes getting back in the habit of blogging. So many things to say- so little writing.

Here is where I need your help. Obviously, my mother staying on my back isn't working, because she reminds me weekly that I haven't written. So now it's your turn. If I go an entire week without blogging, email me and the first one that sends an email reminder will get a gift. Let me qualify this. It won't be a new car (or a Ford with 18,000 miles on it). It will be something that is easily mailed, like a gift card. And it won't exceed $20, so don't quit your day job. I'll make up the other rules as we go along. Like the email has to be after 8 am central time on the day I should be posting. (Last post Wednesday- reminder email after 8 am on the next Wednesday). If a blog post is posted Tuesday night, too bad. And you can't win every week.

Another reminder, if you attend Quilt Market, make sure you follow @fabric20 on Twitter for updates on the Fall Fabric 2.0 party. And the website for it will be up soon as well. 

Okay, so you now have your mission. And I have mine. New post by next Thursday!

I'm Back- Where do I Start?

I'm back sort of.  I'm not making any big promises about a regular posting schedule, but I have missed it and can only imagine how desperate you must feel every week when you check over here and you still see the sad picture from the last post!

Since we last spoke:

Temporary Job now Permanent

Bad news-- after announcing that "something would have to be wrong with the person who would take this position", I proved once again that something is wrong with me and took it.  The good news is it is still only Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.  And you can't beat a steady paycheck.  (Did that just come out of my mouth?  What has happened to me?)  Besides, this company has stories that make me giggle almost every day and I wish I could share them, but, really, they are too juicy to share with the interwebs.  Unless I create an anonymous blog.  Hummm....  But I haven't been keeping up with this one, so forget that idea.

Don't panic.  Jcaroline is still kicking and I work there Mondays and Fridays.  And sometimes Wednesday evenings, Saturday mornings, and Sunday nights.

Cooking on Steroids (not me- the cooking.  I just cook on alcohol and prescription drugs.)

I bought a couple of books off of the interwebs, Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer and The Everything Meals For A Month Cookbook. I prefer the first one, though the second one did have some good tips.  It's just that the second one really does have you cook EVERYTHING for one month (there is actually an acronym, OAMC!) and I am overwhelmed at that thought.  So, I've been making 3 or 4 different things on the weekend and freezing and that seems much more manageable to me.  The biggest tip from these books:  don't use containers in the freezer because they take up too much room (and I can never find matching bottoms and lids anyway).  I seal everything in FoodSaver bags, which I used to laugh at that machine and now I'm drinking the Kool-Aid.  Armed with those bags and a Sharpie marker, I've got 2 gallons of spaghetti sauce, 1 gallon of Chicken Noodle soup, 8 dozen muffins in a four different varieties, 4 servings of Macaroni and Cheese, 4 servings of Beef Stroganoff and a lasagne safely tucked away in my freezer.  Which makes me envision this future conversation with my husband:

Husband:  "Caroline, I just brought home some chicken breasts to grill for dinner."

Me:  "Well, honey, there is no way I have time to freeze and thaw those out before 7:00!"

Chair Redo

I'm working on an awesome chair for Kay Whitt (pattern maker extraordinaire and author of Sew Serendipity: Fresh and Pretty Designs to Make and Wear) for Fall Quilt Market. It is awesome, if I do say so myself. Let me put on the finishing touches and then I'll share.

Fabric 2.0

There will be a Fabric 2.0 party this Quilt Market and it will be a REAL one, as opposed to the light, buy-you-own version of the last three markets.  Details and hosts to come, but mark your calendar for Friday night, October 29, 6 to 10 p.m. at the Grove in Houston.

Silhouette Cutter

I am so easily influenced, but I had seen this digital cutter on Melissa Esplin's blog and now Jessica's.  And Jessica is currently offering a giveaway of one through October 11, so go over there to win.  And she also has a coupon code for $50 off the cutter with some additional goodies included, so I did it-- I ordered one.  Hurry!  The $50 coupon is good through the 16th.  Jessica just got hers, but Melissa has been doing some awesome things with hers for months now.  I am dying to try cutting fabric that has Heat 'n Bond ironed to it.  I'll report back.

Birthday Present

My birthday was in September (44 for those counting at home) and my husband bought me

an IPad!  So forget everything I ever said about my Dell Netbook.  I am officially IPad obsessed including books from ITunes.  Check out "Enhanced Books"-- my daughter loves them.  They have little videos embedded in the book either reading the story or adding additional bits of information.  I'm much too busy cooking to be reading to her!

Okay, I have held you hostage long enough.  If I would post more often I wouldn't have so much to say, now would I?

I haven't forgotten you...

Okay, so I have really abandoned you for the last month or so.  So I'll do my best to catch you up and then proceed back on our regular schedule.  The family made their semi-annual trek through Missouri and Arkansas to visit the relatives.  We celebrated Olivia's 4th birthday complete with the famous Barbie cake, entered the 4th of July watermelon eating contest, played dress up anywhere we could find dresses, played a lot of chase, tried to catch butterflies, entertained ourselves blowing up latex gloves in the woods while Granddad picked blackberries, played in the creek, enjoyed chilling in our stroller naked after playing in the creek, got mauled by our sister while chilling in our stroller, got grass stuffed down our shirt by said sister and finally, escaped.  Oh, and Henry started walking, so we've entered another stage.

And I have a little secret to share with you.  I have taken a j.o.b.  It's a temporary accounting position three days a week, which I swore wouldn't affect my blogging, but alas, I have had trouble getting into a good schedule and keeping all balls in the air.  So I am working on a better schedule to insure that I get some blogging done.  So stay tuned as I do plan another book giveaway this week.

Hope you are having a great summer!

The Wildflowers are Out in Texas

This weekend I took my first ever "Texas wildflower tour".   They sure can grow those bluebonnets down here.  The fields of flowers are pretty unbelievable.  Thank you, Lady Bird Johnson, for starting that for us.

Still unpacking the new office, but I am beginning to find things.  Well, as much as I can ever find.  I do have a fun little project I'll share with you in the next few days.

Congrats to Lebec E Girl, who won the copy of Kari Chapin's Handmade Marketplace.  Be sure to email me with your address!  You also gave me some great business topic ideas.  I just might be so inspired to write some up and share them here.

And I do have a copy of Martha Stewart's new sewing book, which I'll be giving away in the next week.

Okay, back to unpacking.

What I'm actually up to

Jessica of How About Orange sent me this email on Friday:

"So I see that you're shutting down fabric operations, ostensibly due to economic challenges. I think you and I both know it's so that you can launch your career as a supermodel. You've been playing it close to the vest, but it's been leaked that you're going to be on the next season of America's Next Top Model. 'Fierce' is really the only word to describe you. I am totally supportive of your new career move and have already put in a good word for you with Tyra. Her reaction is below."

What really killed me is I kept looking at the picture on the left thinking "Who is that model?  She looks pretty freaky."  Of course, I finally noticed that was my mug staring back at me.  Ewwww.  But I am totally getting hair extensions.  I might also look into rhinoplasty and a procedure to make my mouth smaller.

Today- Productive or a Complete Bust?

This is my sole accomplishment of the day- I got a car title and plates.  My poor nanny has gone to the Texas Department of Transportation six times and her daughter and her friend have each gone once attempting to complete this task.  And yes, every time, the state required another piece of paper, usually signed by some unattainable third party.  And yes, every time, the request was a little different.  In Texas's defense, a car title isn't that difficult to get in this state, but this one had all sorts of mitigating circumstances that needed to be waded through.  Buying from an individual does not always work- especially individuals that don't provide the proper paperwork and disappear after the sale.

For the record, I'm not that altruistic.  Just realize every time she went to the TX DOT was at least three to four hours that I spent with a newborn and an almost three-year-old.  Government agencies can tax my patience, but not as much as a three-year-old.  I do night duty, but I need a break during the day!

So, I guess this is quite an accomplishment, because I got it done today in a little over four hours and with only two trips.

What's this bonus piece of paper, you ask?  Oh, that was the speeding ticket I got on the way to the DOT the second time.  63 in a 50 for a fine of $195.  And my vehicle inspection sticker is expired.  That's only $20 fee if I get it done in the next two weeks.  He didn't wack me for not having my current registration sticker displayed (it was in the glovebox) or for having an insurance card that expired in 2007.  So, thank you, Mr. Robles for not making it any worse.

Yes, I have mixed feelings about the accomplishments of today.

I took this from my mother at Christmas

It's an antique toy sewing machine from the early 1900's.  It doesn't use a bobbin- it just stitches a chain stitch using the top thread.  So, no pulling the thread when you take it out of the machine because it just unravels the whole thing.  I assume users either tied a knot in the end or used a hand sewing needle to secure the ends.

And I did ask my mother before I took it.  My mother inherited it from her mother's friend who had it as a child.  My mother was quick to clarify that she was not around in the early 1900's.   She was around for the more modern, zippier 1940's version.  (Sorry Mother, I couldn't help myself.)

I'm Back!

 
I did consider doing a collage of the Christmas Portraits shown below, but I got frustrated just looking at those silly pictures.  So I chose a more amusing, relaxing photo.  I thought that better expressed the holiday sentiment.  So Happy 2009!

Had a great holiday, but it is nice to get back into a routine.  And I'm looking forward to 2009-- I'm sure I'm not the only business owner that is glad 2008 is over!  Yuck.  Time to move forward.

While I'm planning for 2009, I'm also thinking about interesting ideas for this blog, that will hopefully interest you, the reader.  So tell me in your comments what topics you like reading about here.  I reserve the right to ignore your ideas, but who knows, I might pick the best ones and start them as a feature.  And I might, just might, reward the inventor with some token of appreciation.  Leftover Christmas cards, pencil shavings, an autographed picture, something.

These are the ideas I've conjured up so far:

I started "What do you want to know" last year and didn't keep it up very well.  I even wrote topics that I never posted.  Probably should pick that up again.

I've also thought about a "parade of unfinished projects" highlighting half-finished things and justifying why they didn't get finished.  I have a few hundred ideas for that feature.

You know I will include an occasional "messy office & project room" post.  Though that does seem to create great anxiety amongst many readers.

Of course, I will include more pictures than you care to see in the "isn't she darling?" category.  But I do try to remember that many of you have your own children that you also think are the most beautiful children in the world and mine just might not be as interesting to you.

And I'll get back on the new how-to and furniture re-do bandwagon again soon.

Okay, your turn.  Which of these are interesting to you?  What other ideas would you suggest?

My new look for fall...

Look what I found in Time Magazine's Style & Design supplement!  This is one of the new pieces from Comme des Garcons collection for H&M Stores.  Unfortunately, this particular outfit is only available in New York, LA and San Francisco.  But I thought it opens up all new possibilities for pants patterns when you just can't be bothered to make that curve.  I can think of a few reasons why you might need pants like this, but none of them are good.  They are priced at $59.95, but I don't believe they can make them cheap enough for me to buy them or wear them.  Though I do admire the hair and makeup.  Man, I feel so much better about some of my sewing disasters.

Crazy Ike

Yes, we not only survived the hurricane, we were super lucky and had minor damage (downed fences) at home and none at the office.  Thank you for the emails and comments checking on me.  It's nice to know someone is watching to see if you do blow off the face of the earth.   This is the front of our house Saturday morning when the last remnants of the storm were finally leaving.  I certainly thought the old, poorly formed tree on the right was a goner and us along with it, but alas, it just lost some limbs.  The ropes on the tree are for Olivia's swing which we took down.  I'm sure our neighbors appreciated not being awakened with that in their living room.

So the absolutely devastating pictures you are seeing of the coastline and other areas is not us.  Those areas are about 60 miles east of us.  We are above water and intact.  Schools reopen next Monday and I expect things to improve dramatically by this weekend.  Gas stations and grocery stores are reopening slowly but surely.  Unfortunately, the coastal regions will not be back to "normal" for months.

This was my first significant hurricane and it stunk.  It's loud, it's wet, it's inconvenient. The preparations wear you out and then you sit and wait.  And then it finally hits and you lay awake trying to determine if that gust of wind sounded stronger than the last one.  And trying to identify noises that sound a bit like thunder or perhaps a dumpster flying into a building.  And trying to figure out how far through the storm you are and how much is left.  I grew up in the land of tornadoes and those come without warning and are fast.  Unfortunately, that is also why they kill a lot of people, but they are over before you know it. These hurricanes go on and on.

And being my first, I didn't even think about the aftermath.  2 million people without power.  No water for modern conveniences or more importantly, fighting fires.  Cell phones did not work until today so you had no way to communicate with anyone. Text messages arrived about 36 hours after they were sent, which is not a communication time frame I am used to.

And we never even lost our power like virtually all of our neighbors did.  We just lost water and cable and the water came back Sunday.  I won't call to complain about the cable yet. :)  I don't even want to think about what it must be like to have had significant damage or just complete destruction.  Those people have got to be drained, exhausted and a bit over the edge.  But amazingly, very few deaths due to the early evacuations and local governments have already done a tremendous job of moving people out of the ravaged areas and providing provisions for those in areas that are inhabitable.  Isn't that crazy to refer to a part of a major city as "inhabitable"?  Weird stuff.

Fortunately, the office and warehouse were untouched and have power, water and internet.  My sister came today for internet connectivity, as she is one of the "office homeless."   Come to think of it, she's been at my house every night as well for the power.  Time for her power to come back!

Oh and my birthday was Sunday.  For some reason, it got overshadowed a bit.  I did bake a homemade chocolate cake for myself since running to the store for a cake was not an option.  It was pretty good, if I say so myself.

On vacation

I'm on vacation this week, but I'll be back Monday.  This picture is courtesy of my sister-in-law, Annie.  Olivia is walking with three of her many cousins in North Missouri.  This was taken before Olivia stripped off her clothing and walked into the lake.  We visited my husband's family and attended his 25th high school reunion.

We have now moved on to my parents in northern Arkansas, where we spent the morning looking at the world record setting Watusi at the Rocky Ridge Refuge.  His horns would be the record setter.  Olivia was much more interested in the dogs and cats, however.

Have a good week!

Completely Random

I saw this car last weekend and had to take a picture.  I know nothing about it other than I saw it here in Houston.  I can't find anything on the web about that style either-- some references to eight door station wagons, but no pictures or information.

I love the suitcases on the top and in the trunk.

The interior was over-the-top-- yellow and green complete with drive-through trays.  That's all I have-- happy pictures.

UPDATE: Thank you to Tim Prass, Paula Prass's husband for giving me a hint.  According to the web, it is not a Stretch Martin, but those words led to an article that called it the Checker Aerobus.  Here's an excerpt from the article:

"Much more successful, however, was the Aerobus. Between 1962 and 1974, 3,341 were built for the hotel trade. This eight-door, 25ft station wagon, at one time listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest production car, was ideal for wafting two large families from airport to hotel. While Marathons had an economy, straight-six option (later a V6) or a diesel, the 5,000lb Aerobus had a 5.7-litre Chevy V8. It had a beefed-up GM400 automatic gearbox out of a van, and eight-stud lorry wheels and a reinforced chassis to take the weight."

There is also a website dedicated to the Checker Aerobus.  (You knew there would be, yes?)

Papers et al on Sale

I've put almost anything remotely related to paper on sale.  Most items are marked 50% off here, and through June 30, buy $35 worth from that group, use coupon code "PAPER" at checkout and you'll get 10% off everything in that category, on sale or not.

I love papers- they are like a surface design fix for not much money.  However, I'm suffering from overload- overload of SKU's, overload of vendors... so I'm trying to focus.  So help me, won't you?  I encourage you-- no, implore you-- to check out that section and pick out some lovely things for yourself.

By the way, the papers shown are: top left, Cathedral Paper from the Metropolitan collection; top right is Moondog Paper, bottom left is Lip Synch and bottom right is Vogue all from the Amplified collection.

Dick and Jane Postponed

Yes, I did shoot pictures of the Dick and Jane crib set this weekend.  I successfully stripped Olivia's crib after she woke up and had it put back to its original condition before her nap at one.

Great, you say!  Where are the photos and how-to's on the website?  Well, I didn't get that done.  Instead, we bought a sandbox and spent the afternoon playing.  Sorry, but we had a great time.   Dick and Jane will be done by tomorrow.

Hope you had a great weekend!

My Water Bottle is Trying to Kill Me

Forget cholesterol, lack of exercise, alcohol and the other 8,475 things you worry about killing you.  My sister visited last weekend and announced that water bottles leached a chemical that "imitated female hormones" or some such.  Initially, I was delighted-- I need some additional female hormones.  Apparently, it's a little more than just a shot of estrogen.  According to an article on MSNBC.com, "The chemical has been linked to neurological and behavioral problems in infants and babies, along with certain cancers, diabetes and obesity."   Oh.

Well, never fear, Nalgene and Camelbak have announced they are switching to BPA (bisphenol A)-free bottles.  Camelbak's will be available May 1.  A little fun fact I learned from Camelbak's website:  The 7 with arrows around it is a recycling symbol, but does not necessarily indicate that the bottle was made with polycarbonate (the offensive plastic containing BPA).  All polycarbonate bottles are #7's, but not all #7's are polycarbonate.  I guess you have to check with the manufacturer.  And the manufacturers still say that polycarbonate bottles are safe, but a panel with the National Institute of Health  says “the potential for BPA to impact human health is a concern, and more research is clearly needed.”

Now I have been justified in my practice of drinking Diet Coke and limiting my water intake.

Image from Amazon.com

Works in Progress

I haven't posted anything lately because I haven't finished anything.  Well, yes I did.  I finished my taxes and my year-end financial statements, but I didn't finish anything creative (or interesting).  I have been working on some new chairs.  I really upgraded on these-- they were $15 a piece at Goodwill.

At the risk of grossing you out, you can guess what the spots on the right one are.  They're just about little dog leg height, wouldn't you say?  I didn't realize until I unloaded them out of the car that the spots were fairly recent, i.e. wet.  I took a utility knife and cut off that fabric and padding immediately and gave the wood underneath a good dose of Lysol cleaner.  I'm sure that's more information that most of you wanted to have, but I wanted to share that with you-- well, just because its gross.

A couple of people have commented earlier about worrying about bed bugs and other critters in upholstered furniture.  I'm pretty sure the smell would have killed any creatures that might have been residing in these chairs.  The people expressing concern are probably correct, but I just choose not to think about it.  Besides, you'd see things when you stripped off the fabric, right?

I did finally get these chairs fully stripped after about 18 hours.  There were staples everywhere.  I'm not kidding when I say some places had 12 staples in a one-half inch area.  That's a lot of staple pulling, I'll tell you.

I think the chairs have a nice shape and they are very fluffy and comfortable.  They just suffer from that 90's syndrome of HUGE furniture for HUGE rooms.  Add to that the overstuffing and the nice beige/beige/beige motif and you've got yourself a great everyday furniture store chair!  So, I pulled off a lot of the batting and stuffing to tone them down a bit.  I still plan to do a fan back, but to do welting between the fans instead of gathering the material.  I also think that base/leg design is pretty non-descript, so I plan to add a skirt- maybe even pleated.  And I think the separate seat cushion just adds to the overwhelming stature of the chair, so I am going to attempt to turn it into a "fixed seat" (an upholsterer told me that's what it is called).  I think it will give the chair a more rounded look because now I think the cushion looks like a slice of bread thrown on the chair.

I also broke down and ordered a pneumatic staple gun from DIYupholsterySupply.  My electric staple gun really let me down on my last chair, as I had to hammer the staples down because they wouldn't go all the way into the hard wood.  Plus, the very helpful owner of DIYUpholsterySupply told me that this staple gun would let me get close enough to staple the PlyGrip so that I wouldn't have to tack it down by hand.

And I'm waiting for some new fabric, that I understand hit port this week and the vendor is rushing me a bolt just for these chairs!  So, next week I should be knee deep in a certain fabric by a certain designer and I just hope I can make them turn out the way I see them in my  head!

I'll keep you posted because I might need some encouragement along the way!

New Website Design

Okay, I only planned to have this done by the end of the year (2007 that is) and we still haven't upgraded to the newest version of the shopping cart as planned, but I couldn't stand it anymore and made the cosmetic changes to the old site.  I was tired of looking at it's tired old home spun design (yes, I did it) and I know Miss How About Orange was probably about to have a stroke every time she looked at it.  She designed the lovely banner and left-side menu.  She has made some other suggestions that we'll implement slowly but surely.  And if you come to the blog and see crazy things like this, you'll know I was experimenting with colors again.  So enjoy the new design and test it out by spending some money!