One Down!

Yesterday I finished one of my projects that's been in the works for months now. This is a moment to celebrate because I actually believed it would never be finished. Some of you might recall that I bought a couch for $25 soon after I moved in here. It had a vinyl cover and looked like a couch that you'd see in a nursing home, doctor's office, or hotel lobby. I made an attempt to cover it and found a light beige suede feeling fabric, but the couch looked blah. I figured I'd put it out on the curb. That's what you do in Portland if you want to give something away. No matter what it is, it's usually gone by the end of the day.

While waiting to find someone to help carry the couch out to the curb I found a piece of red fabric that I thought would make a cool tablecloth. I spread it on the couch to see where I wanted to position the pattern, and really liked how it looked. So that started the dilemma of whether to continue with making a tablecloth or use the fabric for upholstery. If I used it for the couch I'd need more fabric, but I wasn't sure how much, so I measured and went to the store to get more fabric. They had sold out of that pattern. They reordered it, but I'm very impatient so I tried to use a couple other matching fabrics. That didn't work. It took a few weeks, but the red fabric arrived and I bought another yard. Of course that was 2 - 3 inches short, so I saved every scrap and skillfully pieced it together leaving the beige cloth on the back of the couch.

All this began sometime in March or April. Many days I thought I'd just throw the whole thing out. It's just one of those projects that you have to sit down and do and there never seemed like time. I had planned a small dinner at the beginning of October and invited a family with a two year old. In an effort to child-proof the house I was determined to finish the couch and pinned all the fabric in place. SIE had become an expert at removing the straight pins during these months of upholstering so I figured it would be a class one hazzard if a two year old saw them. I tried to get it all sewn in place before the two year old arrived, but it became a choice of a covered couch or a cooked meal. The night of the dinner I was scrambling to cover up the pinned section with throws and blankets. Lest it sound like I am blaming little kids for my inability to complete a project, let me mention the animals in my house who get onto the couch to groom their claws or nap. You probably know that a proper nap can't be taken unless the area is scraped and roughed up before turning around three times and settling in.

At any rate, my couch is now stitched and beautiful and comfy and if I ignore the cost of fabric and time, I can still pretend it only cost $25.