Swan Chair: 8-Way Tie

springs before ties

springs after ties

This process is nicely explained by upholster.com:

"To refurbish springs, the upholsterer re-attaches loose springs, replaces any if necessary, and re-ties the entire set, one by one. Each coil is sewn to the webbing... then tied to the coil next to it. Each row of coils is then tied front to back, side to side, and diagonally two ways, 8 in all. And all are tied on exactly the same level to make a symmetrical, even suspension for the most comfortable seating."

What upholster.com doesn't tell you is how painful it is! My advice to anyone tying springs for the fist time: Wear gloves. The hand discomfort is similar to tightly lacing up skates or boots...48 times. By the end of my 8-way tie I had gashes on both of my pinkies and blisters on every other finger. My battle scars. On the bright side, all of the hard stuff is behind me. All that's left is padding and fabric!

Recycled Pillow

You might recognize this fabric from my latest chair project (see New Project: Swan Chair!). I think it's a great vintage pattern and was really hoping I could fix the chair springs without having to strip it off. But the material was just too old and worn to stay. It pained me to remove it, which I did tack by tack. I think it took me a whole class.

I've been carrying the scraps around for a few weeks now, unable to to think of something to use them for so I wouldn't have to throw them away. Finally, I decided to make the previous chair owner a little memento. I picked up a little pillow at Building 19 for $1.35 to recover. With no sewing machine available I had to hand stitch. It is a little rough around the edges but I think it came out great!

Cats in Trees

PetTreeHouses.com

Doubles as a decorative house plant. I want one! You can browse these unique, unnecessary, totally desirable pet homes at PetTreeHouses.com. Via ArchitectsSchoolsBlog.

Confections as Art - by Amy Stevens

I was browsing EyeBuyArt.com ("because art makes life better") and these fun pieces caught my eye. They are from award-winning photographer Amy Stevens' Confections collection. I wonder if Amy eats the cakes after she takes their picture...