All I needed was a snow day ( the white Christmas song playing in your head now) I would like to say that I used this day as a productive day of cleaning and organizing and making my bed ( I regretted not making my bed the second I got in it last night). That didn't happen.
I instead decided to tackle my fears. I have a lot of fears. Sleeping in my building alone, cats, watching SVU alone- Olivia Benson is not going to save me. Today's fear to overcome? This thing...
I stared at it. I turned it around.
I ignored it. I watched Boy Meets World- if you didn't immediately notice Angela on the TV I feel for your deprived childhood. What did you do on Friday nights? Were there other things besides TGIF? .... Don't think so.
I have ignored this chair for months. If you look back at my first post and play I spy you can find this in the pit that I call my laundry room. It was time for this chair to have an identity. It needed to know that it did not belong on the side of the road where we found it. - take me back to that day- 90 degrees, laying out, People Magazine. Snap back to snow day.
I did my fair share of reading on how to recover a chair. Did this come into play as I covered it? Not really. I just remembered a few things pull the fabric tight and cut your hand off- I mean get all the staples out.
This is what that process looked like.
Picture caption? A million bazillion staples.
So after I pulled all the staples out and pulled all the fabric off ( that makes it sound so easy and nice- that would be a lie. I challenge you to tell me climbing Mount Everest is harder* I realize this is too dramatic* I just want you to get the picture) I realized that the chair could be separated into two pieces. Maybe for a professional that would be obvious. But we are all aware that I am no professional.
Disclaimer- you can be anything you want to be and you can get a trophy for it.
Once the chair was in pieces I cut the fabric in the shape of the original (nasty) pieces. I did give a couple inches extra on each side because I knew I needed some wiggle room. Then it was just a matter of pulling tight and stapling.
* I will be asking for power tools for my birthday. I am a woman ( and your gonna hear me roar). One of those tools will be a power stapler. This project would not have made my hand look like so...
... If I would have had power tools.
I finished the seat of the chair first. It looked like so.
It's hard to hold a chair up with two legs and take a photo. Just in case you were questioning my picture taking abilities.
The hardest part of the covering process is making sure the corners look the same. Disclaimer 2- I am not a perfectionist. Not even close. So I felt no stress that the corners weren't exactly the same. If you are a perfectionist, I applaud you. And would like to see what your corners look like.
Finally, it was time to put tho chair together. I sliced holes in the fabric where the bolts should have easily fit back in. That was not the case. I don't know why the chair wouldn't easily go back together but it led to my RA Keara taking this picture.
I was thankful she was there for many reasons. 1. It prevented me from cussing at the chair ( it had already been abandoned, it didn't need hate talk from me- too far?) 2. I was watching SVU 3. I had to finish it- I had to prove to her that I could get over my recovering fear.
So, after 2 episodes of Boy Meets World, 4 episodes of The Middle, and 2
Episodes of SVU, the chair is done!!
Well close... I haven't put the cording on the back where the staples show... That will be as simple as hot gluing. I just don't really love the cord I have so I am going to check out Walmart for some more options. But here is the back as of this moment...
We should all overcome our fears. Especially if you can do them in one day and make some progress in cleaning out your laundry room at the same time. We should also be thankful for the people that throw out furniture for me to pick up. Without them I would still be afraid.
