Upholstery Class

I have not written about what I have been doing in classes lately, so here is the update. In March I was working on the Tab Curtains for the living room.  I did finish the pair of curtains for the single window but ran out of the matching thread for the double windows on the living room’s south side.  I ran all over town and still could not find a match then I tried the internet.  There were problems with back orders and it took a month before I found the thread at my front door.

During that time I was glad to have the 1930’s chair to work on.  As I have said before the fabric is removed in the reverse order as it is put on.  The first thing to remove is the dust cover on the bottom of the chair but it was already gone.  So I first marked all the pieces with a marker.  Once that was finished I started pulling all the tacks attaching the back fabric to the chair’s bottom and around the outside arms to the top of the back gentle pulling the loose fabric from the frame.  Because of the curved back all the back pieces (fabric and batting) came off as one piece.  I will leave it as one piece until I cut the new pieces; there will be less a chance the piece will be pulled out of shape.  The chair was lined with a white fabric to keep the batting and fabric strength and support, that also needed to be replace.  By the time I finished, there were tacks everywhere.  I try to keep them from getting on the floor but there still a lot to pickup.  When I take a chair apart I always need to check the bottom of my shoes for tacks in them and there are usually 1 to 3 tacks in either shoe.

The next class I started to work on the inside of the chair.  Again I started pulling tacks along the bottom of the chair to loosen the inside back, nosing and seat lining.  I did my best to keep the pieces together where I could.  The inside back and nosing with seat lining came off as two pieces.  The nosing and seat lining is the last piece off and the first piece on.  The seat batting was marked before pulling it off.  I have been taught to keep the batting and mark it so it can be used as a template for the new batting.  The edge roll was removed and should be replaced.  The roll is use to support the edge and keep the cushion in place.  The burlap covering the open space on the inside back was pulled too.  The only thing left that is not wood is the cardboard supports on the inside arms and inside back.

 

When I brought the chair I knew that I needed to do so bracing in the back and found what was causing the problem.  The left back leg was cracked and the chair’s base near the cracked leg also was crack.  Note: To determine what side of a chair is right or left, stand in front facing it and the chair’s left side is the same as your left hand and versus.  I talked to a guy at work about fixing it.  He suggested that since the crack is almost complete that I would be better break it off and gluing then trying to use a syringe to inject the glue.

 The chair is on hold since the thread came in.  I want to strip the chair's finish off first and then fix the leg.  I hope to complete the curtains for the living room double window by the end of May and I am look forward to working on the chair.  I cannot wait to see the finished chair.

Moving Forward

The cement basement walls are waterproofed and I started to celebrate until I looked at the wall dividing the sewing room from the unfinished basement.  While looking at that marked up wall I just started laughing at myself.   Oh well, painting dry wall is alot easier.

I still have a fourth of the basement floor to finish before I am completely done

Spring Blooms

A daffodil blooming on 3/18/2012

Southwest Wisconsin spring has arrived 5 to 4 weeks early.  It is unheard of to have 80F weather in mid-March.  So many plants have come into bloom way to early.  The fruit tree are now blooming and for the next several nights a hard freeze is forecast.  Wisconsin Orchards may lose their fruit crops this year.  Here are some photos of plants in my yard.

  

Violets blooming in the lawn on 3/21/2012

 

Hyacinth started opening on 3/18/2012

 

Tulip bloomed on 3/21/2012

 

Tulip bloomed on 3/25/2012

   


Crabapple Buds 4/3/2012



4/3/2012 Coral Bell Bud



Ground cover blooming 4/3/2012

Lilac buds 4/3/2012

      

100 Percent Converted

In March I completed the goal of converting three appliances over to gas.  The first was converting the oil furnace over to gas.  I have been planning on do this since I first moved in October 15, 2004.  That fall I had the gas company bring a line up to the house.  I waited until the spring of 2008 to replace my oil furnace with a new efficient gas furnace because I did not want to go in debit paying for it.  I informed the company installing the furnace that I would in the future install a gas stove and water heater, and to plan on that when installing the gas pipe.

I spent over a year looking for a gas stove on Craig’s List before finding a GE Profile gas stove in the fall of 2010.  Again I reminded the guy installing the gas line to the stove that there was still a hot water heater in my future.

Since the first day I moved into this house I have been arguing with myself about when to replace the electric hot water heater.  The reason why it took me so long was I could not decide to go tankless or not.  The installation and tankless heater was around $3000 in 2004 compared to a tank water heater, it was about 1.5 to 2 times more expense.  There were other reasons why I put it off, the water in southwest Wisconsin is heavy with lime and I questioned just how long the pumping would plug up.  Just look how close the limestone is to the surface; the picture shows an excavation for a nursing home expansion just north of my house.  If you lived here the water must be softened, the lime just builds up to quickly.  I discussed the tankless option with the pumper before deciding and he did not suggest tankless heater.  His reason was Wisconsin cold winters can cause a large different in temperatures with the water coming into the house and the tank ability to raise the temperature hot enough.  The frost does go deep into the ground, -20 is common here in January.  He also stated the tankless heater needs to be serviced twice a year.

The research I did before I talked to the plumber and I had been leaning toward the tank water heater.  I had them install a 40 gallon tank with power exhaust on March 21.  I do have a chimney but I never allowed the furnace or the water heater exhaust through it because I keep having a CO₂ monitor going off in the middle of the night with the oil furnace.  I also had many headaches in the winter and I believe there is a crack in the chimney.  When the roof needs to be done, the chimney is being pulled down.  I know it is part of the original design to my Sear’s house but it is unsafe and useless now.  I did mention the CO₂ monitor going off to my ex-furnace man but his remark was the monitors are just too sensitive what little I knew then.

Now I can check off converting over to gas. √

PS: On Saturday, I sealed the remaining wall with hydraulic cement.  This coming Saturday I can start painting the wall.