Solar Lanterns = Glowy Backyard

We made another addition to our backyard patio area this last week. While we were at Home Depot picking up some odds and ends, we found these solar lanterns in an aisle display. They're metal and glass, and have solar panels on all four sides of the cover, so we thought they were a good deal for the money. (And yes, I was that crazy lady in the recycling aisle holding a lantern inside a garbage can to see how bright it would light up.)

The lanterns went together really easily. I think it took me longer to snap pictures of them then it did to put them together. They have an artificial candle in the middle that looks like it's glowing when the lantern is on.

I included this test picture mostly for the colour of the sky - that just-before-dark time that only lasts a minute.

We have four brackets mounted to our back fence for hanging flower baskets, but we haven't filled them this year. And we really do need the lights more than the flowers. The lanterns we had last year were made of woven wood - you know those ones all of the home decorating stores carried - and they didn't hold up to amount of rain we received.

We've had even more rain this year and these are doing great. I know it's only been a week or so, but I keep checking them and they don't collect water at all. And they've all lit up every night, so even though it isn't the sunniest backyard, they're still getting enough light during the day to charge.

It's a good thing we now have something pretty to distract from that pile of dirt in the corner and the peeling fence stain, isn't it?

Vintage Bedroom Chair

There's someone new keeping us company in the bedroom at night. And during the day. He's short, chubby, and older, but I think I love him.

Meet our new man:

Tom's been making me go trail riding (mountain bikes) with him lately - though really I do like it, so it's not like he's dragging me through the forest. I think he wants me to go with him just so he doesn't feel guilty buying pizza afterwards. This last week, as we drove from the trail to the pizza place, we passed an old antique shop near Sharon, Ontario. (That's for you locals.) It's a tiny little place that used to be a motorcycle repair shop. Sounds bad, right? They had all kinds of solid wood furniture outside though, so I made Tom stop to take a look.

There was nothing that we really wanted - well, there was a dining room set but we don't have room for it. Just as we were about to leave I saw this chair with cardboard boxes piled on top of it. The fabric looked brand new and it didn't sag, plus the grey would match our bedroom, so off I went to find out the price. The guy told me $45 or best offer. Seriously? I was expecting over a hundred dollars. Especially since the manufacturer's tag was still on the bottom. And did I mention that the fabric was brand new? Tom had $35 in his wallet (I conveniently didn't bring mine), so just like that it was ours.

The tag on the bottom says it was made in 1967 and the upholstery was originally tangerine. Can you imagine? Though our bedroom is done in grey and orange, so maybe it would have matched regardless.

The finish on the wood is peeling, but I'd like to stain it a darker shade anyway. I'm thinking espresso or ebony.

The seat is really wide and the arms are low - perfect for slouching in while we talk about our day.

The fabric is a little bluer than the walls, but it seems to match the grey in the pillows exactly. (Not that that pillow would stay there - it's a bit big - but I wanted to add some colour to the shot.)

The room really needed a dose of old-fashioned. Even Tom, who originally didn't want a chair in the bedroom, said, "Hey, this is pretty comfortable to sit in." Better believe it! This guy is staying.

Rainy Day Sewing Projects

I knocked out a couple of sewing projects this weekend. It rained on and off most of the weekend so it was a good time for some indoor activities.

First up was re-recovering this little footstool.

If you remember, I'd originally recovered it with dropcloth material and a freezer paper ink transfer.  But once I'd bought the turquoise/yellow chair from Target, the beige & brown just didn't match. When I was cleaning out the linen closet I found an old set of curtains that were nearly the same yellow as in the chair. They are a rough, almost-dropcloth-like material too.

I was planning on just folding over the material at each corner and stapling it under, but after several dozen tries I couldn't get it to lay to my liking. So I sewed the corners down the same as I did the first time I recovered it. This time I also added a little seam on each top edge by folding the material over and sewing a thin line (hem?) No real reason for it, I just thought it'd be fun.

To attach the fabric to the stool, you simply unscrew the stool legs, pull the newly sewn slipcover on, fold the edges over, and staple them to the bottom. Start by stapling once in the center of each side (pull the fabric taut), then do the corners, then fill the spaces between the center points and the corners. You then reattach the legs and you're done.

The stool is still a little plain looking. I think I'm going to make a stencil of one of the ikat patterns on the chair and paint it on to the top of the stool.

The second project was a new dog bed. I love making dog beds. They are so easy, and they make the dogs happy. There's nothing I like more than making my dogs happy.

This entire project required no new materials. I used two old blankets, a waterproof fitted sheet from Goodwill, and a curtain panel from the As-Is section of Ikea that I had in my fabric stash.

Little Dog (Sasha) has been having some minor incontinence problems lately (we're trying a change of diet and homeopathic drops to see if it helps), so we've had to throw out a few dogs beds. You can wash a cover, but there's only so much you can do for the bed itself. And we have an abundance of old blankets that we aren't using anymore.

I folded the two blankets into the size I wanted and sewed the corners together to keep them from sliding around. I removed the elastic edging from the fitted sheet, folded the sheet over, and sewed up two of the sides to make a sleeping bag shape. This crib sheet is wonderful because it's a nice quilted fabric on the outside, but plastic on the inside, so even if she does have an accident, we can remove the cover and the sheet, wash them, and the blankets still stay dry.

The open edge of the "sleeping bag" closes with buttons, much like a duvet cover. I couldn't get the button hole setting to work on my sewing machine - I think because the plastic layer of the sheet kept sliding - so I "freehanded" some button holes just by sewing-turning-sewing-turning to make rectangles. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

I then sewed buttons on the opposite edge. Here we have it with the blankets inside and the buttons done up. I like it already.

The outer cover is a loose weave charcoal curtain that is so very soft. The plan was to sew it in an envelope style so that the interior section could be removed easily. Unfortunately the material is so stretchy that the center kept gaping open. So it was more buttons. I sewed them on the inside of the top flap and then just pushed them through the fabric on the bottom flap. The weave is so loose that I didn't have to make button holes.

The finished product is kind of whomp, whomp. It's okay for now, but I think I might remove the buttons and add velcro later. Or take out the stitches and just make it a standard cover with a zipper.

Chloe is very much in love with it, even with all its flaws. She wouldn't stop laying on it, at every level of construction. In fact, after sewing the outer cover, I left it on the floor to go get a snack, and came back to find this:

After I kicked her off she sat beside me to watch. This bed wasn't getting out of her sight.

I'm pretty sure Sasha isn't going to even get a chance to pee on the new bed. I might have to make a second one.