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Monday, August 23, 2010

The Shirt Off of My Back.....

OK....This is the sofa that Tessie wants for the townhouse.(the red one at the top.)

I started working on it this morning. I am using 1/4" balsa for the foundation. I never use balsa for wooden furniture. It won't stand up to the dents and dings. I do use it for upholstered
pieces because it is very sturdy for those.

I had to do this by guess and by gosh. I had no measurements. The sofa in the photo looks pretty long. I could fit an 8 foot sofa in the townhouse, but I think that it would look a bit crowded. I settled for about 7 1/2 feet.(") I do kind of like the teardrop shaped bench to the left also...

Anyway, I simply drew a 7 1/2" X 3" rectangle and then free formed the boomerang shape onto that until I thought it looked about right. I did have to trim a bit here and there after I cut out the basic shape.

I slanted the bottom of the back just a bit by sanding. Then I rounded all of the top edges of both pieces. It is all going to be padded, but it will look better without any hard edges underneath.

The next step was to see if it worked for Tessie. She said, "It will be satisfactory"....Glowing words for her...
She did insist that it be the same red as the photo. All I had was a small piece of red velveteen. That was just a shade too dark for her taste.

She rummaged around the workroom for a bit when my back was turned. When I looked back at her, she was perched on the new sofa with a pet bug in her lap....No not an insect. It was a red VW beetle. She petted it's back and cooed, "This is the exact shade I want....Hmmmm.....I seem to recall seeing a tee shirt this same red in your closet. You are going to have to make the sacrifice. I want it!"
The things that I have to do to make her happy are criminal! By this time tomorrow, I may not have a red shirt, but I am sure that, one way or another Tessie will have a new, completed sofa.

See you tomorrow.....Shirtless....Er, I mean less one shirt.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Hahaha! Your posts always make me giggle - Tessie has you wrapped around her little finger! :D

The sofa is looking good so far, and of course by your standards the completed project will look outstanding!

Tabitha Corsica said...

Tessie always makes me laugh! She is a gal who knows her own mind and gets what she wants, no matter what. Eager to see the sofa. There is so little "modern" furniture in the mini- world.

hahaha...the word verification is "tobless"...

rosanna said...

Wicked little witch! she always has it as she likes. But she is so cute that you can only forgive her . Have fun, Rosanna

Norma Bennett said...

I love it, and a t-shirt seems like a small sacrifice, especially from Tessie's point of view when it's YOUR t-shirt ;)

Now that you've practiced on this one, could you manage a 1:1 for me?

Caseymini said...

Norma, you sound just like my daughter April. Every time I make something she likes in mini, she wants me to make it big for her.LOL

Susan, I am not sure what tobless is....LOL did you mean topless?

Thank you all for the kind words. Now I have to go murder a tee shirt.

Kathi said...

You've helped me make a decision. I'm going to make my bed with balsa wood. It will be easier to cut than basswood. The cardboard is just not working...

LOVE your sofa idea. What a sacrifice you're making (again) for Miss Tessie. I can't help but think it will be worth it though. Next she will be wanting your leather jacket!

Minnie Kitchen said...

so modern and chic!!

Sans! said...

Wow, you did it! I was wondering how when I saw the pic of the real one :)

May said...

Tessi es una caña, jeje.
Te ha quedado genial el sofa.
Besitos, May

Unknown said...

¡Que diseño tan moderno tiene este sofá! Y tú lo vas a tener en en casa, bueno tú no Tessie :)
Hasta ahora la base es igual, igual.
Siento lo de tu camiseta pero ahora tendrá una nueva vida.
Espero ver el siguiente paso.
Besos Clara.

Angela said...

This beautiful sofa, I really like your posts .... great .... but with the doll are you in miniature?! ^ _-
kisses
Angelina