Real Life Project and First Wicker...

 This morning I got tired of looking at the topless stool in my bedroom.  The poor thing just looked naked.

I rooted around the garage and found a piece of plywood, a jigsaw, and some screws.  Then I wandered through the fabric shelves and found some low loft batting and my all time favorite fabric.

It's hard to see in the photo, but it has a very old looking script of the alphabet written all over it.

When I put the plywood on top of the wrought iron base, Tessie had to put her mark of approval on the project...."Is it going to be bouncy?  Can I sleep on it?

What she really meant was can I jump up and down on it? but after yesterday, I wasn't taking any chances.  I told her yes, she could sleep on it....And no it wouldn't bounce, being on a piece of plywood. 

She pouted the whole time I was working on it.  "It should bounce!"

Anyway, it took me a while, what with tracing and cutting the shape in the wood.  Then cutting four layers of batting(I couldn't find the high loft.) and the fabric.  It took me about ten minutes to remember how to load the electric staple gun...I haven't used it for a long, long time.

When I finally figured that out, the rest was easy.  The stapling itself was easy.  This handy dandy stool has little tabs in the wrought iron for the screws.  The problem was finding eight screws to do the job.  I know that I saved the screws when I took the old top off a while ago....I will probably find them next week sometime...

Yesterday, some of us in my online mini group were writing back and fourth about early mini projects...That is, some of our firsts.

I don't believe that I have ever shown you this....This was my very first attempt at wicker. It was in the eighties and I had to just experiment.  There was very little info on mini wicker at that time.

Would you believe that I took the time to unravel Penelope needlepoint canvas, to use as weavers?  That was the closest think that I could think of that looked like wicker.  I only had 26 gage covered floral wire.

The legs, front of arms and back were made from bamboo barbecue skewers.  I bent them by wetting them and manipulating them with pliers.  Hey!  You know that my motto is "Whatever works!".

I was never so happy to see a new product as I was when I found #18 covered floral wire.  That meant bendy arms and backs.

I also found that crochet thread that I hand dyed looked better than pulled apart canvas. 

I still love this chair.  It lives in the top of the Witches' Warehouse.  The old Spinning Witch sits in it all day long, spinning straw into gold.  That can't be all bad.

I have to go check on Tessie and see what she is jumping on now.  I keep hearing clunking noises....Hopefully the new stool top is still in one piece.

See you tomorrow.