Saga of the Unfinished Cane Chair

Ooohhhh, why can't I finish this chair?!?!  I haven't made any progress on completing it and I really need to finish this thing so that my niece can take it home. Yep, that's right ... I'm giving it away after all the time and effort I've put into it. The chair does look pretty but it didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted and there are mistakes that I made. I don't think anyone would easily spot them but they irritate me ... and so, it has to go.

Another reason it has to get to steppin is that, um, there are two similar cane chairs sitting under my carport in need of major attention (plus having them sit in front of the house looks really ugly). I don't know what drove me to adding another 'project' to my to-do list, but now that I think about it I guess I'm looking for a second chance to own the cane chair that I envisioned -- rustic and refined.

I've already started on one of the cane chairs but haven't narrowed down the fabric yet. I've run into a little snafu that I'll write about later.

(Sorry for the poor writing. I'm tired and am having trouble thinking straight).

~ Sandra

Missed Craigslist Opportunity & Cane Chair Update

Gosh dang it. Over a week ago I saw a table that looked just like this bedside table on CL for $5. It was a little rough looking but just needed some TLC (and some black paint). I was so tempted to contact the seller but I had another purchase in the works that was going to need a lot of attention, so I passed it up. Dang it!

I would have liked to have finished the cane chair but it's been a little hard with my 10 month old -- she's got 4 teeth already in and she's walking!  I did work on the last piece of the trim but still need to do some touch ups to the paint before I attach it. Crossing my fingers and toes it'll be done by this weekend so that I can make some progress on the CL purchase mentioned above. 

Cane Chair Makeover: Update

I've been meaning to write an update on this chair for weeks but have just been too lazy ... I've also been lazy about finishing it up. I basically completed most of the makeover weeks ago and just needed to work on the trim, but then I lost my motivation. I guess all the little imperfections were discouraging me from finishing but that's not how I really roll -- I usually finish what I start. So, this is what the chair looks like right now. I finally made trim and attached it to the back of the chair and around some of the legs.

Trim ... I hate you but I love you. Where to to begin, I spent hours Sunday night trying to make trim out of my fabric but my stupid sewing machine was acting up. Never have I had so much trouble with my Brother ... felt like it was a test of wills and my machine won (note: I did make trim successfully several weeks ago). The darn fabric was too thick and stiff for my walking foot. I had to improvise.  A thought came to me, "Hey, why don't you just double up your single cords and sew a running stitch all the way down? Should be easy." Yeah right! Stupid thing took me like 3.5 hours and I didn't finish. I gave my blood, sweat and tears to this thing ... literally. I poked my finger with the needle a few times and little blood drops got on the fabric but they're on the wrong side, safely hidden.  

Doh! Dumb Idea.

So this morning I was nearly done hand-stitching this stupid thing and starting playing with positioning the trim on the chair ... just to see how it would look. To my big disappointment, the cording was too stiff. It wouldn't bend around corners. Shit. I was so upset. I felt like a fool for wasting precious sleepy time but I had to figure out a solution. I took some white fabric I had just bought for quilting and easily made some trim. The fabric was so thin that it puckered everywhere. It's not smooth like the cording above, but oh well.  For anyone who might be wondering why I didn't just pay someone to make the double welt cording for me? Well, I inquired at this upholstery shop near my house and they quoted me $30 for 2 yards! 

I'm committed to finishing up this chair this week. Besides completing the trim, I have to touch up the paint in some places and even add wood fill to some parts because my staple gun skills are really lacking in accuracy. I'll also be sharing my lessons learned.