DIY Upholstery Lesson - Lloyd Loom Chair Makeover

Hello

Have been keeping an eye out for a Lloyd Loom chair for the summerhouse for a while, but strangely non in the local auction houses.  Finally found one on Ebay which wasn't too far away, left a bid on it £9.50 bargain.  Brought it home on Thurs so yesterday's job was to sort it out.

Buzz was very interested in it, was looking for the cat that left all the hairs.  I took the top cover off and found the original fabric on the seat but it was scanky so decided to have a go are reupholstering it so took it to bits.  Underneath all the padding, there was a beech frame and four large springs attached to the frame to make the seat a sprung seat.

Was going to unpick the fabric to use as a pattern to make another cover but decided that I quite liked this fabric and if I could get it clean?

Tried soaking it in pure soap flakes which didn't do a great deal so chucked it in the washing machine with Ariel washing powder, it worked, lovely and clean.  Gave it a good iron.

While I was waiting for the fabric to wash, gave the chair a paint .  I was going to use Laura Ashley eggshell paint but when I got the tin out it was nearly empty.  Couldn't be bothered to drive to town to replace it so used the cream fence paint that I had used for the summerhouse windows.  It worked a treat.

The seat cover was a tight fit when I put it back on, it might have shrunk a little.  I used the old tacks to fasten the fabric to the frame, I could have used the staple gun but liked the idea of using the original tacks. Some of them had rusted so broke when clonked with a hammer.  It was a bit of trial and error, haven't really done upholstery before, the tacks took some hammering in which surprised me.

Pleased with the finished result.  Going to make a cushion for it.

The lady I bought it off reckoned it was 100 years old but I think the fabric is more 1920/30s. There is no Lloyd Loom label on it so not sure who made it.

The summerhouse is just about ready as a garden getaway (sewing place), just need a few finishing touches and then I will let you see!  

Cheers

Sharon

Farndale Daffodils

Hello

These descend from the Farndale Daffodils.  For those who are not from England, Farndale is the National Park of the North York Moors and it's famous for wild daffodils.

Aren't they gorgeous.

There is a little tale about these Daffs, my Great Aunt Clara was married in 1908 and sometime between then and WWI, she went with her husband Percy, on a trip from our village in a charabanc (which is an early bus) and took a spade with her!  She helped herself to a clump of daffs and brought them home.  These daffs were split and moved about the farm, then my Dad took over and carried on splitting the clumps eventually moving some to his bungalow garden.  I have my own clump in my garden so over a hundred years of family tradition is in my hands!

I treasure them more than anything passed down the family.

PLEASE NOTE, TAKING THESE DAFFODILS IS NOT ALLOWED NOW, YOU WOULD PROBABLY BE THROWN IN JAIL AND THE KEY BURIED WITH THE DAFF BULBS!

Cheers
Sharon

Luscious Liberty Prints

Hello

I have been a very lucky girl.  My friend's Mum Anita, a quilter arrived with a car full of goodies for me. Talk about combined Christmas and Birthday all at once.

All sorts of quilting books to give me inspiration.  Quite a library.  Packs of writing paper and envelopes with quilting designs on them.  A bundle of wadding for my hexie quilt.

A lovely collection of Liberty prints.

A huge collection of fabulous fat quarters in all sorts of colours and prints.

And finally, the lend of a floor mounted quilting frame for me to try.  I had mentioned that I was struggling on the larger quilts to keep the fabric from bunching up when I hand quilt.  Did try a hoop without a stand but just couldn't get comfortable with it.

How exciting is that, now I need to find somewhere to store the fabric.  Will have a clear out of any fabrics that I already have but will never use.  A spring clean is in order.

Need a shoehorn to squeeze the fabrics into the cupboards and drawers.

A huge thank you to Anita.

Cheers
Sharon