From Nuclear to Neutral. Is there such a thing as stalking furniture?

The hubs and I have been slowly replacing all our furniture with mid century modern pieces. I have been haunting every vintage, thrift, and estate sale within 50 miles for the last 3 years.  Is there such a thing as stalking furniture? 

Yes, I know its on its side up in the air in my sisters garage but its the only "before" picture I have :) Notice the colonial hiccup in the middle?

My sister happened upon this little sofa along with a gorgeous vintage 60's desk at our local Goodwill Store.  This baby is so similar to the beautiful sleek couch my grandmother gave me right after college (which I thought was icky, stupid-stupid-stupid!) I just had to have it for the amazing price of $53!  It was a bit of a risk though as I didn't know if my upholstery guru could dispatch the nasty early american bastardized bit they stuck in the middle.  I mean seriously, who mixed those styles back then??? As much as I love turquoise, there was no salvaging the scratchy nylon fabric it wore, sort of like your Uncle Lester's "OMG! What were you thinking?" sport coat.  

Reclaimed and Re-upholstered.

So what's a girl to do when she needs 11 yards of rich wool neutral fabric to swath such a gem in? (We've moved so many times I feel obligated to go neutral on the big pieces. It makes it so much easier to slip them into whatever home we've landed in.)  I really wanted wool felt ($66/yd YIKES$$) but knowing that was way past our shoe string budget I started searching for a viable sub.  Woolrich Woolen Mill came to the rescue. They sell bolts of heavy wool felt coating fabric designed for the Civil War Re-enactment crowd.  A bolt is 15 yards so I have 4 left over in case someone ruins a cushion.  I instantly went from $66 per yard to $11.75!  They sent me 1x2" pieces of every sample and I ended up doing 2 couches in 2 different colors.  One in a heathery grey and the other in a flat grey with a gold undertone.  (The lovely orange monster below was purchased for $5 at the last day of a local sale.)

Another nylon 8" behemoth in need of a makeover.

On a side note, I spent nearly every vacation as a child tromping around from one battlefield to another.  My father's idea of the perfect holiday was finding every Civil War ground of engagement within 800 miles.  My aversion to the subject is beyond expression, because of course at age 8, I wanted Disneyland :p 

Woolrich to the rescue again.

I can't forget arthur (god I wish I could forget arthur), the little buggar is now trying to infiltrate my head with nagging doubts.  You'd think he'd have enough fun ravaging my joints wouldn't you?  Well enough of that. I started listing our cast offs on craigslist to eliminate clutter and made some headway in sorting 30 years of family photos to muzzle the little parasite.  I may physically feel like crap today but its still an 8, here's to spitting in your eye arthur. 

I DID IT!!! 3 Blinds conquered before Easter :) Phewwwww!

Bedroom Blinds Down

Bedroom Blinds Up

 

Bedroom Blinds Midway

Bathroom Blind Down

Bathroom Blind Up

Okay, okay... yes I did in fact fall off the planet for the last couple weeks or at least it feels like it.  arthur has been particularly ornery and given me no end of grief, swollen hands, sore shoulders, stiff back and the list goes on.  In spite of his mischief, Easter was fast approaching and with it were 3 empty windows in my son's room.  I DID IT!!! I got them done and hubs managed to install them quite literally 5 minutes before they arrived. I also made 3 scarves, 1 tote bag, and 2 beach bags.  (totes and scarves all hammered out Easter eve, phewwww!) 

Ikea fabric for totes and bags, LOVE IT!

Easter Tote Bag (our version of baskets for big girls)

Recycled t-shirt scarf as an Easter basket treat.

Easter Beach Bags shipped to LA.

Scarves shipped to LA for Easter :)

However, its been a week since Easter and well I've had a lot more fun exploring other people's blogs than writing my own. Come on, you know you've all been there (please say you have!).  arthur is winning :(  today's a 3.  I haven't given in after 21 years and I'm not about to now, tomorrow will be better :)


P.S.  I'm sure you've noticed the window air conditioner (visual UGH :P ) between the 2 bedroom windows.  Any camouflage ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!
   

pretty tickled...

Above is a custom gift bag I made to wrap a book for a much loved and trusted girlfriend as a thank you for all her help and support during my recent surgeries. I'm pretty tickled and have some fabric left so I think I'll whip up 3 or 4 more to put on the "in case" shelf. Does everyone have one of those? If not they should :)

If anyone ever reads this, let me know if you'd like a gift wrapped that way or please, please, please give me some suggestions to make it better. I've got arthur on the ropes right now (bwahaha) just cuz I finished something, today is a 7.5!