The Valley of Lost Projects

It was positively embarrassing.  My parents were visiting last weekend and my mom and I went into the sewing room.  Which was trashed, admittedly, but that's not the embarrassing part.  No, I was horrified to note the piles of projects which I had decided to do.  Planned to do.  Obtained materials for.  In at least one case mislaid the materials so thoroughly I had to get more materials.  (Naturally as soon as I finally do the project the original materials will turn up.)  But, piles of materials- and I had never started the projects.  Gah.  I hate when that happens.

So this week, I resolved that holiday knitting or no holiday knitting, Something Must Be Done.  First off, there were the couch cushions.   Way back in the summer we had an Unfortunate Occurrence involving cat pee and the couch.  We washed everything of course, but getting it scent free enough that the cat does not pee on it again is a tough proposition.  After duly considering that the cushions that came with the couch were possibly as old as I am- or at least old enough to be president- I decided that replacing them was justified.  The seat cushion was easy if expensive- just a new piece of foam.  The three cushions that lined the back were harder.  There were no pillow forms the right shape and size, but coincidentally I noticed that the plastic bags of fiberfill were exactly right.   So I got three of them, and they've been sitting in the sewing room ever since.

So, I started by taking the casing off one cushion to use as a pattern.  (Note the original pattern of the upholstery.  File under, reasons this couch will be reupholstered one of these days Real Soon Now. )

Then I sewed up the long sides of the new covers, leaving the ends open.

Then I opened one end of the bag of fiberfill and stuffed it into the cushion, still in the bag.  I had no idea how this would work- but to my delighted astonishment it was even easier than it sounds.  I whisked the bag out of the casing, leaving the fill behind.  Piece of cake.

I whip-stitched the end closed, and then it was ready to stuff back into the cushion covers- or at least it was once I replaced a broken zipper on one of the covers.  Not to mention some awkwardness as Cookie climbed on my lap in the middle of this.

And at last- three bags of fiberfill and a small pile of fabric out of the sewing room and back on the couch where it belongs.

For my encore, I'm tackling the pile of mending. Several things repaired and put away already, a couple more I have officially given up on and will be tossing out.  But the sewing room already looks marginally better.  Still a long way to go, and I've been switching off other projects with holiday knitting, but at least I feel like I'm making progress.

And the cute cat photo of the day:  Cookie, the library cat, contemplates great literature.  "Hey.  Can I eat it?"

I'm so maligned.  I've sat on Shakespeare, you know.