Black and Shiny

I don't mean to neglect you, I have just been using up all my time to complete my daughter's quilt. (I will post pictures, of course, when I am all finished.) I just finished all of the hand-quilting (I started in April) last night and am going to work on the binding today. I always sew the binding to the top by machine, and then hand-stitch it to the back. So it will take ten minutes for the machine and two days, approximately, for the hand-stitch. I think I will be finished by Saturday night (on Saturday night...S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y...S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y...I, I, I, I, got a date, on Saturday night, Saturday night---oh, sorry, I always have a song in my head).

So I want to give you a little somethin'-somethin' to look at until that quilt post.

The story of my table:
After six months of marriage my mother-in-law called to tell me that a friend of a friend was giving away a table but we would have to pick it up that night. At the time we did have a table, but it was small. So we found a truck and rushed over to the home. It was a Ethan Allen table with four matching chairs and two wing-chairs from a previous set the owner had. We were so excited.

Then we moved. And moved again. And then moved. After a while, the table looked very worn. The chairs...well, we were down one of the matching chairs and one of the wing-chairs.

Every move I would tell Geoff that we needed a new table, we needed new chairs. And every move Geoff would talk me into making what we had already last a little longer.

It got to be a little joke in our family: Once at dinner the girls were being hard on the table. I quickly said to them, "Girls, you need to be careful with this table because one day one of you will inherit this table." (Geoff gave me a sideways glance and a half-smile.)

So nine moves later (we were given the table at two moves down) and we still have it.

After painting the console table -which I don't think I have ever posted- black I decided to paint the table and chairs black. What was I going to lose, really? I also decided I would need to polyurethane it. So glad I did!

It took me a few days, at most, to have this completed. I used black spray paint and then brushed on the polyurethane. I did two to three coats of the spray paint and two coats of the polyurethane. And of course I didn't sweep the morning eggs off the floor before taking these snapshots with my phone's mediocre camera. Of course. Oh well, I guess you will just have to know that we are normal, and we have normal children, and they (well, one in particular) often spill food on the floor while eating. Now you know.

The table:

The chair I hated the most. It is amazing what black paint does to something. It was so ugly before and now, well now I really like this chair. Especially with the new fabric and some shiny protective vinyl stapled to those cushions. Seriously, if you have chairs that have fabric you hate--buy some fabric and redo them! It is so very easy and instantly gratifying. And I am all about instant gratification.

And if you have children do not hesitate to add the vinyl to the redo. I have always hesitated liking vinyl on furniture. (Who covers couches in plastic? Weird.) But I decided to do it and I LOVE it! Especially the other day when I was wiping dried ice-cream or yogurt or whatever-it-was off the cushion. Just a wet dishcloth and a light scrubbing had that seat clean and shiny. No stains. I thank the heavens and brainiac who created vinyl. Daily.

After having my upholster do my bench cushions with this fabric that I purchased at $5/yard at an interior design outlet store (I LOVE HOME FABRICS!!), I had enough left over for these cushions and now to make a table runner or two, and perhaps some curtains. Stay tuned for those projects.

Imagine the next picture is of a completed table runner.

And while you're at it, imagine a rug under the table, a fantastic light fixture, a side table along the wall, and black picture frames on the wall above the table.

And I realize I haven't posted pictures of the finished bench and cushions in the kitchen eating area we created. I will. But here is a sneak peek.


I hope you are satisfied now, for a while at least, before my next posting.