Chair Repairs - Broken Spring

After pushing my recliner back last week I heard a funny sound.

I did not find the broken spring till the next morning.

What shall I do about this?  Not a hassle I need with everything going on.

I called a local store which sells this type of recliner and asked for their service department.  I was asked to email a photo and they would get back to me.

The lady referred me to a link of Amazon but it was not exactly the same as what was broken.

I don't shop on line so I started sourcing a spring locally.  

I found this set of springs at Rona.  The length is about right but it is bigger in diameter. Should be 1/2 inch instead of 3/4 inch.  Also the hooks on each end don't quite match in placement.

For less than $10 I was willing to see what I could do with these. 

You can see wire at the bottom on the photo which will feature prominently in the solution.  I tried just hooking the ends to the 2 points in question but the closer one would not stay on the peg. I tried several things that did not work.

I needed something stronger than my first attempts.

The wire I am sure I picked up on a morning walk a couple of years ago.  Never know when something will come in handy.

By creating the loop for the pin on the chair I was able to address the fact that the hook on the one end was in the wrong direction.

As well, I could twisted the loop once it was on the pin to tighten it which kept in place.

This works well.

You can see that with the wider diameter it curves a little bit but does not obstruct any vital functionality.  Works for now.

 

Sewing Project - Repair my Bedspread

My Mom made me a bedspread 16 or more years ago.  She asked me what I wanted and I wanted bright and fun fabric.  She often used second hand fabric and I recognize fabric from Dad's shirts and other garments she made along the way.  I really loved the quilt. Nice and thin but heavy.

It has started to wear and I needed to address the damage before it was too late to save the bedspread.  She is no longer here and I have improved my sewing skills so it is all good. 

The damage is on the top and bottom edges. I do rotate the quilt regularly which explains why both edges are affected.  It is where I handled it a the top when I am in bed.

The front pieces were damaged as well as the backing and in some place even the binding was showing wear.

There were a couple of places where the fabric was ripped or very thin.

I zigzagged the large holes to stablize the fabric.  This will be covered by the fabric I am going to add.

For the hole I place a tiny piece of blue fabric under the hold and used he blanket stitch to finished off the edges all the way around.

There was one polygram piece that was just too thin to really repair so I chose to applique a full piece over it.

It took a bit to find a piece that was bold enough in pattern to match the rest.  The zigzag piece is the replacement and I cut it to be exactly the same size as the other.

I hand stitched small stitches along all the edges with sewing polyester thread.

I was hoping for poly cotton fabric when I went shopping but only found polyester fabric. It was the right color and there was enough and the price of $2 was right so it came home with me.

After washing the fabric, I set out to design a way to cover the damage without it looking to much like that is what I did.

I cut the band 8 inches tall. The fabric was 70" inches wide so I cut 3 strips to have enough to cover the width of the bedspread 2 times (top and bottom).

Once I had sewn the 3 pieces together I cut it in half.  I aligned it 2.5 inches away from the edge on the back side and stitched it down.  I also made a seam in the binding of the quilt along which I was gong to fold. I iron the remaining fabric to the front of the bedspread.  Then I fold up the edge to have the band measure 3.5 inches. I pinned it very carefully and then top stitched it down.  I folded the fabric in on the edges and top stitch those at the same time.

For a while before I started this project I thought I would add additional stitching to the band but I don't think it needs it.

More stitching would make it stiffer and that is where I handle it all the time so I don't think that would feel nice.

It took the better part of the day but the quilt will now last another 10 years.  

Super happy with the end product.

I washed it and put it back on the bed.  Wonderful!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

This week was a time to remember those who served, fought and paid a price for the freedoms I enjoy.

I have uncles and those closer than that who served to protect our country.

I am so blessed and appreciated what I have.

I have been looking for a container to hold my unPaperTowels.  These are pieces of fabric that I can use around the house that will clean up messes that I would have used a disposable paper towel.  These then can be laundered and returned to be used many other times.  Saves trees.

A Dollarama purchase with is exactly 10 inches wide and 5 inches across which is what a unPaperTowel measures folded in half.  

Perfect!

I had this book on my night stand for a while.

I bought at the Thrift Store because it was J R R Tolkien.  I read the basic story which was good but there is lots of background stuff.

This is a edit by Christopher of his fathers writings and I just did not want to read about when the stuff was written, how much was kept, how much was rewritten and changed.

I will put it with the other J R R Tolkien books and lit it sit.

I repaired some of my reusable bags this week.  These are not made to last in some cases.  This one is very good but the inside seams needed to be finished so they would stop unravelling and leaving tiny red threads every time I used

it.

The manufacturer put a seam at the top of the handles where the most strain is placed.  Of course, that is silly.

The hems were keeping the handles from falling apart completely so I wrapped a piece of poly/cotton fabric around the top of each handle and sewed them securely.

This will be in service for a few more years.

This bag was one I collected at the ReUse center to bring my goodies home this week.  

The handles hand become disconnected even before I got home.  I thought I will just sew them back on.  Upon further examination the handles just disintegrated as I tug on them to test the strength.

Fortunately, a few weeks back I found some webbing for $1 so I was able to give this bag new handles for a song.

This bag is made of much light material because it is meant to fold up in a small pouch.

I was fortunate to bring home some poly/cotton scraps from the ReUse Center this week and they match perfectly.

I added a bottom to the bag which had 1 hole worn into it from dragging.  The handles are a little long. 

The seams had to be reinforced on the inside to ensure they did not unravel.

I added a strip of fabric around the top edge as well where the handles are attached to the bag.  At least the handles are one piece unlike the other. 

I am so glad the fabric matched so well.  Back into the grocery bag collection.

I found this very cute ceramic tree at the arts and crafts store last week. You can see that it is meant to be an ornament but is is way too heavy for that purpose.

I thought it would work well with my small Nativity Sets.  It is a bit small for this set but will work well for the smaller one.

I have a few bottle brush trees as well that fit this purpose.

It is super cute and it was on sale 50% so I could not leave it behind.

This is a glass ornament which opens and you can put something inside.

I used to have one but it broke a couple of years ago.  I am glad I was able to replace it.

It's that time of year.

A few people I know put up their Christmas Tree the Remembrance Day weekend.

My wall Christmas Tree will not go up until after December 1st.  My crafting projects are caught up and I have Christmas cards to do so I should be ready in plenty of time.

Repair Furniture - Pine Secretary Desk

I recently had occasion to move my pine Secretary Desk that I use to store my dining room stuff in such as table cloths, placements, napkin rings, etc. I knew that one of the feet was loose but it turns out 2 of the 4 feet were unglued. Trying to move this piece on carpet was not easy so I decided I would just replace the feet with casters which make it easy to move.

I purchased what I needed.  I emptied the unit and I laid the piece on its back to do an assessment of the situation.  It turns out the 2 remaining feet were very well adhered to the base. It was clear that a significant effort would be needed and very likely result in damage to the base to remove them. 

Plan B.

I guess I will re-glue the feet to the base.  I removed the felt sliders that had been applied to the feet to allow for no scratches on a hard surface but of no help on carpet.  I decided to add small glider feet to each foot to help with the moving of the unit.

The glue on the top of the feet and on the base of the cabinet needed to be removed before proceeding with new glue.

I used a sanding drum on my Dremel tool to remove the dry glue from the all 4 surfaces.

That worked really well.  When the bulk of it was gone I finished it off with a bit of hand sanding to ensure I was completely back to the wood. I forgot to photograph the feet.

Before I glued the feet back to the unit I decided to add glider feet to all 4 feet.  I sanded the place where the felt pads had been adhered to the feet.

These are 1" circle feet attached with screws which were included.  I needed longer screws on the ball feet as there was a hole in the middle of the foot.  I was able to find what I needed in my stash.  I used my drill and a small bit to make a pilot hole in the rectangular feet.  

With all the feet ready to go I moved on to gluing the 2 feet to the base. I used Carpenter glue which I had on hand. I applied a generous amount to the leg and the base including the dowel and hole in the base.  I pressed the feet in place and wiped away the glue that was pressed out.  These had to stay in place for at least 30 minutes so I used what I had to do that. 

Packing Tape is what I had on hand so I made it as tight as I could with the tape.  Applied the tape in both directions.

I waited an hour and when I removed the tape they remained in place.

I had lifted the unit onto a stack of pine boards so that when I lifted the unit the pressure would not be on the legs.  That worked really well.  Once upright I just slid it off the boards and it was standing on it's own feet again.  I think the slider feet will be very helpful if and when I need to move it again.

Here it is back in it's place.

I added shim under the front feet to ensure that it sat tightly against the wall.

I filled it with all it's stuff and it looks great.

The glue will completely dry in 24 hours and the weight of the cabinet and contents should ensure good adherence.

I am really happy with these results.

I was able to roll with the problems, come up with solutions, execute them and got a great result.

Winter Jacket for -10C

I took advantage of a 50% sale at the thrift store last week to get myself a -10C winter coat.  Here you need at least 2 jackets.  The other is a -20C coat and I have a heavy wool coat which is beyond -20C which gets worn occasionally.

I washed it in the washing machine at home which is must for me as I am not dry cleaning jackets except for the wool one.

I saw that repairs were needed to the hood liner right away but I only discovered the pocket issue on the weekend.  There was a hole in one of the pockets that let things fall to the inside of the jacket.

My absolute needs for a jacket are a hood, a two way zipper, a waist cord on the inside, and pockets with zippers.


This one has more with snaps on the wind flap over the zipper which allows me to just use the snaps on a quick trip outside. A high collar zipped right to the top, 4 outside pockets and one inside, a cord on the hood to tighten it close to my face and a great medium navy color.

It has room for an extra sweater which I needed on the weekend when we had -20C outside shoveling snow. 

The repairs were all done this morning and it is back in the front hall closet ready to go!  The price was great which was a bonus.  Looking forward to years of wear. 

Share Your Cup #240 - This Week

Veggie Salad

It's been a while since I have been making salad primarily with veggies instead of lettuce.  The ingredients are shredded cabbage done on the mandolin and grated carrots.  I love that I have this red Tupperware bowl so I no longer have to be concerned about the carrots staining the bowl.
With the main ingredients in place I add whatever other fresh veggies I have.  I have included at various times: red and/or yellow peppers, celery, red onion, and cucumber.
Other options would be small broccoli florets, bean sprouts, and nuts.

I enjoy this substantial salad.

Furniture Repairs

These chairs are from my original solid pine INGO dining set from IKEA over 20 years ago.  They had been set aside because they had become wobbly and needed gluing.  I had bought the glue but never worked out what needed to be done. 

My sister came to spend a couple of days with me which made me very happy. While she was here she decided we would look over the problem and solved it if we could.  Yes, the original front skirt had been glued and had become unglued.  With a stop at a hardware store to buy wood glue, check to see what I had from straps, we tackled the project We applied the wood glue in the right place, wiped off the excess when we strapped it tight and let it sit for 24 hours.  A solid chair to go with the more recent solid pine table.













The glider chair I bought a year ago at the thrift store developed a problem last summer. It was tilting forward and was no longer comfortable to sit in.

Once turned over we discovered that mortise and tenon joint in the base had become unglued.  We applied glue to the tenon and set it back into the mortise.  Upon further checking, we discovered an earlier repair had been made with screws to stabilize the top tenon.  So we decided to add screws to the bottom tenon which we had just glued for insurance that it would not come apart again.  With a small drill bit she made pilot holes then she put in the .75 inch screws.  I expect to be gliding on this chair into my old age.  Thank you sister T.

I had recently purchased this maple foot stool for use with the glider chair.  I brought it out, cleaned it up, and set it in it's place at the foot of the chair. I was concerned it would be too tall but it works well for me.
It has storage space in the top which will come in handy!

Welcome to my Kitchen

We had a great fellowship time this morning with the ladies who attend Welcome to my Kitchen.  We take turns hosting, providing snacks and doing devotions.

Our hostess this morning had a lovely table set with blue and white dishes, muffins, St. Patricks' day cupcakes, yogurt, cheese and fresh fruit.  It was all very yummy!

We were able to retire to the living room following our snack and spend another hours in fellowship, sharing, praying and in general have a great time.

We had 13 ladies in attendance with a tiny little girl in training.  This is the most we had so far but there was room for everyone.

Thanks Barb!!




I took this DVD from the library last week and sat down and watched it this week.  It is a story about a woman in the USA who swaps houses with a woman in Ireland.  They are both experiencing own life changing events and a summer in a different house and community helps to put perspective on their situation.  I need to read the book now because some of the events near the end of the movie need some clarification in my mind and I am sure the book will provide all the details.  Most will know that Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors.

Sharing with Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #240 linky party every week.