MORE Finished Objects ... I'm on a roll!

Yes, that's right: MORE finished objects! I've been stagnating for so long that it's unbelievable.

I'm having lunch with Lynne today and I decided that I absolutely HAVE to finish her birthday present (which was supposed to be done in April). I have no good excuse ... It's been 95% complete since we went to Wool Fest in April. Somehow, it just didn't get done. It's a felted knitting bag for her.

I bought a lovely fair isle wool sweater at Goodwill and felted it to make a firm fabric. Then I cut it into a rectangle and sewed it up to make a pillowcase sort of shape. I bought some satiny lining for the inside, made a little pocket with another piece of the satin, sewed it into a pillowcase shape and then put it inside and sewed it around the top. I doubled the ribbed top over and hem-stitched it to the inside to make it more sturdy. Then I felted a burgundy I-cord to make the closure/handle. I just poked holes in the felt to run the I-cord through. It wasn't a difficult project -- except that I'm sewing retarded.

Another completed project that had been languishing is the refinishing of my great great grandfather's bed. We have an amazing bedroom suite that has been handed down in my family for years that was handmade by my great great grandfather. It's walnut and both simple and elegant. You can tell it was handmade, for one, because each of the little decorative spindles is different. You can also see the mark of the old saw on the walnut when the planks were cut. It also has two mysterious burn marks on the underside of the railings. An oil lamp that got too close? A house fire the bed was saved from? I don't guess we'll ever know.

In addition to the bed, there's a large dresser with four huge drawers that matches the bed. (It's in my daughter's room -- pardon the mess.) I haven't refinished it yet. What's cool about the dresser, though, is that on the top there's a large round burn mark where the old oil lamp used to sit.

I started stripping the bed last summer (not 2008 ... 2007) and got maybe 70% of the job done and then got distracted. Finally, a couple of months ago, I took it down to Mom and Dad's house so my sister Kathryn could see it. She's a really good furniture refinisher and we planned to have a refinishing "party" with it. I got it almost completely stripped at the "party" and brought it home almost ready for staining. The weather has been good this fall so I was able to finish the stripping, do the staining and apply two coats of tung oil before cold weather hit. Now all I need to do is set it up in the guest room and buy a mattress for it. A mattress will have to be custom made for it, because it isn't a standard size, but the Original Mattress Co. has assured me that it's no big deal.

Last, but not least, as featured in a previous blog entry, I finished Kate's Civil War era dress that has been in the works for more than a year. I definitely want that mentioned among my finished objects. Here's a picture of her in the dress. She sank gracefully to the floor and Sam, of course, couldn't resist curling up on the skirt.

For the next post, look for my UNfinished objects.