Making a Pod Seat Cushion

   I've had a pod chair in my backyard for about 6 years or so and love it. The cushion however has worn down in some parts and destroyed by animals so I decided to replace it. I went to our local Lens Mills to look at their outdoor fabric selection twice. The second time, I found a larger selection on the racks which had some beautiful pattern and colour options. I texted my husband and we ended up choosing a geometric green fabric. I got three meters of it (measured previously) and it was perfect for what I needed. I also got it on sale because they were having a discount on outdoor fabrics for a short time.

I didn't get many pictures of the process of making it, just this step. What I did was seam rip the old cover and put the fill in a garbage bag. I marked where the tufts were on the old one with a permanent marker. I placed one side of the old cover on the new fabric and cut around it leaving an extra inch or so of space since the old one didn't have much seam allowance. When I had cut two pieces of the new fabric, I marked where the tufts would land with a pin through the fabric and heat erasable pen in an x shape. I cut three-three inch wide strips and folded them in a double bias, then ironed it flat. I made a fancy fold at each end to tuck in the raw edge and sewed those closed. Then I sewed each with a backing square onto the back of the cover piece for extra durability (the old ones ripped there). I sewed the two pieces with right sides together, leaving an opening for the stuffing at the bottom. Then I zig zag stitches the raw edges, which I noticed was not done in the original. I definitely feel like the new one is higher quality than the old one.   

I still need to go back to the store, get about a bag of clean fill (just over what I threw out of the old stuff) and sew it all closed, adding tufts. I'll update when I've done this :). 

We sealed the patio recently and it's been long enough to be able to add the furniture on now, however I can't use soap on it for a few weeks still. We don't have a BBQ at the moment because neither Jason or I like to cook on it, but I am considering getting a small coal fueled one for when friends and family come over for a meal and use it myself. Still thinking on that one though. What do you think? How necessary is a BBQ for outdoor meals? Let me know in the comments!

Patio progress III

Last time in the patio series, I had attempted to tidy up the concrete and failed. Since then, we repaired it. My husband made a wooden form and it was complicated but basically plan a and b failed but we improvised and it worked out. I don't have pictures on my phone anymore but might add them in later from my hard drive. 

Here we dug out a bunch of the cleanfill with shovels and wheelbarrowed it into a borrowed truck to deliver to the dump. It was expensive to do that so we looked at Kijiji for alternative places to bring it without luck as they ended up being too far for millage for the rented truck price. At this point it was getting expensive and time consuming so we looked into getting the work done by a local business. We ended up having two brothers finish the job for us. They suggested a slightly different stone as it would be available right away and they could finish faster. We wanted the herringbone pattern, which is so beautiful. They did an amazing job. 

Since it was done in October and the stones needed to settle for a month before coating it, we are still waiting on the warmer spring weather to clean it and coat it! Though I am so excited for many patio memories to come!

 

Creative Collaborations

My friend Amy made some beautiful crocheted flowers for me to incorporate into designs and I made two book covers with the flowers as the centrepiece! They are so beautiful and soft. My sister said the yellow one is giving bumble bee in the best way, which is a high compliment because bumble bees are SO cute. I think it is giving cottage core vibes. I am planning to take more pictures of it to put on my website. 

I really enjoy making book covers, it is so peaceful. I wrote out all of the directions that I take recently as mostly it was in my head with just the pattern dimensions. I'm thinking of making it into a pattern and putting it on my Etsy shop. I think there are different markets for people who would use the pattern and those who would like one in person. I've thought about collaborating with some bullet journallers on Insta. I won't disclose who yet, but feel free to follow me there @rachelle.designs and stay tuned!

This pink one was my prototype and I think it is so fun! I just missed adding a pen loop (silly me!) otherwise it would be replacing my personal bujo cover.

 

Book Bag

 

Recently, I made my first book bag for my shelf at The Hive in Guelph, Ontario. Here it is in all it's glory! I'd love to make some for my website Rachelle Designs in the near future. Stay tuned!

Mouse Moxie 2

In 2016, I made these mouse characters.  My sister  reminded me of it today because she  suggested that I put out some Valentines day  cards at The Hive, a store in Guelph, where I have a shelf for my business, Rachelle Designs. I decided to make some more cards and came up with this image below.