Let’s start off with the slipcover.  I love doing slipcovers, don’t get me wrong, but…and yes, there is a but…  I also hate them.

I love them because they turn previously loved but no longer in fashion chairs and couches into newer in-style, chic items.  Slipcovers refresh and renew and overall are an easy way for a makeover.

I hate them because there is always one spot that frustrates me.  Not one slipcover has gone perfect from beginning to end.  I make the pattern, I cut the fabric.  Everything goes well until, I hit that one spot.   For this slipcover it was the back of the seat.  I played and played with different patterns, but I decided to go with the one piece for two reasons.  First because I could have made it out of two or three pieces and ended up with the same puffiness and two I had to remind myself that it was a slipcover and not a recover.  I often forget that I am slipcovering and not recovering.  My Mother’s voice in my head rings every time.  You see my Mom gets me to do slipcovers, but truly she would like to get her couches recovered. And these are two different things.  Slipcovering means you can take it on and off easily and recovering means it’s permanent.

So here you see the before (minus the seat cushion that I had already put into the cover) and the after.  Please ignore the mess that is my sewing area.  After Christmas I will need a serious month to put this room back in order, but for now the time I spend reorganizing this room is better spent on the work getting done.

My girlfriend and I had been working on getting these chairs done for quite a while, so I am thankful that they are delivered in time for the holidays and it is one more thing checked off my todo list.  I hear she is liking them, for which, I am very thankful.

Now onto the Tree!

It was a stellar year for tree trimming this year.  Everyone helped, everyone except for Hubby.  But he gets an exemption because he took photos for us.  Even the teenager put down the Rubic’s cube for fifteen minutes and put up a few decorations.   It was fast and furious, but enjoyed by all, Apple included.

J was my biggest helper.  He was going strong until he saw his brother not helping much, that was when the cube went down and he joined in.  J had a plan and quite frankly his plan worked quite well, the Tree is gorgeous.

Little Miss Apple, the busiest little body I have ever known, was right in there helping me with the lights.  J only started helping last year, so it was pretty cute to see her dive right in to help.

 Here we all are getting all the decorations out.  We even got a smile or two out of A!

And the finished product.  The Tree on the right, along with J playing with the ornaments.  And the dining room on the right, almost ready for some holiday dinners.

I have been dropping by sites all day to see how you all have been decorating, and I think it is so wonderful to see how we all put things together for the holidays.  The most important part of course is that we remember the ‘Reason for the Season’ and that we all enjoy time together getting ready for the holidays.

Happy Tree Trimming everyone.

I thought I would put up a placeholder post, as I am so swamped with meeting some Holiday deadlines that I don’t have time to prepare a proper post.  It isn’t that I haven’t been thinking of blogging, it is just that I need to finish a couple of projects for this weekend and of course what happens when you get a deadline, you have the busiest week in years.

Lots going on, that I hope to post about after the delivery guy picks up the parcel, a little list to give you an idea

• Handmade Christmas Update
• Slipcovering a chair, my love hate relationship with slipcovers
• Baking for Hubby’s work, yes baking
• Neil Young, still ‘Rockin’ to the Free World’ at 63.
• Our visit with Santa

Just to name a few.   I will be dropping by to see you all very, very soon.