heARTS Creations

Some time ago I saw a posting for a quilt called “Arboretum” by Springleaf Studios. I really loved it and having a ridiculous bin full of Kaffe scraps, I decided to do it. Here it is about two years later and I am finally tackling this project. I pulled out all my pretty flowery Kaffe prints. For the trunks and branches I chose Aboriginal Dots and Millefore prints.

Pairing the fabrics was not as easy as it might seem. I auditioned more than one trunk fabric with each print and looked at it through my camera with the mono filter. It’s amazing that to the naked eye it looks as though a pairing might work, but with the mono filter, you can see the contrast vs. blending.

To the naked eye, the fabric on the right looked fine, but above you can see that it blends. The pairings took quite a while and then there was all the cutting. I now have a project box full of seedlings.

There are about 10 blocks completed. They are not a quick sew – it’s not like they can be chain pieced. Before squaring them up, I threw a few up on the design wall and have decided I like them. The trunk on one is a bit off so I’ll have to fix that but at least it’s an easy fix.

And now that spring has truly marched into the Piedmont, there is so much to rejoice about in the yard. The daffodils are now gone, but we have a red bud in bloom and so much is sprouting out of the ground. Below is a Hosta which I think if I had stayed up all night I would have been able to see it grow. And the post of Hosta? Ha! That’s what one has to do when the outdoor cats love to sun bathe in the large flower pots!

Fifty years later, and three fabric changes. This rocking chair was handed down to me years ago and I’ve always loved it and found it fairly comfortable. I’d changed the cushion covering three other times. Not only did I want to change the fabric again, but I wanted to make it more comfortable as the springs could be felt.

First, I with hubby’s help, completely took the cushion apart which was not an easy task as there were a lot of tacks and staples. Fortunately, he’s the tool man and had just the right ones to make the job a little easier.

After much consideration and deliberation, we decided to eliminate the spring base. Part of me hated to take away from the originality of the chair, but ease and practicality won. We had a piece of foam custom cut at a local foam dealer near us. We decided that the cushion needed to be an inch thinner so I marked it all the way around and used my electric knife to slice off an inch – just like cutting layers in a cake!

There was an original partial label on the bottom of the chair. There’s enough still visible that I was able to look up both the manufacturer and retailer. There was some history, and was so interesting. And yes, the label is back on the underside of the chair.

Together hubby and I put the new cover on – I pulled, he stapled. Although the cushion is not as round as it originally was, I like it – and most importantly, it’s comfortable! Bonus: I used a home dec fabric from my stash!

Love my “new” rocking chair!