ClassroomChair

At my new work my office chair was a bit worn out. It works perfect but the fabric is getting old. That's why I took it with me on one day when I left work. 

I needed a screwdriver...

and plier...

...to get rid of the staples.

I succeed with determined work.

I used the old fabric covers to create the patterns for the new covers.

On the next morning I took the chair back to the work with me. I am happy with the result. It creates a bit color into the classroom. See how the grey shade of the chair frame calms down the color shade and  a bit restless pattern of the fabric. I made this cover of the fabric which was donated to our adult education center. 

I have re-upholstered office chairs before on 2015 and they both are still perfect and in use at home. I did SeaSideOfficeChair and SummerOfficeChair but also MassageTable. If you want to save the nature resources and your money take a look at these posts to discover how to do yours. 

Emerald 118

I found this beauty at work. She was abandoned under a table and covered by dust. I've been putting my nose into many sewing machines in all kind of places and dusty corners but never before met any bug inhabiting a sewing machine. This time, when I lifted away the hard cover to see what was hiding under and turned a bit the machine, a very annoyed small spider landed down from the upper parts of the machine. It obviously was hiding in there. I hoped it was alone, without the whole family. And it was. 

I tested it and could only wonder why she had ended up under the table, to be forgotten and covered by the dust. I am going to do the service for all the machine at work by myself as far as I can. Only for non-basic repair I need a service man. So, I opened her and cleaned her. When I started the test drive I understood. She refused to sew anything but straight. She did it gentle and perfect but nothing else but straight stitch. She was stuck. Totally stuck. I was not able to turn the selection steering to any direction. I am not sure did she end up under the table because of that or did it happen because she was forgotten there. See, it can happen that when you do the service for the machine and then don't use it, the grease doesn't get work like it should and it gets stiff and the parts get stuck. That's why you should never forget your machine anywhere.

But if it happens you can still save the day, or your service can. First you need to dust the machine. Then try to the test drive. Be gentle but determine. Try to move the buttons and steering wheels but do not be too hard and break anything. When you just move it back and fort it slowly should ease. Patience is one key word. It took me 3 hours to clean the dust and get it all working. The grease and oil need time to start to move and get smooth again. If it doesn't, you need a specialist to save the day. Because, in that case you need to take the machine back to pieces and clean it all part by part. If you are not sure you can do it, don't even try. 

This was the 1st time me testing Husqvarna Viking Emerald series sewing machine. This model is Emerald 118. I must tell I am positively surprised and satisfied with it. I can truly and warmly recommend it to anyone who needs a basic -not electronic- sewing machine and is a beginner but wants to learn. It has the ability to drive slow so it is perfect for the ones who need to sew slow for any reason. This works perfect for experienced sewers.

From SergerCare and DustingMyHelga posts you can find more information for self-service.

Remember: opening the machine breaks the warranty, you do it in your own responsibility, always plug off the machine from the power before opening it (turning off is not enough) and take pictures by your smart phone from every step you take because it helps you to put it all back!

CamelShadesAAW

I made you even better picture to show the shades of the latest dye I did with coffee and AAW. The white back ground and the original shade in the same pic shows better the result. The shade difference is not actually as huge as you could think according to the previous blog post. But, the difference to original natural shade is incredible visible. 

The 1st 500 g I dyed without the coffee in.

The 2nd 500 g I dyed with the coffee sausage (ha ha ha) in. 

And yes, all the coffee is stuck in my old nylon stockings. :)

AAW Dyes

I have desired and planned this for quite a long time. Finally, I have found some time to do it. I used plant dyes to get some more shades for our AAW yarn (50% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% ethic produced FinnSheep wool, 10% nylon) (100g = 238m). You can see the original shade above and dyed ones below.

I used Fair Trade coffee to get 500g light camel brown  and 500g camel brown shades. It's been years since I've been doing plant -or any kind of- dyeing. I didn't stir at all the camel brown shade during the process because I wanted to create uneven and spotty result so that at the end the finished product will have a bit lively look what comes to the shade.

PopUpArts

In May we had PopUpArt day at work. Everyone was welcome to see our art & craft exhibition with some music performances. 

Everyone was allowed to participate on community pop up art. No matter are you small or big, young or old... or something between.

The idea was to paint together so that everyone leave their mark on the painting. Then the staff was allowed to choose one painting to decorate their office or some other place at the education center. The paintings were not finished in the time limit of the PopUpArt so everyone was allowed to finish the painting they've chosen.

I chose this one. I tried to save the original idea and personal touch of each painter. I have also an idea about it where it will be placed...

The 2023 Reading Challenge No 6

 The Reading Challenge 2023 is here!

On 2023 I encourage you to read books from different places. No other rules but geographical location. You can choose the genre! 

June 2023 theme is Central America!

Central America has always been a fascinating mystery to me. I've been looking for a book for this challenge for 3 weeks now! Still missing one!