tackling the cushion re-do

There once was a confident woman who decided she was more than capable to take on a large project, unlike any other she had ever undertaken. She knew it didn't matter that she hadn't sewn in years or that she didn't have a pattern to follow and had never sewn without one before. It didn't matter because she can do anything she sets her mind to. She is woman, hear her roar!

I decided that tonight was the night to work on the camper cushions. I took off the flowery top of one of the cushions and pinned it to the new material as my pattern piece.

 I cut them out and found I had a lot more material than I needed. I am glad I did not pay a lot for it. I was pleased with how easily it was to take the old material off and thought "I am going to be able to get this done fast." I sat down at the sewing machine I recently brought home from my Mom's. She gave me the machine because mine has been acting up. I did some mending with it a week or two and it was running great. I had just bought a heavy duty needle for it and got it installed. I got a new bobbin out and then I just sat there. I had learned how to sew on this machine but it had been so long since I had used it that I forgot how to wind the bobbin. Luckily I had grabbed the users manual and soon had the bobbin wound. I was rearing and ready to go. I got about 1/2" done when the thread jammed up. It had all bundled up and jammed and made a huge mess. I tried it a couple more times with the same results. Well crap! Now what? I really want to get this project done before Memorial weekend and without a working machine I was going to be out of luck. I had already talked to a repair man since my machine had been acting up and he said it would take about 3 weeks for a repair because he is so busy. Out of desperation I pulled my machine back into place and said a little prayer that it would play nice enough to at least get the one cushion done. I didn't have a heavy duty needle for this machine and I was about to sew several layers of vinyl. I had very little hope and at this point I was thinking to myself "See what you get yourself into when you are over confident and impatient! This project is bigger than you are. You can live with the ugly flowers, it is just a camper and no one cares what it looks like. You have not idea what you are doing and this project is beyond you." Thank goodness i am very stubborn and did not give up easily. My machine decided to play nicely and worked almost perfectly. The regular needle was up to the task and other than the stitches being a little zig-zaggy instead of straight (I have no idea why) it got the job done and no one but me is the wiser. I decided I was not pushing my luck enough so I took apart the other three cushions and sewed them up too. I didn't want to take any chances that the machine would quit running nicely another day. After 5 hours I am tired, sore, and smelly. Remind me never to sew vinyl, it is not my friend. I have never sewn vinyl before and after literally wrestling with it over and over again I have no desire to deal with it again. It is stiff and sharp and would not do anything I wanted it to. It scratched and clawed and broke my finger nails and straight pins. I have never gotten such a great workout while sewing. I need a shower and bed now. I think all the frustration was worth it though. It looks a whole lot better.

Our trailer has a bit of a funky smell to it. I don't know if it is from the bathroom, water damage, or any of several other possibilities. The funk is infused into the cushions and material so I am doing a cleaning with baking soda and wild orange essential oil. My house smells fabulous. I mix the oil with the baking soda and sprinkle onto the cushions and covers. I will leave them over night but you really only need to for an hour or two. I will vacuum the baking soda off in the morning and flip the cushions and do the other side. I hope this helps a lot.

After 5 hours I am beat but am so grateful my machine decided to play nice and that I was born with a stubborn streak (yes, it can be good sometimes). I am grateful that I am a confident woman, willing to take on something new. I am so thankful for a mother that had the patience and took the time to teach her young daughter to sew and encouraged even the mess ups, so I could have this talent that is quickly being forgotten in this modern world where it is cheaper to buy what we want already made. I am so blessed.

Spring is here

We have been working on the camper again. Spring must be in the air. It looks like it was water tight all winter, which is a big relief. The work we did last year paid off. As far as we can tell the upper bunk is fixed. My five year old and I can be up there at the same time and she has been up and down, up and down, up and down enough to drive me nuts. We started looking into foam for an upper mattress since we didn't even have an old one and I was shocked at how expensive it is! I thought the upholstery fabric would be the most expensive thing on the to-do list this spring but I was probably wrong. Luckily we found some 3" foam at home depot for 19.99 each peace and it took two pieces of it. 3" foam is not what I was looking for but it should be sufficient for our daughter. We have been sleeping on 4" and that works for a night or two. Maybe in the future, when we are rich, we can get a thicker mattress, though I don't know if we could turn it into a couch with a bed that thick.
I have been browsing around for some upholstery I like because I need to re-do the beds and table cushions. I fell in love with this fabric that I found at www.hancockfabric.com. Isn't it perfect for a camper! It was even on sale for 25.99 a yard.

Unfortunately at 25.99 a yard it would cost me much, much, much more than I can afford since I need approx 17 yards of it. I looked around some more and had decided the beds would have to wait, which is okay since they are usually covered in bedding and no one can see what bad of shape they are in anyway. I decided to go to the local Hancock Fabrics store and see if they stocked this fabric and I would just get the 4 yards I need for the table cushions. I only need to replace one side of these cushions since the red vinyl on the sides and back is still in good shape. I decided it would be worth the money to do this much. Unfortunately  they did not stock this one and I didn't feel like ordering it on-line. I did not see any other fabrics that caught my eye. I had given up and turned to leave when a remnant table caught my eye. There were no prices on anything but one pattern caught my eye. It wasn't anything like what I was looking for but it was neutral colors and I knew I could do what I wanted with it. I was also concerned there wasn't enough of it. I found an employee and asked about the fabric. I was excited when she said it was only 6.00 a yard and that there was 5 1/2 yards of it. I bought all of it for just over 30.00! WOO HOO!!! What a great bargain.
This is what I got.

This isn't a very good picture of it and doesn't do it justice but it will certainly work for what I want.
I will go back another day and see if I can find something cheap for the beds. They apparently often have red tag sales of prints they will no longer be making for as low as 7.00 a yard. That would be affordable and it won't have to be anything too fancy because it will usually be covered up anyway.

Because foam is so stinking expensive I am going to see what I can do with the foam we already have. I was playing on pinterest last week and found a way to freshen up old foam with baking soda and a vinegar spritz. I will also add some essential oils, prob lemon, to help with bacteria and/or odors. The camper has a bit of a funky smell to it and I am hoping this will help out a ton. Now I can't wait until I can make some time to do some sewing. I am also looking for some cute camping curtain material so I can get those replaced too. I like the pattern that is currently in there but they are hammered and faded and need to be replaced.

We are planning our first camping trip for Memorial weekend and can't wait until we can get it out and use it again. I sure hope the new truck will handle it just fine (which it should it is 8 years newer than our old one) and that we can park it again once we get home. The new truck is longer than the old one and it was a tight fit before. Hubby is confident he can make it work. I also have a goal to actually tow the camper on the open road this year. I have never hauled a trailer of any sort and rarely drive the truck. I want to be able to do it though. Once I am comfortable with that I want to learn how back it up and park it. I am so nervous about it. I am not the best driver and I am even worse at backing up, I can't do it straight.

Bring on camping season!!!!