Recovering

I had bought a small sleeper sofa at an estate sale earlier this year.  It was just the right size for the Curtis Wright, the mattress looked like it had never been used, the sofa was worn but clean and it didn't smell like an ashtray or wet dogs.  I planned to have Gerrit recover it.  He came over to tell me he couldn't do it, he was ready to retire.  Then he saw it, Hubby agreed to take the spring and mattress out so it would be lighter.  He agreed.  Several days later I told Gerrit that I had an idea.  How about if I help you and learn how to do upholstery? His response was, and then how about if you buy my machine and equipment?  Deal.

The first step was to take the old fabric off and pull out hundreds of staples.  It's hard work.

 We took it completely apart.

The little sofa had a lot of piping.  I had chosen the charcoal vinyl with a dark teal fabric for the piping.  I learned how to sew piping early on and we used a lot.  I was always saying to Gerrit, I want piping there, this needs piping around it. that should have piping. Pretty soon I was hearing him mutter pipingpipingpiping in a snarky little imitation of moi.

About three mornings into the project Gerrit stopped, looked at me and said, It. is. not. piping.  It's WELTING!  Hah, I had figured that out but I was just waiting to see how long it took for him to lose his cool with me.  Oh my, we laughed and laughed!

 We made fabric covered buttons.

The buttons got attached.

 The strips of cardboard keep things straight.

 I'm not sure if Gerrit is happy to have completed the project or if the big smile is because I was leaving.  We had a lot of fun, I learned a lot, he's not quite ready to retire but I can work with him and I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous.  Since we started others have asked him if he'll teach them, and some other have asked me if they could join us.

Uhhmmm, NO! As Gerrit says, one woman in his shop is more than enough. No more.

Y'all will have to rely on me for lessons.

Until the Curtis Wright is ready for furniture, the sofa is upstairs on the landing.  And I am going to practise my new skills on some chairs.  And Gerrit, he is recovering furniture and recovering  from having me in his shop.

Nile Valley Rally

 Hubby and I took Huaka'i Annie to a trailer rally in Naches, Washington this past weekend. It was at the Jim Sprick Park along the Naches River in the Nile Valley.  I had a hunch it'd be fun because Rita and Denise were in charge.  It was crazy fun, over the top fun and in a gorgeous location.

We had a small Alohaville with Steve and Jean and Jeremy and Rene. We shared dinner on Thursday evening.

 When she wasn't selling her jams and jellies, Liz came to visit with us.

The guys traded beer and stories.

 We played Pass the Deuce with a lot of people for a sweet pot.

We checked out a brewery in Naches on Friday.

The trailers were open to the public on Saturday and we had a lot of visitors.

Hubby and I toured some of the trailers but not all of them.  Most of my pictures are of weird little things that we wanted to remember for the Curtis Wright restoration so I don't have a lot of good pictures of all of the trailers.  But here are a few...

This Kenskill was for sale and did sell on Saturday.  It has a Seattle World's Fair theme and was really pretty.

I loved Marian and her story.

The photo below is of a camper on a Jeep truck, they had parked by the river and had a 180 degree view out their breakfast nook.

I was coveting Rita's chairs in the Yellowstone.

Annie was all set up and we had fun sharing her story.

Tracy made some snacks for visitors.  Isn't she a cute little homemaker?

I loved the curtains and look in Pinkie's trailer.

Now when I see state ash trays I know what to do with them, group them on a wall, of course.

Brilliant!

I love a Princess stove and this mint green one is a honey.  Doug told me it's what sold him on the trailer.

We sat by the river, floated on the river and gazed at the river.  It's a gorgeous spot and it was a natural lazy river.  We floated down and then back up without having to paddle.

On Saturday evening we enjoyed Let's Make a Deal with Monte Hall.  I am still marveling how much it was like the real deal, pun intended.  You can watch it in black and white.

 

 I went as the Queen of Christmas and Hubby was an off season Santa.  I sewed a lot of baubles on a green petticoat, made a pageant sash, and bought a tiara.  For Santa I found a Christmas Hawaiian shirt with pinups(this was challenging in the summer) and I made him a lei of flowers and bottles of booze.

 My number got picked!  It was a game where you had to know  prices of trailer parts.  Well, you know who has been searching for trailer parts for the past two years.  I knew my stuff!

 I won! I traded my cash for curtain number two.  It was a vintage trailer theme prize package with a puzzle, towel, mug, socks, coasters, two cute bags, and more.  I could have traded it to play for the big deal of the day but it was a great prize so I kept it.

 The cast and crew were fantastic! Jay's description of the products made me laugh so hard.  It was just like the show. They gave away a fur coat, an encyclopedia set, TV trays, toilet paper and luggage with a trip, just like the original show.
Kudos to Rita and Denise and their guys and families for a fun show and wonderful rally!

On Sunday we drove home and saw the harsh reality of the Curtis Wright Flagship Model 6 waiting in the driveway.  It's back to work on the CW but it was great to take a break at the Best Rally Ever.

 Yesterday I went to my upholstery class and worked on the love seat for the CW.  I'll post more about my classes this week.  I am having some frustrations and some fun.  Mostly, fun!