Heirlooms and Ancestry

I know it's been a while since my last post. I have lots of catching up to do. You would think that during a lockdown/quarantine - pandemic that I would find the time to blog, but alas...

Anyhow, I just made an ancestry connection with an heirloom in my possession, and I got a little excited about that. 

In the photo above, the woman seated on the right is my great great grandmother, Belle Owens, nee Kettering (1863-1946). She was my father's father's mother's mother. Notice how the photo is sitting on a lovely embroidered table cover. 

About 20 years ago, my paternal grandmother sent me a box containing this table cover and several other handmade linens, along with a letter describing where they came from - who made what, etc. There are pieces made by my grandmother, and great grandmother, too. I went through that box again today, reread the letter, and discovered that it was Belle who made the brightly colored table topper that you see here, and I finally made the connection with the photo. 

At the time, I did not know who she was. I obtained the photo several years later from my Great Aunt Vivian, who had a box of old photos of people in my paternal grandfather's line. Now I can put a face to the handiwork. I do not know when it was made, but I assume it must have been sometime before my grandparents were married, and then it was gifted to them, or handed down, upon their wedding c. 1943. 

I've had it on that small round table for years now, and for its age, it still looks beautifully and vibrant. I just can't keep a piece like that in a box.

The Chair Project, Part 2

I finished the chair in time for Thanksgiving last year, and I'm just now getting around to posting the photos. So here, we go.

Purchased all the special materials from the Interwebs, and applied the webbing. 

Reused the old springs and sewed them to the webbing with "Ruby" twine,

Covered springs with burlap.

Reused the old coir filling.

Added a layer of new cotton upholstery batting.

Covered with muslin.

And, finally, covered with upholstery fabric. This print might look familiar, as I have a ton of it in my stash. Also applied the gimp and decorative nails to the edges, and put a dust cover on the bottom. I like how it turned out, and guess what? I have another chair just like it, waiting for me to do all this again. I'm hoping the second one goes a bit faster since I know better what I'm doing now.

The Chair Project, part 1

There are actually two (matching) chairs that I inherited from my maternal grandmother's mother (my great-grandmother Bridget H.) They sat in my grandmother's basement forever, until I grabbed them, and then they sat in my basement. I have been wanting to get them fixed up and in usable shape for some time, but it seemed too daunting a task. I started making some home improvements this year, and needing to move stuff around in the basement, I finally resolved to do something about the chairs taking up space there.

Before:

It was a formidable task, indeed. It took several weekends (and weeknights), and the ordering and purchasing of many various tools and supplies. Some, very specialized items.

I started by stripping the chair. This mainly just involved a tack remover, and pliers for some of the more stubborn tacks. This thing had a bazillion tacks in it.

There is a padded roll in the front of the cushion, to help keep its shape, which I removed and reused.

The filling is Ginger or Coconut Coir, which I saved. 

The springs looked ok, so I saved them.

I suspect that the complete label inside reads, "G. Buehler & Co., manufacturer of Parlor Furniture Frames, Allentown, Pa." I would not be surprised if it came from this Buehler. It makes sense, considering the location and timeframe. 

The pile of old webbing, and all the other materials that I pulled off the chair was extremely dusty, dirty, and disintegrating.  I discarded most of it.

The back was also webbed and padded.

Luckily, the frame was solid. I did not want to strip and refinish the wood. I just cleaned it, and filled the tack holes with wood filler. I wasn't sure what to clean it with, so I tried a couple of things: 1) Denatured alcohol, and 2) Mineral spirits, and I used a fine grade of steel wool. I still can't tell which is better. I probably took some of the finish off, but it brightened up the wood considerably. There are lots of scrapes and scratches, but I don't mind. I will follow up some paste wax to polish and protect the piece.