Today: Thanksgiving - and finding a big enough mattress chunk out of my remaining fabric.
Well the home remodeling thing isn't a factor now. The kids had to replace a furnace instead. Happens to all of us at one time or another. Plans just have to change.
And today is a day for reflecting on the things that we are thankful for. I'm thankful that this year we're not putting on the event; nope, DD and her family are doing the thing. (Secret shout out to the Thanksgiving Gods!)
Hey! These things are big deals! And guys? Lend a hand for crying out loud! I remember childhood (and teens, and then early married years and even later) where everyone eats and then the guys disappear to the couch and my Mom (and ALWAYS DW) would be in putting stuff away and dishes and stuff. What is that? It always kind of torqued my fasteners to watch the theatrics.
In our home, DW is the chef, you know due to skills and stuff. But I can rinse a friggin' dish! And keep an eye on the trash! When are we going to wake up and realize how much easier life is when we can consider others over our own selfishness and laziness?
This ridiculous world system we've created for the power hungry to screw us all over, just so we can participate in our own "little levels of privilege" is kind of disgusting, and becoming more and more transparent. I can still see the after dinner newspaper up in front of Uncle Dan's fat face. Privilege! Bah.
So I'm Thankful for being born with an ability to see, and an upbringing to be familiar with, those times when I had to stand up for my Mother in a system like that. Thanks Mom! I'm a Thankful Son.
Course I never HAD to learn how to sew. I could have. I mostly didn't have the interest. Wood. That's me, a wood guy. But anyway, before I got further into this cushion thing I had to see how much fabric was left over for the mattress, right? Same stuff, at least on the top plate and the boxing. The bottom plate could be something different, and now will HAVE to be.
I placed the remaining down on a big floor and put the mattress on top. Wow! Barely! And I knew I'd have to seam the peak from the get-go, due to fabric widths.
With these two pieces of scrap I kind of planned out an "add-on".
Down on the cutting table I set in a square and trimmed it.
Then ran the butt seam in the middle of the peak.
You can see a bit-o-pull. Not exactly sure what that is, but the technical term MIGHT just be "learning curve" on my handling while it sews.
Then I pressed it out.
And got it back down on the big floor with the mattress. The instructional videos and things talk about using the mattress as a template for marking your cut line. I made the marks just a tad loose, but after seaming those edges in 1/2" all the way around I expect it will be compressing the mattress good, keeping the fabric tight enough.
Then you come in and join the points (of the mattress corners), with a straight edge; a new cut line. I also "compare measured" the marks, to the mattress, and adjusted sizing ever so slightly as I thought might benefit the overall install.
Then cut it all out.
Now I have enough fabric for both the mattress top plate, the front edge boxing, and likely the remaining boxing, maybe even enough for the zipper plaque on the front hidden peak edge.
But I don't have enough now for some planned bottom-plates on the dinette cushions like I had been thinking about doing, after telling you I wasn't.
So I still have the dinette cushion bottom plates and/or staple strips to decide. But at least I have enough for the mattress. I'm so glad I didn't cut more for the dinette and lose that size for the mattress.
And I'm Thankful for that too!
May you enjoy this special holiday season with your loved ones, and if you have to talk about that, do it with an eye of working together. ;)
