Book nook

I unabashedly confess to tackling the easiest item on my 2011 Lizard Lounge resolution project list first – a cushion for the window seat. Completing this project basically just involved shopping for upholstery fabric.

That’s kind of a no-brainer for me. My dad actually taught upholstery at the local community college until he retired. In addition to being familiar with terms like “welt” and “dust cloth”, trust me when I tell you that I’m also no stranger to the fabric store.

Growing up, my mother, steward extraordinaire of our family’s meager budget and a whiz at her Singer, sewed all of her own clothes, as well as most of my sister’s. She even made a few things for me. (Picture me in a homemade 1970s polyester leisure suit – just don’t picture it for too long…) As a result, I spent what seems like a goodly portion of my childhood in the fabric store.

Back then, fabric stores strictly sold fabric and other sewing necessities – none of that arts and crafts nonsense today’s fabric stores seem to be rife with, although arts and crafts stuff would have probably made my time there a little more interesting. Mama would spend what seemed like hours in Chandler’s or Brown’s, having Mr. Chandler or Dwight, Mrs. Brown’s son, cut a yard of dotted Swiss for a top and a yard-and-a-half of some knit or the other for a jacket, while my sister and I languished among the spools of thread and drawers of patterns, knowing better than to whine, “Mama, how much longer we gonna be here?”

I actually liked the big pattern drawers, filled with envelopes of printed patterns by companies named Butterick, Simplicity, and McCalls – pattern companies still going strong more than 40 years later. Besides the patterns of skirts and dresses, the finished product of which was pictured on the pattern envelope by illustrations of lithe, sylph-like women modeling the homemade fashion, there were also patterns for costumes or stuffed toys to rifle through. Mama never made us any of those things, but it was fun passing the time imagining dressing up like Frankenstein or a caveman for Halloween.

Anyway, after purchasing the proper yardage of the fabric (pictured) at Jo-Ann, one of those fabric-cum-craft stores I previously maligned (there just doesn’t seem to be places like Chandler’s and Brown’s around anymore – even Chandler’s and Brown’s aren’t around anymore), I delivered it to Richard Carter, owner of A&E Upholstery here in Winter Haven, a fine Christian businessman and artisan who also drives a big ol’ Harley. (The term “Christian Biker” may seem like an oxymoron, but there are “F.A.I.T.H. Riders” chapters everywhere and their goal of spreading God’s word to their bike-riding brothers and sisters is inspiring.) As you can see, he did a fine job, and my six-year-old window seat is finally a welcoming spot, perfect for reading or less cerebral activities – like napping.

However, finishing this project also reminds me of one thing: so much checklist – so few checkmarks.

But it’s a start. Here’s to a great 2011.