To the Upholstery Hostelry

I was out of town last weekend, so today was my first chance to see about getting a piano bench cushion made out of the Big Dotty fabric I finished up a few weeks back.

There are a couple of upholsterers in my part of town, but I settled on The Upholstery Shop, mostly because it had some good reviews on Yelp. Based on my experience so far, all those people were right, and I’m really glad I chose them.

Veronica, who helped me this morning, really listened to what I wanted and clearly explained some options. She came up with an ingenious solution for attaching a cushion that still allows for opening the lid to the storage area – a few thin straps running from the bottom of the cushion and under the lid, fastening with velcro. She suggested this when she noticed that there was a bit of clearance on the front and back edges when the lid is down. Genius!

We chose a green canvas fabric for the backing that matches the darker green in the fabric I knitted, and she’ll make a pillow with my giant swatch to match. Veronica really listened to my questions and answered them patiently. Oh, and her prices were very reasonable. She was a complete joy to work with. I wish more business transactions worked like this. I can’t wait to see them – stay tuned for the unveiling in a few weeks.

Since my last post, I haven’t been knitting regularly, but have managed to make a bit of progress on the second of the pair of  October Woodland Winter Mittens. I’d say I’m a little over halfway done with the body. I’m really liking the patterning on the back of this – perhaps more so than on the first. I especially like the little darker leaves along the cuff. But I’m going to have to quit dawdling if I want to get these finished up before October.