Carol, OH don't feel bad! It slipped my mind too, when I didn't have a proper machine to work on. No biggie, really! Yes, I could still use it! I do tend to buy his shirts bigger so they'll last longer, but he'll still fit into a size four shirt. I'll message you with my address here in just a minute. Diane and Suzie, WELL... OKAY. I'll look around for a used one. My birthday is in July, so I've got some time to look around before I TRULY decide what to do. Somehow the thought of a new machine with a bit of a warranty still sounds appealing to me tho, lol! I'll also go to our one and only fabric store and talk to the lady who runs it. Maybe I could get the Necci running well for te same amount or less than buying a new one. Diane, It's not a Kwik Sew book, durn it. I did one of those book club things, and finally finished out the contract. That gave me three books for free and this is one of them. Looks to be a good book tho! Simple shapes on the clothes. I ordered a book on sewing home decor items and one with a bunch of embroidery designs too... so I'll be busy once I get up and running proper. :) YEAH... I wish I lived nearer to you too, lol! Beth

Lucy, thanks for writing me off-group and giving me the heads up! (hope my reply was helpful) goodness, all these replies. Don't know why I wasn't getting them in my inbox. hm. Maybe my email program sees it as spam or something.... *off to check the manual* Thanks all for the kind words! I've had to stop awhile cuz the cord wore the skin off the *back* of my fingers. OWWWW! And bandaids seem to get stuck, so I'm just going to wait a week, then finish the next chair. My fingertips are just fine though (probably because I check my blood sugar about 10 times a day--super-thick calluses). Good thing I was using smooth nylon cord instead of that prickly hemp. shudder So I've decided to make cushions for the seat part too (as I get older, my butt gets sore faster! :-D). Out of the denim I'd tried using originally. Already has ties on it. Just needs backing and stuffing. I've been hanging out at the nearest Goodwill to get pillows I can use as stuffing. And Rhonda, yes, free is GREAT!!! penny saved and all that...

What I did was print out two blank calendar pages. (The job was estimated to take 6-8 weeks). I asked my GC for a general schedule. I then posted the calendar with those tasks written on the appropriate dates. The calendar pages were hung on the refridgerator door out in the garage. I had hired my own plumber, electrician, painter, flooring company and backsplash tile person. I met with my GC each morning (for maybe 5 minutes) and we would go over the schedule. At the end of each day I confirmed with him what the plan was for the next few days. We had ONE calendar that both of us used so that we were (almost) always on the same page. This worked out very well. Each of us always knew what was expected. The majority of stuff was done on schedule. The remodel took 7 weeks, and we had everything ripped to the studs, moved plumbing, TONS of electrical, cut in 2 new doors, covered 2 old doors, covered up the old window, cut in a new popped out window, tore out a soffit & raised the ceiling, raised a floor, and all of the other stuff involved in a major kitchen remodel. We've been "99% done" for about 2-3 weeks now. We're in the stage now just getting all of the little odds & ends done, and a few things fixed. Of course at this point, there's not such a rigid schedule because we're fully functional in our kitchen and my GC (as well as us) have taken some vacation time. But we should be done done in about 2 weeks. Anyhow, maybe you could insist on a calendar with your contractor - or his replacement. Then you will always be aware of what is going on and when... more than just "What are you going to do today?". Plus, he'll know what/when he's committed, in writing - might be a good way to cut through his excuses. Good luck!

Donna, I do not want to discourage you at all, but - Do you plan to have the chair recovered so you can sell it? The wooden parts should be cleaned up and sealed or waxed also. If you need someone else to do the work for you, and plan to sell it, I am pretty sure that the labor and materials would be more than you could get for the chair. I love to sew and work on old things, and decided to try re-upholstery a few years ago. It's very satisfying and fun, but I had to add several tools to the ones that I already had. I added those tools over time, and have used them several times since. A friend who works with me recently asked me to recover a chair that her husband found - at the side of the road! I think this pic is taken in a storage room at their house. I have since taken off the old finish with Howard 'Restor A Finish' and steel wool and the oak wood is gleaming now and beautiful. It's been finished in Howard 'Feed n Wax'. I've stripped off the many layers under the seat and filled in the hundreds of tack holes, so I'll have a good surface to staple the new fabric into. I may work on it a bit this weekend. Here is a before and after - I bought this chair for $25 with crumbling velvet and needing to be tightened and re-glued from the NH Craigslist in 2012. I stripped all the fabric and stuffing layers off it - that took quite a while. It had inlays of different woods, and I had to remove the original paint and finish under that paint, and re-finish the wood - Then I had to put padding, batting and new fabric on it once it was re-glued and sturdy. You can get remnants of great fabrics on eBay or at Joann Fabric inexpensively. From buying it in July, and working on it off and on on weekends, as I work full time, I finished in in September. Because this is a hobby for me, I don't charge much for my labor. I sold the chair for $250, as it was just a fun project for me. 10x what I paid for it, but certainly not a huge profit if I charged for labor. I love to see a piece that looks awful when I start it turn into a 'swan'. My advice for you is that if you think this is the type of project you'd have fun with, then by all means go for it! But depending on where you live, to have someone do it for you, I think it may cost you more than what the chair is worth. BUT, if you can do it yourself, perhaps with the help of a friend, and keep it for yourself, I promise you'll smile every time you look at your first chair re-do project!