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Putting it all together7

Sewing new cushions

The Park Fire approaches our place. And flames can be seen from our house.

But the couch cushions are not ready. They are just pieces of foam and fabric. Of course, if we have to evacuate, the trailer will move without cushions.


This sewing machine was just given to me a few days ago. Thank you Kay! Kay teaches sewing, and has about a dozen sewing machines. As soon as I got it home, I removed it from its desk. The wood was not real wood and was in bad shape. Don't tell Kay, but I threw it away. I had bought some thread on the way home. I threaded up the bobbin. I noticed the machine was oiled, emaculate, and appeared to have been well taken care of. I made a thread spool post out of a wooden rod. It worked good. Plugged it in, and it purred to life, sewing perfectly. I did not have any test fabric laying around so I had used one of my socks. Now, one of my socks had a pretty zigzag pattern around the top. That is OK, I am a guy. I don't give a damn. Lifted the sewing foot off my sock, examined the tension, and loosened the tension on the top threads. About a half turn. And that was it! It was perfect.

You see, Mom taught me to sew before I was a teenager. Of course, being a guy, I do not bring up the subject, but I could hem and sew on buttons just fine. Being poor, our new genes sometimes started out long in the pant legs at the beginning of the school year and needed to be temporarily hemmed. No problem. Buttons were always popping off, and Mom had a large collection of assorted buttons, different colors and sizes. Buttons, no problem. Done in two minutes, cause Mom's machine was a table model and usually already set up.

When I was grown, I gave away my sewing machine. I gave it away to a lady that appreciated it. And to this day still uses it.

The old cushions were not designed for an RV. Any spilled drinks would run off the table, and be absorbed through a woven fabric and immediatly into the foam. A couple of times a drink has been left on the table as we have went down the road. Imagine that! The cup ending up on its side on the cushion. And quite empty. And then there was the time that Taffie peed on the cushion. WTF! I soaked the foam in water, then squeezed it out. Then soaked in water and squeezed out again. ...And again. But the real solution was to fix what the RV Company had failed to do: Design a cushion that was water proof on top, with breathable fabric on the sides.

It was pretty easy except for the zippers. One side of the zippers was vinyl and was elastic. The side was rigged fabric. Car has to be taken not to pull on the elastic side. Otherwise the zipper will be wavy.


One trick that identifies the sewer as a male is the use of paper stables. My Mom used pins for everything: She used them to hold her patterns to the fabric, and to hold hems at the right position. Here I am using stables to temporarily hold my lines. As I sew up to them, I remove them with an electronic tweaker screwdriver. There is a metal stable at the end of my fingernail.


Cushions in place. Fire is moving away. RV is ready to roll.


Bathroom looks ready to roll. I use clips to hold towels on the rods.


I love this soft foam matt. Easy on bare feet or socks, and it matches the white marble of the floors.


A lot of heat can come through the skylight. I use a reflectix panel.


The container on the right is a mixture of shampoos. The container-dispenser on the left is bodywash.




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