Almost there!

Second coat of Liquid Gold. Foam block, calico seat cover and seat fabric in place.

Just the back and underside to do and there will be no more photos of chairs, I promise. (Until I find my next 'project' in the street!)

Blue chair then and now.

Cracking on!

Got a lot more done on the chair yesterday. Got all the tacks out except for the stubborn ones in the hard wood corners; sanded down the wood (my least favourite bit) and applied the Liquid Gold; cut the seat foam to size and put the wadding, the calico layer and the fabric on the front face of the chair back.

My new favourite person is the lady in the foam shop at Fiveways who advised me to put a bread knife in the freezer, have a glass of wine and then cut the foam with the bread knife. I had beer instead of wine but it still worked!

The Blue Chair in progress

On new year's day I found a decrepit chair in the street but decided that it would make a great upcycling project. The arms are really lovely and I'm sure it could be totally transformed.

It's been sitting there ever since and I've been putting off starting on it as once I start something I'll steam ahead until it's finished. Now I'm two days into taking it apart, it's much more complicated than any of the furniture I've tackle before.

Day one I began prising the old leather cover off but, typically of me, without the right tools. It was firmly held in place with lots of rusty old tacks and I was using a fish knife to prise them off! I'm sure it's no surprise to hear that I eventually had to stop as my fingers were cut to pieces and my hands bruised.

A day in between for recovery and the purchase of a proper tack removing tool, and I started again. Easier than it was, but still a tough job.

The leather of the seat and back just would not budge, I pulled it it tore and eventually the culprit popped out – this little plastic figure which had been wedged down the back of the charm between the timbers! (See how he's still gripping a piece of the seat foam in his determined hands!)

Now it's finally stripped down and the arms have had their first sanding. The next stage is a bit more sanding and them some Liquid Gold to restore the wood. Once that's dry I will be able to move on to the upholstery.

One for craft fanatics. Otherwise, nothing for you here – look away now.

Last week at one of my regular markets, I unearthed this trashed 1950s blue satin dress.

I've no idea what on earth has happened to it, but the damage is akin to a cat sliding down a pair of curtains with its claws out. The front is ripped to shreds and the zip has been taken out of the back, leaving very little holding it together, but there were two glorious, sequin-encrusted, large patch pockets which I was able to get off in the nearest café using my Swiss Army knife keyring!

I'd originally thought about making a bag by sewing the two pockets together, but then decided a bit of garment customising was the order of the day. I found this heavy cotton sweatshirt dress in a sale, and not only is the sportswear-glam mix a tried and tested one, but the grey of the dress picks up the silver of the sequins and is much easier than trying to match that tricky blue.