caterplillar's Profile

You probably can replace it with new leather, even with an old machine. There are different weights of leather, like pigskin or deer, and if it's not full-grain you can probably do it. Can your sewing machine handle sewing two or three layers of denim, like for making jeans? If it can, it can handle leather-- with the right needle! The leather needle is imperative, because it is actually sharp and punches through the leather, while regular needles tend to be a bit rounded and move the threads to the side. Try turning the needle by hand instead of using your presser foot, so that if the needle gets stuck it will be far less likely to break.

I LOVE those Japanese saws. They seriously make it so much easier for someone who is uncoordinated. I haven't ever successfully used a push saw, but man oh man it was easy with a pull saw. The fact that it has a handle like a knife and not a grip like the ones above makes a difference too.

My first thought upon seeing the old kitchen was, "Isn't that the house where Walter kept his prisoner in Breaking Bad?"

Beautifully done!

The first two honestly kind of remind me of Isengard and the tower of Sauron. I like it!

I hate clear plastic/acrylic/lucite chairs. Ever notice that nowhere on the internet is a picture of someone actually sitting in them? That's because even if you don't have back fat, you do when you sit in those! They make me think of hooker shoes, and sweaty hooker feet.

I also really hate stacks of books with items posed on top. Clearly you've never read those, nor are you going to! Leave the books to the rest of us who are actually going to read them!

@Heatherette, my husband and I started some Rangpur limes from seed over two years ago. It took them two months or so to germinate, and until this summer, each of the five only had one or two leaves. We kept watering them, though; then, this spring, we pulled them out and put them in fresh pots with citrus soil (it's a lot sandier, and we just got a bag of the mix from the store) and put them outside in direct sunlight. I think that they had fallen into dormancy and needed the sunlight and a week of 80º+ days to wake them back up. They now have five or six leaves each and are getting taller and thicker every day!

I know for key limes they like hot days and nights about 65º (we kept our house at 67º until recently), the way things are in Florida. Maybe that will help!

What is with the golden bananas lately? I've seen them everywhere!

It's not just that it needs rugs, I think, but rather that it could use some more fabric surfaces. The couch is the only thing that is upholstered--nothing else seems to be cushioned. In several ways, it makes me think not of minimalism, but of an art gallery, in that it has easily wiped surfaces, narrow legs on the furniture to make it easy to sweep under, and large expanses of white walls, not to mention the curated collections that are displayed!

It's not unattractive, but it's not a space that I would want to live in.

Not my style, but

I love the idea of wallpaper in the kitchen-- It's one of the few places, I feel, that it's more than acceptable to have it be FUN rather than serious.

That said, the only problem I have is that the 9th picture reminds me of the film Garden State, when Zach Braff puts on that shirt that matches the wallpaper. I think it's just the pattern itself, though, and not the fact that it's wallpaper.