Fall knitting yay! July 24, 2008

Around late July I usually get tried of summer knitting, and I’ve finally gotten there this year!  This year has convinced me of the supreme uselessness of short sleeved cardigans - they may be cute, but I am guaranteed to be freezing in the air conditioning.  And… I’ve finally gotten my yarn out of storage, as of yesterday, just in time for the Fall kniting magazines to come out!  First though, I’ve started a new cardigan, Tempest from Knitty.

Sorry for the lousy picture, but it’s rolling like mad.  I’m using Mountain Colors Bearfoot sock yarn, a fabulous mohair/wool blend that is just too nice for my feet!  This is coming out a little small, so I’m thinking about ripping the little bit I’ve got and starting over on a size larger needles (that comes out a little big, but I can knit a smaller size - because this pattern has such a great range that for once I’m not the smallest!)  I may also go ahead and knit a hem now, because I don’t want to pick it up later.  I’m also a little worried about the colors being crazy, but I do love them.  I’ve just never knitted a sweater with variegated yarn, even though this is subtle (it is two colors striped.)

First let’s talk about Knitscene, which I walked to the Knit Nook on a day when it hit 100 degrees to buy (such is my fall knitting dedication!)  I think it’s a fabulous issue - I have made several sweaters from previous Knitscene mags, but lately they had been leaving me cold.  This issue has 4 sweaters that I love!

The first is Connie’s Riding to Avalon.  I love lightweight hoodies, and I love button details.  The DK gauge isn’t too small, and I think it wants to be made from the indigo dk wool I have been hoarding for over a year now!  The 2nd is the Opulant Raglan, by Wendy Bernard.  I can’t wait for her book to come out this fall, her designs are always wearable!  I love the caftan dress, but I also cannot imagine how much stockinette that is, so unless I am gifted with a knitting machine I will pass.  The last is the bordeaux jacket, an adorable asymmetrical crocheted jacket.  I’m definitely making this, I can see wearing it often!

The next magazine to release a preview is Interweave Knits.  I have made so many things from this magazine, and I have really enjoyed it in the past year, but this issue is not really for me.  There are too many jackets that would not flatter me, and not enough fitted sweaters, and what is fitted is not my style.  I know the trend is towards larger knits, but this is not a trend that will work on me.  Having said that, the vests are adorable and will probably be knit (I love vests!) and I also really like Eunny’s stole (although I bet it is super boring to knit!)

Finally, Rowan has released Rowan magazine 44. I disliked 43 so much that I sold my copy after a week, but there are quite a few designs I like in the new magazine.  It has 3 stories, but one of those is just variations on the other 2.  I only like one of the other stories, Nostalgia, but I really love it.

Dear Rowan: This is what you should be doing.  Not all the crazy “Wood nymphs lounging around in giant tunics” patterns you have been publishing lately.  You should publish lovely detailed designs that flatter women.

I may be biased, as I try as much as possible to dress like it’s still the 1940s, but I want to knit every sweater from this story.  Kim Hargreaves will also be releasing two books this fall, and I am also very excited about those, although I have stalled on “Joy” again, and I’m not sure it will be finished.  I love the sweater, but the way the pattern is written is making me batty, and there are several others in Nectar that I want to make, including “Ripple,” now that I have my baby cashmerino back in my house.

Tonight we are priming the music room for paint (almost there, yay!) and I will be restarting tempest, unless I get tempted by something else.

The dog days of summer July 21, 2008

I’m so glad that we’ve moved into a house with central ac - the temperature has hovered around 100 degrees all week, thought it is raining today so I have hope that it will cool down a bit.  The heat makes it impossible to do anything outside, but inside I can set the temperature and pretend that it’s fall already (I’m dying to start my fall knitting… I need to find a copy of the new Knitscene, and I can’t wait for IK!)

Things that are keeping me sane through the house mess:

My coffeemaker (I love my coffee maker, a hamilton beach model that doesn’t have a pot - it keeps the coffee warm inside and you use a dispenser.)  And - socks in July!  I started this pair awhile ago, simple stockinette over 60 st with an eye of partridge heel.  The yarn is neopolitan by Yarn Pirate, and I can’t believe how nicely it is striping!  This is about the extent of the difficulty I can handle right now, although I am happy to announce that I now have a yarn closet!  Our bedroom has two closets, one  walk-in and one about the side you expect from an old house.  Marc is using the closet in the guest room so he won’t bother me in the mornings (he leaves much earlier than I do) so I get the small closet for yarn!  I’ve set up storage cubes in the main space of the closet, and as soon as I get the rest of my yarn back from storage (hopefully this week) it’s going to be exciting!

On the house front, I have begun my work with the parlor/music room.  This room has to be finished first so that we can move in my baby (grand.)  The first thing I did was remove the chair rail, which was attached with about 3 nails anyway.  Then I took down the curtains.  You may recall the curtains - huge floral monstrosities with a box valance that weighed more than I did.

The window in this room is over 5 feet wide, but you couldn’t tell with these babies in place.  The curtains apparently fell down at one point, so the POs nailed the box back in place using a plank of wood and three 6 inch long nails.  When we finally got that apart we saw that they were trying to cover up the damage to the drywall from the previous curtain failure.  That’s ok - I already have to patch from the old thermostat and a few places where the wallpaper bonded to the drywall.

I pulled the wallpaper down, which was thankfully easy - it was strippable vinyl, and left behind nothing but a lot of glue.  Right now we are engaged in scrubbing at all the walls trying to remove the glue, and once I’ve gotten as much as we can I’m going to cover the entire thing with Gardz sealer to prevent any residual glue from leaking through the paint.  There is a fair amount of drywall repair to be done as well, although thankfully no giant holes.  I cannot understand wallpaper - it’s so horrible to remove, not to mention that this paper was solid colored, leading people seeing the house to say “At least you don’t have wallpaper!”  Actually, there are 3 rooms with this same paper.  Must have been on sale.

The paper was applied right after the house was drywalled, so it’s roughly 20 years old.  It’s actually applied underneath all the trim in the room, as well as behind the bookshelves, although it was cut away behind the individual shelves.  I don’t like those bookshelves too much, but I’m keeping them because it looks like they cut into the drywall when they were building them (about 10 years ago, according to the records the owners left behind) and I’m not fixing that.  I’m trying to decide what color to paint the backs of the shelves.  Right now I’m leaning towards the same color as the wall, in order to minimize their impact, but I’m not totally set on that.  I would also consider painting the shelves themselves - they do not match the rest of the trim in the room, which bugs the heck out of me, and they aren’t made from a super nice wood or anything, although they are solid.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to help me out with my foyer dilemma - I am leaning towards an amber/gold color.  It does look great with the wood and the green - I’ve just always avoided yellow, but this isn’t really a yellow.  Plus it looks good with the berry color in the parlor (thank goodness I’ve not changed my mind on that color - it looks fabulous with the wood and with my piano!)  I’m wavering on the dining room, and now leaning towards a sapphire color.  The room gets such an incredible amount of light from the south that many colors look gray and chalky - but I’ve been leaving a set of sapphire colored prints in there while we work on the foyer, and they look amazing both in the light and against the wood.

In case you can’t tell, I’m having a great time.  I think, having grown up that way, that renovating houses is in my blood.  I hope the house is happy to have someone who cares about it again!

Thrifting July 4, 2008

I’m at home tonight, ignoring all the fireworks.  July 4th is my least favorite holiday - it involves picnics and sudden loud noises, two things which I don’t really enjoy (and yes, I know… everyone loves a picnic except me, but I have major bug phobia.)

Instead I have started the packing process (half our things are already packed away in storage, so it really isn’t too many boxes) and I’m still working on babette!

I still have lots of squares to go, and I’m starting to feel the need for another break… I don’t want to burn myself out.  I don’t think I ever before understood how long it takes to make a blanket, but you all have my respect now!  Maybe I will try working on Joy some more (I stopped because the denim was hurting my wrists and the pattern was hurting my brain… I wish more Rowan patterns had charts!)

Last weekend we visited Marc’s family, and we managed to hit some of the thrifts there.  For some reason they have better Goodwill stores there.  Ours, while cheaper, are always junky and overcrowded with poorly organized stuff.  I got some t-shirts for the upcoming home renovations (I always look for the strangest ones to get paint on) and I also found one of my favorite thrifted books ever.

It’s a sort of guidebook to being a wife, and while I suspect that even at the time of publication (1964)  it was outdated, I still think it’s super fun!  It has a whole chapter devoted to picking out furniture for your new home, and includes such admonitions as “make sure to get furniture large enough for your husband!”

The chapter on furniture arrangement helpfully shows you how to display way too many things over your sofa.

I think it’s funny that the random letters on the wall thing seems to have come back, and whose family didn’t have a giant key on the wall (mine did - and you could hang keys on it too!)  I seriously covet the sofa, even in a drawing.  Our sofa (see above) was reasonably priced, but it’s still too overstuffed for my taste.  Ah well - I had to get one large enough for my husband, right ladies?

The book has lists of things to outfit your kitchen, and a chapter on setting a nice table (tablescapes!)  It also contains a number of recipes, and the photos accompanying these are predictably bad, as they always are in these old books.  But the recipe below… even the nicest modern camera couldn’t make that look good.

Why yes… those are indeed brussles sprouts in a cranberry rice ring, why do you ask?

Still here! July 3, 2008

Yes, I am still here!  I’m even still knitting (well, crocheting) but I have been working almost exclusively on Babette.  I have finished 7 out of 10 sections.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t make for the most interesting photos, but I’m getting there!  It’s a good project for right now, because I find myself totally unable to focus on my other WIPs (I did finish the back of the Ocean Pearls Cardigan, but then I decided to take a break because I kept snagging the yarn.)

I really want to start the February Lady sweater, but I’m holding back until I finish something else.  Stress in my life always gives me startitis!

We close on the house next Friday (the 11th) so I’m in desperate packing/planning/list making mode.  The good news is that it looks like we have sold our condo, and for a better price than our first offer that fell through (contingent on the inspection, of course.)

I have made even more paint swatches, and I’m itching to stick them up in the house and live with them for awhile!  I also wanted to show a picture of our new (old) stove.

Sorry for the terrible photo, but it’s a Chambers stove (I usually tell people it’s like Rachael Ray’s stove and then they get it.)  It’s in working condition and needs only a few minor repairs - it belonged to Marc’s aunt and was cooked on every day up until a few months ago.  The finish is in great shape, and it’s obviously been very well cared for.  I have wanted one of these for a very long time (we had a retro stove like this at one point and I loved it,) so I’m happy to help keep it in the family!  It’s still in his Aunt’s house, so we will go up with a truck after we move in to pick it up (we will also be visiting the Cincinnati Ikea at that time… I have been making a list for that as well!)

Once we move in I will be able to show more.  My plan is to go room by room, starting with the parlor so that the piano can get moved in.   I’m so excited to get started!
And I promise… next post will contain actual photos of my WIPs!

World’s largest fan deck and inspiration. June 26, 2008

We have our closing date (July 11th) and now we have scheduled our movers (July 12th) so it’s all seeming very real!  In just a little over 2 weeks we will be in our new home.  Meanwhile, I have become slightly obsessed with decorating.  It’s funny, when we were looking at houses we would occasionally see one that was newly remodeled and I would think “Oh, I don’t want that… I want to choose my own kitchen/bath/flooring and I would never choose that!”  We ended up just where I wanted - with a house that needs very little structural work (just the attic, and that’s Marc’s domain.)  I get the fun job of choosing colors and fixtures without having to do major work. It’s possible that I used to really want to be an interior decorator.

It’s also possible that I got a bunch of paint samples and painted big pieces of foamcore board, even though it will be 2 weeks before I can stick them up in the new house.  I have learned my lesson about not seeing colors under artificial lighting after our current kitchen.  The colors from Left to right are for: Kitchen, above the chair rail in the foyer, dining room, below stair rail in the foyer, piano room, bathroom, master bedroom, guest bedroom, and the three colors to be used in the upstairs hallway, foyer, and living room (these areas are all open and will require some creative ideas in order to make it look like they are separate from each other.)

The kitchen color is not quite right, it’s a bit too flat looking and too minty.  I was inspired for a kelly green kitchen by Domino magazine, so I’m going to use the color they used, Direct Green by Sherwin Williams.

I’ve actually gotten quite a few paint colors from Domino.  The first pitcture below is the color I’m using for the bathroom (BM Waterfall,) and the 2nd is for the living room (that room is kind of dark, so it needs light colors, and this shows 2 rooms next to each other like mine, although I am not using the same color brown, mine is more gray/taupe.)

I like all my choices, although I’m going to try a few more colors for the piano room to decide whether I want to go more purple or more blue with the color.  That room (and the foyer) have coffered ceilings (see a similar example here) so I really need to see the colors up against the wood.  This is in fact a concern throughout - because the woodwork is natural in all the rooms except the kitchen and bathrooms, the colors look very different from the way they look up against the white woodwork you always see in magazines.

Painting is my favorite bit of decorating, because it makes the biggest immediate difference.

Ah well - right now I’m just playing, who knows what will happen after we move in!  Some of the colors are bound to change. I had a dream last night that it all fell through at the last minute, so I need to distract myself.

I hope the next 2 weeks pass quickly!  Once we move in I will be able to tackle my lists for each room and the exterior.  How I love crossing things off my list!

I have also been crocheting on both my cardigan and my blanket.  I hope to finish the blanket by the time we get the guest room set up (not until the attic is finished, so not for awhile.)  It looks great up against the lilac paint!

Stress June 22, 2008

You know how it is… you finally get one stress off your back (buying the house) and the next thing you know there are 50 more piling up on top of you.  In this case it’s work stress, so I can’t be specific, but I will say… I never have dealt well with confrontation.  I used to be really bad to cry when confronted with an angry person, but over time I’ve learned to at least delay the onset of my tears… but that doesn’t mean I like it, or that it doesn’t ruin my whole day.

Yes, I’m sensitive, I know… trust me when I say that being sensitive is generally not regarded as an asset.

This is my “Stress?  What stress?” yarn.  It’s Dream in Color Classy (worsted weight) in Happy Forest for the February Lady sweater. See, it even has “Happy” in the name! I decided that I loved the original so much that only a saturated green would do, and besides I only needed 3 skeins for my size.  The one on the right is clearly a little lighter, so I may need to alternate skeins.

Yesterday we had our home inspection.  The inspector loved the house, and only found a few small problems, all of which the sellers are going to address.  We also have an offer in on our condo, accepted pending inspection tomorrow(it’s a first time home buyer, so you never know how that’s going to go… the house we are buying had an earlier offer fall through because of lead paint, which is clearly a little nuts in a 110 year old house.)

I took a few more photos of the house while we were there, and I am so very excited.  We will be closing 3 days before my birthday!  I’m sure you’re all going to get very tired of seeing the house, but I’m so excited to get to work on it!

This is the main staircase with the foyer fireplace in the back.  This fireplace is what sold me on the house - how can you not love that beautiful green tile and the carving?  There are also original push button lights in here - I love them!

Looking into the backyard from the dining room.  You can kind of see how the floor in this room has a rug line.  Someday all these floors are getting refinished, but for now I will get a rug of my own!  I don’t care for this light fixture (it’s brass and won’t match my things) but it’s one of the nicer in the house.

This is 1/4 of the kitchen.  It’s really large (and I love that exposed brick!) The cabinets are ok, as are the counters.  Secretly I kind of like the kitchen.  I’m picturing it with bright walls and a black/white checkerboard floor (the current floor is really ugly vinyl tile.)  Our kitchen table is a silver formica table from the 50s, and our stove is a 1940s Chambers, so all together I think it could be cute.  Someday we may remodel, but I’m pleased.

The enormously fancy shower.  The floor in here is some pretty water damaged laminate, and the sink needs reglazing or replacing (I hate to replace the original sink.)  Even so, for an old house bathroom it’s fabulous (if not terrible period approprate.)

That’s enough boring my readers - there are lots more photos (with commentary) on my flickr account.

Crochet Vacation June 19, 2008

Yesterday I got this lovely bag of yarn in the mail.

In love with its beautiful metalic sheen, I immedately swatched.

And before I knew it, I had begun another project.

This is the Ocean Pearls Cardigan from the new Interweave Crochet.  The yarn is Garnstudio Cotton Viscose, and I love it.  It does split like mad, but so long as you’re careful to use a pretty blunt hook (I’m using a 3.5mm Addi hook) it isn’t too bad.  The bobbles are fun.  I’m still not sure if the size I’m making is coming out correctly, but I should know pretty soon.  It’s nice to have a break from tiny needles after the Printed Silk cardi!

I have more exciting news… another offer came through on the house we are buying (not on our house, still no offers) so we had to go ahead and remove out contingency or else lose the house (not happening after how hard we looked!)… so we will be moving sooner than I thought - sometime within the next month!  Of course, carrying both properties at once is no fun, but we can afford it for a bit, and maybe our place will sell easier once it is vacant. I checked a huge stack of books about old houses out of the library tonight, and I’ve started making lists  - I love my lists for moving!

I’ve also started up on Babette again.  These are the squares I’ve crocheted since finding out about the house on Sunday, minus about a few that were hiding when I took the photo.  I’ve decided it will go in the guest room, where I hope it looks nice with dark lilac walls!  I’ve completed through section 6 now (out of 10) so I’m getting closer!  I can’t stitch any more together until I get my stored yarn back because I accidentally left the seaming yarn there, but I can complete squares!

FO: Printed Silk Cardigan June 18, 2008

Pattern: Printed Silk Cardigan, Interweave Knits Spring 2008

Yarn: Frog Tree Pima Silk, a little over 7 skeins

Needles: US 2 and 1

Notes: I think it’s official that the Spring IK was my favorite issue ever.  This is my fourth knit from that issue, including the ill-fated hexacomb, and I plan to make several more eventually.  When the preview came out this was immediately my favorite sweater.  It ended up fourth in line because I really wanted to find the perfect yarn.  I ended up using the same yarn that Lolly used, and it really was nearly perfect for the pattern.

I knit the sweater at a slightly tighter gauge to end up with a 32″ bust, with the idea that it would stretch out eventually.  I’m very pleased with the fit, which is perfect after my half hearted blocking job (my blocking board is in storage, so it’s still a bit wrinkly and that one edge wants to curl.)  I added a turned hem so that the bottom wouldn’t roll, and I think it goes nicely with the rest of the sweater.  Upon reflection, the plain edge might not have been bad, but I’m happy.  I did my first tubular cast on for the sleeves, and while it was a major pain I love how they look.

The twisted stitches nearly killed me - this yarn is pretty splitty, so it was slow going.  I love how they look, but all things considered I think I would rather work with lace.  I used a lot less yarn than the pattern called for, probably a little bit because of my gauge, but I don’t think knitting to gauge on the 34″ size would have used up that much yarn either.  Maybe it’s the substitution I used, but I ended up wtih almost 2 balls left over, and I bought less yarn than called for in the pattern to start with.

I love the finished sweater - it’s an unusual color for me, and out of all my handknits it may look the most like something you would get in a store.  The pattern itself has lots of little touches that really give it a professional appearance.  It’s lightweight and perfect for every season except the dead of winter.  I definitely recommend giving this knit a try!

Learning from your knitting June 13, 2008

It’s safe to say that I’m a product knitter - I make things because I want to wear them, and I am not satisfied without a steady stream of FOs.  Even so, I won’t choose a project that contains elements that I know will drive me crazy - no stockinette sweaters in fingering weight for instance (at least not until Marc gets me the knitting machine I’ve asked for!)  Sometimes though… sometimes the love of a sweater will outweigh a technique I don’t enjoy.  I did not know before I started the Printed Silk cardigan that I don’t enjoy making twisted stitches.  I should have guessed, since I also don’t enjoy lots of small cables in a garment, and since I failed utterly making a pair of socks with twisted stitches (firestarter socks.)  But I didn’t, and I have now resorted to bribing myself with a new sweater’s worth of yarn in order to get it finished.

It’s going to be beautiful when it’s finished, but I still have one more piece with twisted stitches and one sleeve in 1×1 rib to go.  I’m a little worried about running out of yarn, since I can’t find one of the balls I bought… I hope it didn’t go into storage with my wintery yarns!

The current sweater of my obsession is the February Lady Sweater by Flint Knits.  Love this, and not just because it’s green!

I’m not sure what I want to knit it in… definitely a semi-solid I think, doesn’t garter stitch look fabulous in a semi-solid?  I’m trying to reign in the yarn budget right now, with the possibility of us having to carry 2 mortgages for a few months if our condo doesn’t sell soon… but then again, if we don’t move soon I’m going to use up the yarn I have here and have to buy more.  I’m thinking of using DIC Classy, although I think it is pricey.  I also thought of malabrigo, but to be honest I want something more durable - my malabrigo sweater is awfully fuzzy looking. Any other suggestions?

This sweater also reminded me of another that I wanted to make.. the Millie Cardigan from Vintage Crochet. There are a few cute finished sweaters on Ravelry, and they helped to revive my interest in this swing cardigan, which is another grown-up version of the baby sweater.

I would use ribbon instead of the fabric strips here, and I would downsize it significantly (it’s a 38″ in the small.)  It calls for Cashmerino Aran, but I’m not feeling that.  There’s a beautiful one done in Rowan Purelife on Ravelry.  I’m thinking of using a similar DK weight yarn to help with the downsizing - perhaps Blue Sky Skinny cotton?  There’s a soft blue color that I have been dying to use for something.  If I stick with an aran weight yarn I will go with a wool because cotton would be too heavy.

Continuing on the crochet vein, I got the Summer Interweave Crochet in the mail yesterday.  I am very pleased with this issue, which is great because the last 2 issues left me cold and I was thinking of dropping my subscription. It just proves again my theory… I love my winter and fall knits magazines and my spring/summer crochet.  There are some great projects here, many with an emphasis on filet crochet, something I have been interested in trying out.

I love the tiny row of buttons on the camisole, and the front is adorable as well.  I also love this stole, which solves one of my recent questions (”Why are crochet shawls always knit with chunky yarn when crochet makes a chunkier fabric to start with?”)  This is knit with 2 skeins of Helen’s Lace, but I would sub something cheaper (maybe gloss lace… wouldn’t that be lovely here in the nice mermaidy blue color?)  Although the size of the thing is intimidating, I have no idea how fast filet would go.

The pattern I’m most likely to start soon is this lovely cardigan.

It’s not the best photo, and I don’t think it looks good over that shirt, so here is a link to the designer wearing the sweater on Ravelry.  Yes, it is again that loose tied cardigan shape, although this one is not swingy.  I love the bobbles.  I secretly love crocheted bobbles, as long as there aren’t too many.  I think this is adorable.  It’s crocheted in GGH Mystik, a DK weight cotton/viscose blend that I think it stupid pricey for what it is.  I’m considering subbing either Garnstudio Cotton Viscose or Elann Luna.  Does anyone have any comment on either of those yarns?  I’m sure they will be splitty, as apparently GGH Mystik is, but I really want to keep the shine and drape of the viscose, so I can deal.

I wear my cardigans so much more than my pullovers - that’s why I make so many cardis.  I love to wear layers!

We had a showing this morning at 9 am, so I took Marc to work and brought Leon along for a ride.  Poor kitty… after being in the carrier at least once a day for 2 weeks he’s starting to look at me with deep suspicion.

He spends most of his time on the mantle, which for once is clear of stuff.  Perhaps he feels that he has a better chance of seeing me coming with the cage.  I had to take this photo because I thought he was so sweet with his tail hanging down!

Holding patterns June 9, 2008

I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again… knitting has not taught me patience the way that everyone assumes.  For instance, it seems as though the printed silk cardi is very slow to knit.

I’ve knit the left front, one sleeve, and half the back, so I’m about 50% done, although I’m just starting the diamond pattern on the back, and it seems like that’s going to be very slow.  I do really love the way it’s coming out though, so I will try to have more patience!  All that 1×1 rib on the sleeves really killed my wrists, although they are very nicely fitted!

I cannot work on the diamond pattern at work (too busy) so I started a pair of socks in plain stockinette.

This is Yarn Pirate sock in the Neopolitan colorway.  I bought it ages ago, but I was convinced that it would pool.  Fortunately it’s striping nicely, so I should have pretty ice cream colored socks!

This morning I sat with Leon for an hour at the coffee shop (we were outside) while the house was being shown.  There is another showing tonight, but I will be at work, so that’s Marc’s responsibility!   I’m trying to ignore negative feedback that isn’t helpful.  Our condo is laid out like a shotgun house, (I love the most of the photos on the wiki article are from Louisville!) which means that one of the bedrooms is a walkthrough from the front door.  This is a challenge, but it isn’t something we can change.

Patience again… I need some.  I know I’m a little crazy here, but if I am anything it’s a worrier!

Thanks for the feedback on my color choices!  I want to be clear that there are neutrals in the house, grays and various browns that you can see in the big fan of colors, I just didn’t photo them because they aren’t as interesting!  I’m still undecided on the chairs, but I’m waiting because I want to refinish the table they go with (it has multiple white spots, I think the finish was not so good.)