Monday afternoon round-up
A few short ends here, since I’ve been up to my ears all day…
Thanks to reader Bryan M. for tipping me to an update in the West Memphis Three case. The site has a clickable list of the coverage from the writ filing, and also there’s a press-conference video, which I’m looking forward to watching because profiling godfather John Douglas is presenting. I hope it’s good news. It sounds so promising, but this entire case has defied good sense from day one so I’m afraid to get my hopes up.
A TN reader would like your help in locating and/or photographing a hunk of Shea Stadium. His dad helped to build it, and left his family’s initials in the steel; can you help him out?
The furniture slipcovers from Stretch and Cover.com actually do what they purport to, to wit: stretch, and cover. CORRECTLY. It is a November miracle, my friends. I have a barrel chair that six Bunting cats have clawed over the years, to the point where the arms have sprung and the stuffing isn’t even coming out — it’s just gone. I didn’t want to just chuck the chair, because I acknowledge that it’s dumb to get sentimental about furniture, but I am what I am. But I didn’t want to pay a few hundred bucks for a refurbishing job either, because I didn’t think it could even be done (they’d probably have to rebuild the chair from scratch, which, what’s the point), and the cats would just claw the new version all to hell anyway. I hadn’t had much luck with slipcovers in the past because they never seem to fit quite right, but I figured, I’ll try one more type and then give up. Well, these babies fit like a dream. Good range of colors, the kit included with the cover to customize the fit really helps — if you’re at your wits’ end with a couch or armchair, give them a try. $90 including shipping/tax for a medium-sized armchair cover, and more than worth every penny.
Tags: city living feline fun times home 'n' garden news retail
How is the cover as far as fur is concerned? We have a very sheddy dog who has made our black futon cover disgusting. I think just a lighter color would help, but also something that’s not canvas as well. The futon covers on the website are cute and only $29.
How familiar are you with the WM3 case? The most shocking thing I’ve seen come out of this yet is Crazy Mofo John Mark Byers stepping forward to APOLOGIZE and extend his support to Damien, et al. The hell? Source: http://wm3.org/live/newsevents/newsitem.php?news_Id=174
I started watching the press conference over my lunchbreak the other day. This case has been SO mangled, it’s unbelievable.
I’m actually not sure what the deal is as far as washing the covers goes; it probably depends on the fabric. The one I got is a sort of veloury thing which doesn’t seem to have attracted a ton of cat hair so far, but regular lint-rolling of the furniture is always on my to-do list, so…
I hope Stretch and Cover’s stuff does better than Surefit’s. I bought the stretch pique’ (where IS the accent key, anyway? That looks like my furniture was peeved.) and “stretch”…not so much. More like a botched facelift. I’m forever tucking and growling and yanking.
Wait a minute…BRAD PITT is playing Byers, and yet it’s “based on facts”? If they’re going for a factual approach, wouldn’t Terry O’Quinn be a better choice? Is Boxcar Willie still alive?
Sorry, I was distracted by a shiny non-point-of-the-discussion object, there.
The shoddy “police” “work” in West Memphis is not exactly shocking. What is shocking is that there aren’t more of these cases, especially in places like Alabama and Georgia. Depending on which racial/socioeconomic axe the local PTB have to grind, the cops can always find a scapegoat (or a whole herd of them) of any race or color. In SW Georgia, for instance, it’s keeping the locals happy tends to mean that whites are generally going to be held responsible for whatever happens. The reverse is true elsewhere.
I’m so glad you wrote about that slipcover website. It actually makes slipcovers small enough for my old-fashioned chair! Which may not seem exciting, but I love that chair, even though it’s totally worn out and my two cats have shredded the arms. It’s the perfect size for me to curl up in and read (usually with at least one cat crowded in), and all the chairs I see when I look for a new one are huge and ugly. I haven’t been able to find a slipcover for it either since most slipcovers are made for the same huge, ugly chairs. So you totally made my day by helping me find a slipcover for it. It makes me laugh too, because I bought a roomba back when you got yours after reading about it here.
…speaking of slipcovers, has anyone found a relatively cheap cover for the ubiquitous Ikea “Klippan” two-seater? A furniture icon that defies regular loveseat covers. I found one company a while back that made them in a great range of fabrics but they cost more than the couch did originally, so – no.
Siobhan – Ikea sells Klippan slipcovers in about 10 different fabrics; prices range from $19 to $69. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00105894
@Go Amie – thanks, and sorry! I should have specified that I was looking for a colour a little more subtle than those offered by Ikea ;-) What I want is a chocolate brown or a grey or a red that’s not fire engine.
Siobhan – gotcha! Could you maybe buy the “natural” one (conveniently the cheapest) and dye it, or have it dyed? It’s cotton, so it should dye nicely.
Or buy it, and buy some of the fabric you want, and have a seamstress or tailor reproduce the cover for you? If you live near a university with a fashion design program you could probably get a student to do it quite inexpensively.
Good luck.
How is your Stretch & Cover slipcover holding up? We’d like to buy them to cover up what our cats have done, but fear that their cat claws are going to snag them in no time at all, especially when they start zooming or kneading or stretching. Would love to hear your thoughts as we could use a March miracle.
It still looks great. That chair is no longer one of their preferred clawing spots, but they do like to sleep in it (by which I mean that the Hobe likes to sleep *in* it, and Joe likes to sleep…on top of the Hobe; poor Hobe), and it’s really easy to lint-roll.