Took a crack at upholstery on the RTV yesterday, starting with the seat back. Found some nice cabinet plywood in the scrap pile, and not a hint of termites under the tarps this time. Insecticide soaking the ground must still be working. Used the old pieces for patterns, though some fudging was needed as not all the pieces were whole (some were mostly hole

. Even though the vinyl I purchased is about twice as thick as the original stuff, it still cut easily and was no problem to sew. At least the needle punched easily through the material; keeping it going down the seam lines I'd inked was another matter entirely. I now have a whole new respect for all those seamstresses out there that do this sort of thing at a hundred miles an hour! Things were going along nicely until the bobbin ran out, and even though I managed to wind another, it took me an hour to discover I'd missed a hole when I'd restrung the needle thread, almost causing me to give up for the day. In the process I also discovered that my sewing box has gone missing as well, and a top-to-bottom search of the house still left me empty handed. Talk about feeling senile, the threading error was right in front of my nose, and I've seen that box within the last week or so. Even have some vague memory of putting it someplace "safe" where "I'll be sure to find it". Sheesh.
Anyway, the cover came out better than I thought it would, though it's just a bit looser than I'd like. Sure looks nicer than what was there! Today I'll start in on the bottom part of the seat. No patterns this time, as someone replaced the factory one with a piece of canvas years ago. I think I learned enough on the first one to make some patterns of my own, but we shall see.