whatcha-ma-call-it

I'm not even sure what you call these, or exactly what they are for. I always thought they were for crafts like knitting or even magazines. A place to store unfinished projects and keep them nearby.

the 'before' picture

I found this one at the Thrift store with big plans to replace the original fabric. I would work out a pattern and recover every one of these that I came across in a funky new fabric to give it new life. I was on a mission. A mission to rid homes of these ugly whatcha-ma-call-its.

I brought two of them home and cut the fabric off ever so carefully so that I could use it as a pattern.

Then I got to work.

I sewed all the pieces I could by machine, but then I couldn't get the wooden rods apart so I had to sew the rest in place by hand. So it sat. For weeks. Waiting for me to finish it. I'm not a big fan at hand sewing (unless it's decorative stitches) but I finally finished it the other day.

This was a real pain in my behind to do so I've given up on my big plans. 
Sorry folks, you'll have to rid the world of ugliness yourselves.
I have an extra one of these if anyone needs one!
Oh, and can anyone tell me what it is actually for??