pillow talk

Oh, that Mother Nature. She's tricky. When I said I wasn't yet ready for autumn, I did not mean that I wanted a string of 90 degree days instead. But that's what we've got, so not much is happening around here. I hung some clothes on the line this morning and by the time I finished I felt like the top of my head was on fire. I vacuumed the family room, which resulted in a clean carpet but a dirty me. Sweaty pits! Yum!

No crafting today...just sitting on the couch watching tv and trying to stay cool. So I will share something I finished a couple of weeks ago:


I'm working on replacing all the throw pillows in our family room. After 4.5 years of being slept on, kicked around, used as breastfeeding supports, and just general wear, they are getting pretty worn out and faded. Two of our favorites are 24" pillows my mom made me to go in my first apartment after graduation...almost 10 years ago. Yeah, they have been well loved and given us all they can.

This is the first creation. It's based on the Love & a Little Lunacy pattern in this book. It's about 14.5" square. I used heat 'n bond lite for the appliques, then stitched around them by hand using some vintage dmc black embroidery thread (not floss...more like a pearl cotton, but not exactly). The top is quilted by machine around each square and each border, then sewn to the back (which is two overlapping flaps), and finally, bound like a quilt. I cannibalized the stuffing from one of the old dying pillows and made a muslin pillow form for the inside.

Fun! I look forward to making more in different patterns and sizes.