Category: Projects

Candy Swirl Pillow

Quilting and Sewing

I’ve been promising myself time to sew for weeks, but have deferred it over and over again for housework.  After a frustrating experience last night I went to my sewing table not caring a whole lot about what the house looked like.

And this is what I made.


I’m calling it the candy swirl pillow because it reminds me a little of a huge lollipop, all wrapped up with bright colors.


This was a great scrap project.  I used lots of little strips of fabric from my scrap bin.  They’re sewn in a spiral on a natural linen pillow top.  The swirl finishes at just over 1/4 inch wide.


For the backing I used a piece of my favorite print from Pillow & Maxfield’s Whimsy collection.  I fell in love with this collection when I was making this baby quilt and later with this one.
I think it works well with the whimsical spiral on the front and with the general color scheme as well.


As usual, I inserted a zipper in the bottom seam because I hate to store pillows.  A few years ago I invested in some high quality down pillow forms so I simply unzip and change them whenever I want.


I love the texture in this pillow; the linen top with cotton back.  When I sewed the thin strip on to make the swirl I sewed only down one edge, so there’s a little lip there that also adds dimension.


The only problem is where to put it!  It looks great in every place I’ve tried.  I’m super-pleased with the outcome.  It really wasn’t difficult to make, although the ironing and pinning to some time.  If you’d like a tutorial, shout it out and I’ll post one.


Do you see the cute little gray number in back?  I made that, too.  It’s up next .

Hopeful Homemaker

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A flower and a cutie

Felt

I ran across a really cute tutorial the other day and decided to give it a try.


It’s a felt dahlia.  I have a few ideas for making some and decided to experiment with some basic pink felt I had.


The tutorial calls for glue and a lot of drying time.  I decided to try a lot of pins and my sewing machine.  I think the project turned out really cute, but I had to add a lot more petals to cover the stitches.  I like it, but I prefer the more open flower in the tutorial, so I think I’ll have to break down and use glue on my next one.


Meanwhile, my three year old is pleased as punch with it, and I loved the way she started tipping her head from side to side while I took pictures and she tried to ignore her biggest brother.








Yeah, she’s cute.

Hopeful Homemaker

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It’s a start.

Decorating



Three girls sleep in this room.  We store clothing for four girls in this room as well.

I’m sorry to say it, but we don’t often see the carpet in here, especially since all three of them are still in the stage of changing outfits five or six times a day.

While they were at school yesterday I decided to excavate.  We cleaned, scrubbed the walls, washed the bedding, etc.  Then I took everything off the walls and started fresh.  All I kept was the furniture, bedding and the vintage grandmother’s flower garden quilts at the foot of the beds.

I bought the pink and white lattice fabric for the curtains a year or more ago.  It’s finally up, and I love the strong geometric feel it adds.  I also love that it’s a different pink and doesn’t “match” the walls.


The vintage pink miniature roll-top desk I bought for my daughter when she turned three, I think.  I’m still so glad I scored it.

The mirror is actually one of two.  They’re vintage and I’ve had them in four different places in my bedroom over the past few years.  They’re taller than they look, but I hung them down behind the beds so they look just right.  I think they’ve found their permanent home.

The rose prints are also vintage, purchased a year ago at the thrift store for $2.  Surprisingly, the gold frames don’t bug me, and I love the way the robin’s egg blue mats work.  I raided my fabric stash to whip up two bed skirts (there’s another identical twin bed on the other side of the room) and the yellow and white chevron pillow also came from fabric in my stash.

Two walls are still bare and in need of help, but I have a few ideas and will see how things gel in the next few weeks.

Half of the room is now updated.  Not too shabby for a couple of hours and not a penny spent.    And I, for one, am relieved to have action follow inspiration .

What do you think?

Jennifer

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