PILLOWS LEAVE GILLYFLOWER COTTAGE

A while back I made a Burlap Subway Sign Lumbar Pillow for a friend who had just moved into Wauwatosa.  I also put a similar pillow into my Etsy shop, Gillyflower Cottage.  

It's a "Name Your City/Cottage/Lake/Family Name" pillow.  Anything goes, really.  You can read more about it here.

So here are two that were just ordered - one with a family name and one with a city name.  

They were so fun to make!  

1.  Just sew a narrow strip of fabric (I chose a striped brown linen) to a wider strip of burlap for the front of the pillow.  I have three shades of burlap to choose from on Etsy - Natural, Idaho Potato, and Oyster.  the fabric strip sewn to the burlap varies to go with the burlap color chosen.

2.  Then center your word(s) and stencil away using fabric paint and a stencil brush.

 I like to do a practice run on newspaper first so I'm sure to have it centered.  Then line it up with your pillow top and duplicate it on the fabric.  Don't forget to use a strip of masking/painters tape to keep your lettering even as you go across the pillow.

3.  Once you've stenciled the front, cut another piece of burlap the same size as the front.  Put right sides together and sew them together.  Since burlap likes to ravel, I also do a row of zigzag stitch around that to hold it all together nice and tight.  Don't forget to leave about a 10" opening for stuffing the pillow.  My pillows are custom sized so they don't fit standard pillow forms.  I fill them myself with loose acrylic fiberfill.  Just little bits at a time gives you a much more even filling.

4.  Then sew the opening closed, and use a thread of your choosing to do a whipstitch around the edge of the pillow.  The whipstitch is not necessary but gives a nice finishing touch to the pillow.  The size I list is 12" x 28" but these pillows were adjusted at the customers request to fit the name and spot where it will sit.

 Cool name for a city, isn't it?  Jamaica Plain!

 I do my hand whipstitching in a strand of jute to match the pillow.

And they're ready to go!

One more thing! 

I have two exciting posts coming up!  

One will feature a friend's brand new etsy shop - she has beautiful Subway Signs for the home. 

The other will be a giveaway for a $50 gift card to a great little place that features clothing, jewelry, and home items.  

More on both of those soon . . .

Thanks for stopping by!

PILLOWS FOR AUCTION

The school where I used to teach has an auction every year as a fundraiser.  There are some really great things auctioned off - trips, sports memorabilia, tickets to sporting events, art, kids' projects, and some home made items.   Today I'm just showing a couple of pillows that I'll be donating to the auction which is this coming weekend.  One is a pillow I showed a while back, and the other is loosely based on a pillow I saw in a shop in McKinney, Texas this past weekend.  

 First, the shop pillow shown above, which was selling for $85.00.  The pillow was made out of white felted wool, and the flowers out of pastel aqua and white felted wool.  

 My pillow is made of burlap (of course) with white felted wool for the flowers.

 I love the contrast in textures.

This pillow was done with Transfer Artist Paper on burlap.

Coming soon . . . pictures from our trip to Austin, Texas for the Livestrong Foundation's Ride for the Roses.  Also, some great pictures from my latest trip to My Favorite Room, in McKinney, Texas.

300 FOLLOWERS AND A WINNER!

Hello!  I just got home after being gone all day, checked my blog, and

VOILA!

I have hit the 300 follower mark, and that means it's time to draw a name for my burlap pillow giveaway.  So, I went to random.org and put in my numbers.  The winner is . . .

Di from North Carolina!

Congratulations Di!  As soon as we communicate and I can get your mailing address, your pillow (along with your lavender sachet) will be on its way to you!  Enjoy!  Also, thank you, thank you, to everyone who started following during the giveaway!  I hope you will continue to visit.
Now, on to 400 followers! 
When I hit that milestone I'll be giving away one of my original paintings.

That will be a while, so more on that later!

SO MUCH MORE THAN PUMPKINS

What a fun night - and it was about so much more than just making a fall craft.  My willing participants are a group of friends I've had for almost 30 years.  We had a great time making these pumpkins, encouraging each other along as we talked about our day, our families, and in some cases, stories from long ago.  We met when our kids were preschoolers and now those same kids are adults, about the same age we were when we first met. 

One of the songs we listened to while stitching away . . .

I'm sure lyrics like this helped with the reminiscing . . . "children get older . . . I'm getting older too".

Here are some photos of this rainy, fall night all nestled in with a pile of burlap, some thread, some sticks, and some wonderful, "old" friends!

 Ready and waiting!

Sometimes just a simple night with old friends, who know everything about you and love you anyway, is the best kind of night there is!

A complete tutorial for these pumpkins can be found on Martha Stewart's website where she used linen, silk, and velvet.  So, I may not be done making pumpkins . . .

Sharing this on Faded Charm's:
WHITE WEDNESDAY
and
THE LETTERED COTTAGE

BIRD PILLOW and MORE

I've been working on lots of pillows.  Some are finished and some are in the works.  Below is the bird pillow I spoke about in my previous post.  The bird is from the Graphics Fairy - printed, cut out, and ironed onto script background fabric that is described more below.  

Below is a  sampling of some other pillow tops that are sitting in my sewing room - waiting to be assembled.

 Another hare on burlap . . .

an "old" pumpkin label on burlap - perfect for Fall and Halloween . . .

 . . . a large crown on burlap . . .

 . . . a nest and bird on burlap . . .

 . . . and a small little hare on canvas.

All of the graphics are from - who else but the Graphics Fairy! 

The burlap bag with fabric roses is also in progress.  It was a frustrating sewing day, with broken needles and a lot of mistakes which led to a lot of seam ripping.  But, below are the fabrics that make up the bag.

 

 A Waverly fabric with French script.

 The fabric roses made of a green linen. . .

  . . . and the burlap in the background.

Will I ever run out of burlap? 

BURLAP ROSES, NESTS, AND BIRDS

Burlap roses, nests, and birds are everywhere.  They are popular motifs for pillows, bags, and all kinds of decorative items.  So, today I am going to start working on three things.  One with a burlap rose, one with a nest motif, and one with a bird.

First, some inspiration . . .

Nancy is an extremely creative blogger friend of mine and
has a great tutorial on this burlap bag:


Next, Pottery Barn once sold a beautiful "Nest Sentiment" lumbar pillow on their site for $49.  However, it is no longer available.  Hmmmm . . .

and last but not least . . . for the birds . . .

This first bird pillow is sold at Pottery Barn.

I would like to use a printout of one of my bird paintings for the pillow - probably my Brown Thrasher.  I painted him from a photo in a magazine I saw while sitting in a waiting room somewhere a while back.  The painting is in my Etsy shop, but why not get a little more mileage out of him?

Brown Thrasher from Birds and Blooms Magazine

This one is pretty too - I like the collage effect with the typography and crown in the background.

So that is my day.  I wouldn't be able to even THINK about doing any of this if I was still in the classroom.  I can't even describe how wonderful it feels to be able to make things to my heart's content!

 And yes, I am working on recovering the bergere chair I spoke about a few days ago.  However, our dinner party has been postponed for a bit.  Therefore, with the pressure off, it's on the back burner.  It IS sitting in my living room though - in a state of unfinishedness.  


This will get to me.  


Soon.

A PILLOW AND INSPIRATION

What a perfect day!  

I got a great kid-fix first thing this morning by reading to the 3 and 4 year olds at school.  Such enthusiasm oozes out of those little bodies!  If you ever want to lift your spirits, go volunteer at your local school.  Kids' zeal for life is contagious!  You can also have some very . . . interesting "conversations" with three year olds.   For example, one that transpired during our story about a lost mouse toy (names have been changed to protect the innocent):

Me:  "Where do you think the little mouse is hiding, Scott?"

Scott (3 years old) with hand in the air:  "I think my Grandma Mary is picking me up tonight . . ."

Me:  "Oh, I see.  But, where do you think the mouse might be?"

Scott:  " . . . or maybe it's my Grandma Joan . . . "

Me: "Do you think the mouse is in the barn?"

Scott: "No, it couldn't be Grandma Joan . . ."

etcetera . . . . 

Can't help but love them!

Anyway, then I came home and spent my time with Norma.  Then began to work on a pillow using some of that burlap which has taken over my house.  I used a graphic from the Graphics Fairy again.  This is one I keep going back to and finally figured out how I wanted to use it.  I started with Lesley Riley's Transfer Artist Paper.  You run it right through the printer and then, after cutting close to the edge of the design, just iron it on to your background fabric.  Remember to reverse any words you may be printing so they are readable when you iron them on.  This paper doesn't leave the "plastic-like shine" so many t-shirt transfer papers do.  It's a little more expensive - but worth it!

 Love the nubby-ness of burlap!

Then I rummaged through my Great Aunt Pearl's button box.  I inherited some beautiful, old buttons from her!

 These are the buttons I chose for the back closure of the pillow.  Mother-of-Pearl with a metal loop shank on the back.  They don't make them like this anymore!

 And a little decorative rectangle of fabric sewn under one of the buttons so the back isn't totally boring.

These close-ups show how this transfer paper picks up even small details.  And see, no shine!  If you've ever worked with different transfer papers before, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

 And, after slipping in a store-bought pillow form . . .

 it's finished!

While sewing away, I propped Norma up in the corner (thought she should hear it too) and listened to this for inspiration.  Unless I live to be 100, I  probably don't have enough years left to attain this level - but, a girl can dream . . . and this is Norma's (mine too)!  Imagine that!

This is

MAGNIFICENT!!!

Sharing on:
Today's Creative Blog

A NEW RECIPE AND A CORSAGE

All summer, people have been asking me, "So, how does it feel to be retired?"  I never knew how to answer because I ALWAYS had a summer!  Not only that, but I'm not really old enough to "retire".  (just had to get that in!)  But, anyway, this is the first day I really feel "retired" from teaching.  The school staff begins their week of meetings today.

AND I WON'T BE THERE!
(Being a teacher, I feel as if I'm really getting away with something by starting my sentences with a conjunction.  Therefore, I'm planning on doing it all the time now!  Because I can.)

So, what will I do with my first real day of retirement?  First of all I made just a little something out of some of that burlap I was talking about in yesterday's post.  And I do mean little.  This will not even begin to make a dent in all that burlap!  But, this is the sort of little thing that you just don't have time for when you're getting a classroom ready for a new year.  This is the sort of thing that goes on the back burner and usually never gets done.   So, what is it?  A corsage, of course!   Women sometimes wear a corsage to commemorate a special day and this IS a special day!

I followed a super easy little "frayed flower tutorial" at Maize Hutton's blog.  First, I cut a strip of burlap.  Then for contrast I cut a strip of fine tulle.  In the center I put a button from my collection that was handed down from my Great Aunt Pearl!  So, this is my own version of a flower brooch to wear today as I celebrate my freedom!

Then, speaking of "burners" - one of my missions now is to become a better cook.  So, I'll also be making a new recipe for dinner tonight: 

MARSALA CHICKEN WITH SAGE AND CREMINI MUSHROOMS.

So, I'm off to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients.

(Complete with fabric flower brooch clipped on my sweater!)

It's going to be a great day!