DOOR COUNTY LUMBAR PILLOW

Door County is one of our favorite spots to go in the summertime.  If you're not from Wisconsin or the Midwest, you may not be familiar with it.  It's a charming and quaint area filled with B&B's, restaurants, shops and cherry orchards.

We are especially fond of Door County because we spent our honeymoon there 23 years ago, and we continue to drive the 3 hours north every June to celebrate our day every year.  

I know a lot of people love this spot as much as we do.  So, I decided to make one of my "Name Your City/Burlap Lumbar Pillows" with the name of this great place on the front.  I went to the fabric store looking for a sturdy, colorful, and happy print - with one more qualification. 

It had to have cherries in the print!

So here's what I found.  I love it and I know I'll have to make one for myself as a reminder of our yearly trips to Door County.

The words "Door County" are printed with fabric ink, heat-set, then sewn onto a strip of the cherry print.  This lumbar pillow measures 12" x 16, which is a bit shorter than my Name-Your-City Lumbar Pillow.

 

The back of the pillow is made of the same cherry print and has an envelope closure.  I hand felted a Golden Rainier Cherry "button-ball" to hold the pillow casing closed.  I think that might be my favorite part of the pillow!  

The pillow looks pretty on the front AND the back!

So now I'm thinking, what other destinations have we enjoyed that I could print on a pillow like this? Fish Creek (in Door County)?  Sanibel Island?  McKinney?  The Whistling Swan (our honeymoon B&B)?  White Gull Inn (our new favorite)?  Suggestions?  I think the especially beautiful colors this fall have inspired me to sew more than ever!

Check out my new pillow at Gillyflower Cottage.

  

GRANDPARENT SUBWAY SIGN PILLOW

A few days ago I received a custom order for a Subway Sign Pillow.  

Normally, these pillows bear the name of a favorite city.  Subway Signs used for home decor are pretty popular right now, especially when they're personalized to fit your town or favorite spot.

But this was a request for a pillow with a different twist - a Subway Sign Pillow with a phrase that proclaims a very happy occasion - the birth of a new grandchild! 

  I've made 5 pillows with the striped linen strip, so that fabric is no longer available, but this one has a lovely turquoise/brown upholstery strip and I love the way it turned out.  The color and texture is a great contrast to the nubby, natural open weave of burlap.

 This was so fun to figure out and make, especially knowing the joy that is coming to this family any day now!

Custom orders can be taken at my Etsy shop:  Gillyflower Cottage.

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!