Pillow Talk

Hello! How's it going?

We're still covered in dust but are soooo happy with the way our new little rooms are turning out. If I can get up there with my camera today, I'll share some photos soon.

Despite the chaos, I've been working on pillow covers for some old pillows I had lying around (hence my new spring blog header). Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a slight obsession with making pillow covers. They're just so easy and can really transform your whole room. I think pillows are the best way to add color, pattern and texture without making a huge commitment to any of those things.

I had been scouring flickr looking for inspiration a few weeks ago (check my favorites to see what inspires me). I took the best of maybe three or four different designs and came up with these...

I added a little pleated border to the pinwheel-y pillow just for fun and to see what it would look like. I think I like the added texture.

These are meant to coordinate with my would-be quilt with embroidered flower centers. I imagine it will be a long, long time before I'm showing that one off on my blog.

But pillow covers are relatively quick and painless. I did some straight-line square quilting around the center of each pillow.

The little man is in love.

Just a cute shot of his feet. Boy needs a pedicure!

Come to think of it, so do I! 

What are you up to today?

Embroidery!

Good morning friends. I hope all is well with you.

I'm slowly but surely getting my groove back. Thanks in part to a little embroidery therapy.

I've been doing little bits of embroidery for the past two weeks. It feels so good to be doing this hand-work after so many years. I was a bit of an embroidery freak when I was 9 and 10 years old. I was the fastest and most dedicated cross-stitcher in the west and could whip up a Precious Moments wall hanging in a matter of hours. Ugh. The very thought of all that pastel prettiness. Yuck! My style has changed a lot since then but as soon as I picked up my tapestry needle, I felt like I was home again.

I'm starting out with some basic stitches... nothing too crazy here. I have this vision in my head for a quilt with embroidered blocks. Here is the start of my process.

I'm using a neutral linen as my base and created a template for the flower by enlarging the design from a craft punch I had lying around. The stitch is just a simple chain stitch. These blocks are 6.5" squares. 

The floss came from my beloved stash which quite literally was covered in dust. That's my lovely fourth-grade handwriting on the floss holders. As I was going through the box, I found a skein with the price tag still in tact. It was purchased at K-Mart for 17 cents, God knows when. I think the price of floss has doubled since then. Good thing I bought it when I did! :-) I guess my mom probably bought it. Thanks, mom!

My thought is to make up a bunch of these in different colors and add white sashing. I have something fun planned for the centers of the flowers and will share later. I think this project will take a lot of time but I love that I can sit in my jammies at the end of the day and mindlessly chain-stitch away. It's a nice break from all of my machine-sewing.

I thought I'd also share a couple of quick kid photos... moments that made me laugh in the last day or so.

Here's what I found when I woke up this morning...

Yes, that's a frying pan. My son very deliberately and purposefully arranged his cars and trains on it. 

And that's his sister in the corner of the shot. If Daniel only knew that Maddy was messing with his stuff. Oh boy! He'd go through the roof!

And this is what happens when I'm blogging...

I keep my recipe files in a drawer next to my desk and my daughter has really taken to pulling them out while mom is busy typing. Little stinker. 

I'm off to make a few more stitches while Daniel is at school and Maddy takes her morning nap. Then it's back to the daily grind of meal prep, dishes, toy pick-up, etc. Ah but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Happy Day to you all.