Sew Excited

Today I went shopping for upholstery fabric. I had picked it out a few weeks ago with my mother-in-law and as the sale ended this weekend, I thought I'd better get it purchased. We have a very comfortable well-worn armchair that has seen better days and she offered to help me recover it. But that's a project for another day. I guess that means a blog post for another day too.

As is often the case, I go into a crafting store for one project and get sidetracked into purchasing supplies for another. My daughter and I have been eying all those cute trendy aprons out there and I thought I'd pick up some fabric so that we could create one together. After finding some very cute fabric, I thought it just might make a cute table runner as well.

Isn't it darling? I love the fresh colors for spring and summer.



So in my usual creative mode, I had to get right to work. Never mind the dishes, I was on a mission. I tore strips of fabric in varying widths and then cut them all 17" wide. I actually have no idea how long it is. Just pieced it together in strips until I reached the right length. I knew I had some leftover white cotton for the backing. I was totally shocked that I had a piece leftover from a white smocked dress I had created ten years ago. The unbelievable part was that it was EXACTLY (no kidding!) the right length and one inch too wide.

Seriously. What are the odds?


So here's my super easy sewing project. It felt so good to sew again. I think I'm going to have to get back to more stitching.


While I was at it, I rearranged some of the stuff on the dresser. This was the old dresser I picked up and painted and am using as a sideboard in my eating area.

This is what it looked like late fall. I had just been thrifty and folded an old tablecloth into a tablerunner type thing. I loved the warm color addition then...




But I'm totally lovin' the fresh look of these prints now for spring and summer. Best of all, the project took me less than an hour. That's something to be excited about.

This post links up with Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special...


Have a great weekend!

Julia

Felted Pin Cushion

This is a fast little project I've been meaning to make for quite a while. Although the saucer of this teacup is missing, I thought it could be reused for a fun project. I need a little pincushion for my paper crafting and making it out of felted sweater scraps was a fun idea.



To make the pin cushion...

• form felt around a wad of polyester fill, sew into a firm ball that will fit into a teacup
• To make roses, cut 1.25" strips of felt. Roll and twist them into roses while tacking with a needle and thread.
• Tack your roses to the felt ball.
• Cut out leaf shapes from green felted wool. Stitch around roses.

I'm excited with my quirky little pin cushion. I use needles and all kinds of fancy pins in my paper crafting and this will be a fun way to store them with ease.

Have a beautiful day!

Julia

Nesting with a Sweater Pillow

While shopping a few weeks ago...sorry, don't remember where...I came across a gorgeous pillow that looked like it was made from a knitted panel. It was gorgeous and oh so cozy, but the price? $35 was way too rich for my blood. And then I thought...I can MAKE that.

Since I didn't own a sweater that I just wanted to chop up, off I went to a nearby thrift store. Now you know what I decided to do with one of those sweaters I bought the other day, the beautiful cotton knit one. I'm sure the employees were wondering why I was browsing through every single size they had! It really doesn't matter what size you buy. I ended up with an adult small that I picked up for $6. It was in great condition with no pilling. I love cotton and that is a good fibre to buy as it holds up well and works well for all seasons. Wool or wool blends would also be lovely. I'd probably stay away from acrylic though unless it's really not going to be used much as acrylic tends to pill. Here it is...

Sweater Pillow Tutorial



To create the "fabric" for my pillow cover, I trimmed off the bottom of the sweater just below the armpit of the top. This gave me a nice rectangular piece the perfect size for a lumbar style pillow. If you have a longer sweater you may be able to make a larger square pillow. Work around your particular material.


After turning the panel inside out, I stitched one seam with a straight stitch and then again along the seam edges with a zig zag to make it secure and prevent raveling. Turn back right side out and insert your pillow form. I was lucky to get a nice edge on this sweater and so I just hand stitched it closed.


Here it is...the quick project that took half an hour to do and the hand stitching was done in front of the tv. I love fun quick projects and I love how cozy this pillow is. The solid neutral color just highlights it's beautiful texture. Doesn't it look great on this chair? Leather can be a little cool sometimes and I love how it cozied it up.


If this post inspires you to try out a sweater pillow, leave me a link and a comment. I'd love to see what you've created!

This post links up with Kimba's DIY day...



Have a beautifully creative day!

Julia

Canvas Pillow

It's been a while since I've done much sewing except for on paper. I hit the fabric store the other day and had so much fun picking out some new material for some home dec projects. I thought I'd ease back into the swing of things with super easy projects. That fits the pace of my life these days and they are so cozy for fall. I'm nesting.





Why stick with one idea when you can combine two into one? I've also been wanting to try out the Avery Iron On transfer sheets so I picked some of those up as well and went to work. Here's my fall-themed pillow...





Of course, being thankful is mindset that is perfect for all year long so I may just use it all the time. I've written a tutorial for every thing creative about this project here.

Have a beautiful day, Julia