Valentine Pillow

 

Valentine Pillow

     I have a pillow on a chair in my family room that I like to change the cover on it for the different seasons.  I wanted one for Valentine's Day but still wanted it to match the room.

     I had gotten this embroidery pattern from Embroidery Library and thought it would be great to use for the pillow.  I embroidered it on an off-white linen like fabric using rust colored thread.

     Using pattern paper, I lightly traced the outline of the design.  I then folded the paper in half and drew a line one inch beyond it to create the pattern for the window in the pillow.

     I then cut a piece of muslin larger than the pattern.  Using some pattern adhesive spray, I placed the pattern on the muslin.  Then I used an erasable fabric marker to trace the pattern.

     I then pinned the muslin piece onto the right side of the pillow front in the center.  Using a small stitch I carefully sewed on the traced line.

     I trimmed away the inside of the heart, leaving about a 1/8" seam allowance.  I then turned the muslin to the inside and pressed and then pinned it in place.

     I then placed Wonder Tape all around the opening.  This would allow me to securely place the embroidery for stitching.

     After making sure the embroidery was in the proper place, I stitched close to the opening with matching thread.  Then I trimmed the muslin and embroidery, leaving about 3/4" beyond the stitching.

     I then serged a piece of lining to the back to hide all the ugly.  I constructed the pillow then in my usual manner, adding trim and a zipper.

Tooth Fairy Pillow Number 3

 

Number three grandchild has a loose tooth

     I got a text the other day that number 3 grandchild had a wiggly tooth and was it true that I had made tooth fairy pillows for the two older grandkids.  I said yes I had done couple and I could do one for MTB also.

Brown haired tooth fairy wearing jeans and a t-shirt

     I pulled out the instructions and pulled up the file, from DigiStitches (now part of Designs by JuJu) on my computer.  I added his name and went to work pulling out fabrics.  I know he likes blue and I thought it would be fun to put the little fairy in blue jeans and a t-shirt.

Denim pocket

     A few hours later I had his pillow all ready to give to him when I saw him that weekend.  I love being able to make things for my family.

Fall Table Runner and Napkins

 

     This is the last in the series of Christmas 2021 gifts blogs.  For my three children and and my college friend, I made table runners with matching napkins.  I thought this would be a fun way to decorate for the seasons/holidays without a lot of storage space needed.  I started with fall and will make a different set each year for Christmas.

     The pattern I chose was Fat Quarter Table Runner II from Out of the Blue.  I had made a few of these for myself and knew they were easy but fun.  The pattern calls for 4 fat quarters, backing fabric, binding fabric and batting.  

     I wanted napkins also to go with the runner.  After figuring out yardage, I bought 3 yards each of four coordinating fabrics.  I then cut four fat quarters from each fabric, four 18" x 18" squares for the napkins, and the rest was for the backing and binding.  On these fall ones, I bought a fifth fabric that I cut on the bias for the binding.  

     I matched the napkins to the center square.  I used the rolled hem on the serger with Wooly Nylon thread in one of the loopers to create the napkins.  The backing fabric also matches the center square.  It was a lot of fun making these.

     Check back next year for which holiday/season I make next.