Hey y’all. I’ve been busy getting ready to leave for FL very early tomorrow morning, but I wanted to get one good post in before I left. I’ve got a couple more ready for this weekend so you’ll still see me around, and I’m hoping to take some awesome pictures to share while on vacation. 🙂
So a few weeks ago I wrote about my first sewing class at Joann Fabrics and Crafts. I can’t tell you how stinkin’ excited I am to be learning how to sew. Oh sure, before the classes I could do a little here and there, mainly a straight line, but now I really feel like I can do something. Scrappy Mom would be so proud if she could see me today. 🙂
In the first class, we learned how to make pillow cases and I made this one:
It will be going with me to Florida. 🙂
In Sewing 102, the pillow theme was continued and we made throw pillows using a pattern. Since my office/craft space is black, white and hot pink, I chose a bold black and white print fabric and a bright pink accent fabric. Here’s how it turned out:
We learned how to mark fabric, how to use a simple pattern (it was basically just a 14 inch square, but the pillow does have a flange so we had to be able to mark where to start and stop sewing and leave a hole to insert the pillow forms), and how to sew in a pillow form.
I gotta tell ya, in full honesty my pillow wasn’t the best in the class or even remotely perfect, but unless you get really close up and I show you where the seam went all squiggly when I was sewing in the pillow form or sewing each half of the pillow closed, you wouldn’t notice. I am so darn in love with this little thing. It sits in my new Ikea desk chair.
A few months ago I found some fabric that I wanted to make into pillows for our couch, but it wasn’t until I took Sewing 102 that I really felt I had the courage to make them so last weekend I went and bought the pillow forms. Last night, in the midst of all the packing and planning I had a whim and had to have the new pillows on our couch. I don’t know why. I just had to make them right then and there. So I did. Here’s the before picture of our living room:
(See the ugly geometric patterned pillows there? I absolutely loved them when I bought the couch and if you look closely you can see that I loved it so much, I bought the matching chair. Ah the days before I knew matchy, matchy was bad. Within the last few months I’ve started to hate that pattern. I want to recover the chair too. Anyone know of a place a girl can get a slipcover for a slipper chair?)
Also, can you tell I’m totally a mid-century modern girl at heart? The coffee table as well as the end tables you can’t see are original mid-mod Mersman coffee tables. I got them for FREE from a family member who had inherited them and didn’t want them. They need some serious love, and will definitely get it as soon as we can.
Anyway, back to the Pillowpalooza. I decided to make some new 18 inch throw pillows to replace them. Basically all I did was cut out an 18 and a half inch square, sew it up, leaving a hole to shove in an 18 inch pillow form and voila! Here’s a close up of the fabric, I just love the pattern:
I used a solid blue (the same fabric I used here) on the back to give it a little kick.
And here’s the finished product:
(Please ignore my socks on the floor and Scrappy Dog’s bone…only the best for y’all I swear!)
I know it’s not a huge change or anything, but it has given our living room a definite pick me up and it just seems fresher now.
I think I may be addicted to sewing now. I can’t wait to get started on more!
This post is partying at the following places (you can find links on the right hand sidebar):
Wicked Awesome Wednesday @ Handy Man, Crafty Woman
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
Hookin’ Up with House of Hepworths @ House of Hepworths
6 Comments
Christina, congrats on all the awesome sewing achievements! I totally understand the sudden “need” to sew something and get it done. 🙂
Love the black and pink combos, and most definitely dig that mid-mod coffee table!!
hiya love your cushion it turned out great , isnt sewing so addictive and satisfying too , i am visitng from handy man crafty woman and i am your newest follower too hope you can visit me too
xmaggiex
Looks great! Thanks for linking this up to our Wicked Awesome Wednesday link party.
The pillows look great! Love the fabric!
Nice blog! We might try to work a reference to this one into a blog post about where to buy pillows next week.
Pillows
very nice thank you so much =)