I Like Squishy Sofa Pillows

I could never understand the pillows that are sold for couches - they are usually so stiff! I guess they behave well. You put them somewhere on the couch and they stay there, all perky. Just try to rest your head on one, though, or put it behind your back. Ouch. So, most of the time I make my own pillows, and I don't stuff them completely full. I allow them to be relaxed. A trick I discovered, though, is to BUY pillows, open them up, take out most of their stuff, decorate them with embroidery or applique, and sew them back up. No leftover expensive decorator fabric! No bags of polyfill to buy. AND there is leftover stuffing for another project! What a good idea. The pillows in the picture were purchased at Shopko during a great sale. I did the described "surgery" and stitched on a few circles and some big rick rack "grass". They add a touch of color and have been used for some pretty nice cabin naps. Kind of like that Sandra lady on that cooking show (I think I have talked about her before)...semi-homemade. Jerilynn

Cozy!

We are at the cabin doing a few things to get ready for the big digger to come on Wednesday. We are putting a door from the living room walkout level to the soon-to-be new basement level. The door is going in the corner where the stairway to the sleeping level creates a nice little storage area. That was (is) basically our only "closet" and when we unloaded it to allow for the new door, I was amazed at the stuff we have accumulated over the past 3.5 years. A good purge will happen as we put stuff back, that is for sure. After that unloading project was done, I started to look around and decided I needed to take a few pictures of the "before" and got a bit nostalgic. Even though we have only owned the cabin a short time, it has been a cozy and fun retreat for us and family and friends. The above picture is a shot of the "master bedroom". Not very big. The side wall is just to the left of the nightstand with the red lamp. I am standing just inside the door, so you can see that there isn't much room for dancing! The quilt was a made-up pattern based on a quilt I had seen somewhere and decided that I could just piece together odd sizes of rectangles and then put a long strip on a border in between. I saw an fun movie a few years back, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and loved the colors in the movie! The soundtrack is great. If you are in a mood for a quirky movie, seek this one out. Anyway, what does this have to do with the quilt? Well, the Team Zissou outfit is a pretty blue with a red hat. Love that combo. When I went to make a quilt for the cabin, I dug around until I found some fabrics that gave me that combo. You can't really tell too much from the photo, but the curtains (made lined with the method I talked about a few days ago) are light turquoise blue with dots (of course). I used some of that in the quilt. The red with the dots is leftover from the bathroom curtains at the cabin, and the stripe is from the curtains in the guest room. The pictures on the wall are framed months from the Linnea Anderson poster calendars. Do you have a hard time throwing out calendars, too? What a great source of cheap art! You also can't see that the ceiling is a bit sloped. The curtains hide a direct view to the lake. In the remodel we are keeping our bedroom where it is, but the guest room, even smaller will become part of the room, housing a small closet and a bath. Not fancy, but still Cozy! Jerilynn

I love Wool Felt!

I am almost at the point where I could be happy just working with wool felt. The colors are pretty, stitches looks great whether they are machine embroidered, machine stitched, or hand stitched. No ravely raw edges. Maybe it is a throw back to childhood craft projects. Years ago I ordered some 100% wool felt from Martha Stewart's web store. I remember it came with some patterns for Christmas stockings. For the longest time I couldn't bring myself to cut into it - it was that beautiful. Well, I got over just looking at it and then started to look around because my stash was dwindling. I found the Wool Felt Central web site and they carry all the colors, and I also discovered that Sew Complete in Eau Claire also carry quite a few of the best colors. I was back in business! Even though the felt I am buying now is part wool, part rayon, it is still very fun to work with. The above little quilt I made for a quilt challenge. The theme was "Baby It's Cold Outside". It is made with appliqued squares sewn on with the blanket stitch in black thread. The snowflakes were embroidered on my embroidery machine. Big red rick rack is tucked between the two backgrounds (rick rack is also a favorite of mine - so cute!). It was a charity fund raiser and the little quilt went for a good amount of money! I was pleased and also pleased that I won viewer's choice. I guess maybe there are others out there that like felt and rick rack. I am working on a new wool felt project, and it is turning out great. I can't really show you a picture yet, because it may become published and I don't want to ruin the surprise! Just know that I am having fun with my big pile-o-felt and lots of colors of King Tut Superior Thread. I promise you will get to see the results soon. Jerilynn

Folkart Clothesline Tote Class Stars!

Look at those happy faces! This was the second half of the Folkart Clothesline Tote class. What a great group of talented women! I think I learned more from them and their ideas and suggestions than they learned from me. I loved how each tote turned out so differently and I loved all the different colors...as I have said before, my totes seem to look the same. I guess we are all drawn to our favorites. All of the ladies said they were going to make another tote after this one - I sure hope they send me a picture of them. I did buy some fabrics that were unlike I usually pick out to make a new tote, but I didn't get it done in time for the class. We have had quite a couple of weeks of family health issues with parents and that has taken priority. Knock on wood, but tomorrow looks pretty clear. Do you think I may be able to do some sewing machine therapy? I sure hope so. But, I had such a good time with the above ladies tonight and during the first class, that I will go to bed with a happy heart. Thank you to them! Jerilynn

Photoshop Elements Technique

This is our cabin "before". We are still waiting to start the digging for the basement and new foundation. We are trying to get a variance ruling...hopefully that will go through next week and hopefully the ground doesn't get covered with snow. The picture is a real picture of our cabin that I took into Photoshop Elements and used this tutorial http://www.photoshopcreativeelements.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2877

I have also done this with my daughter kayaking on the lake, and the result is quite fun. I printed this image out on heavy watercolor paper and framed it and have been asked if I drew the picture. This technique would make a good Christmas gift for someone, don't you think? Jerilynn

Penny Rug Sock

A request was sent out last fall by my oldest son and his wife for some Christmas stockings to hang on their new mantle at their new house. Of course I immediately thought "circles"! I made this stocking, then decided it might be too folkart-primitive for their taste. So, I made two other stockings out of red wool felt with cream circles stitched on with a blanket stitch, and their initials embroidered on the cuff. I sent this one along with the other stockings, too. I thought this might be cute anyway with a pine sprig in it on a door somewhere. I forgot to ask last year if it got used. Once you give something to someone, they can do whatever they want with it, but in the case of this stocking, if it isn't going to be used I may be a pushy mom/mil and ask for it back. Or, I could just keep quiet and make a new one for me. Yep. I think that is what I will do. Golden rule. Jerilynn

Zipper Ruffle Trimmed Big Bottom Bonnie Bag

The ruffle on the Big Bottom Bonnie Bag I made today didn't get too ruffled. I used a pretty thick metal zipper and two layers of fabric. When I stitched two lines of straight stitches to gather, I only got a wave look. I put a section of the ruffle on one side of the outside of the bag, and a zipped double pocket on the other. I lined it in a swirly yellow fabric (the lighting on these pictures is not to good) that looks good with the outside fabric. I may add a beaded zipper pull to the zipper tabs. I think I have some gold-colored lobster claw closures. We hung the curtains from yesterday and they look sharp. I forgot to bring my camera over to their house so you will just have to take me word for it. Jerilynn