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Patchwork Pillow

I took the day off from work today. It's amazing what you can accomplish if you have four uninterrupted hours. This pillow actually went together really easily until the backing. I have issues with pillow backs for some reason.

I bought an Ava Rose Jolly Pack and just cut each square into quarters. I sewed together 25 4-square blocks and then sewed five of them into five rows. The top went together super fast.

Then the back. Oy. Last time I made a pillow I cut the two back pieces too narrow and I was determined not to do that again. And I didn't. I cut them both too short and out of a small piece of directional (Kitty toile) fabric. There was no salvaging it. I don't have a big stash of fabrics on hand but I did have a small piece of pale blue polka dot that was exactly the width of the top and a couple of inches longer.

I wanted to do a split back with a button closure but ended up just sewing the backing to the front with some rickrack trim and then sewed it shut. Let's hope I don't ever have to wash it. Actually before I stuffed the pillow I washed it in a little soapy/bleachy warm water to soften it up a bit.

Getting the rickrack lined up and not have the top stretch while sewing was tough! I was actually sweating while I was doing it. There was unsewing going on. Maybe some swearing. I'm telling you people – we are in the wrong business. We need to be in the pillow business..

I going to offer this one up for sale for $3000. I'll even throw in the damaged kitty toile.

Button Jar

Sweet Six Studio started up on September 2nd and I'm already behind! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday the ladies put up a new project and so far I've only made one.

My goal is to learn some new crafting techniques and to try new things – so even though the project may not be something I would ordinarily do I'm determined to do all of them.

The above is a supposed to be a bath salts jar but I loaded it up with buttons instead.

I'm not entirely thrilled with how it turned out. The example project was made with a larger jar and I think mine looks overly crowded with stuff. It also smells vaguely of green olives.

As always – I struggle with symmetry. Not everything needs to be symmetrical and yet I can't seem to stop trying to make it so. In fact somethings are definitely enhanced by a decided lack of symmetry. I'm working on it.

I also *really* need to work on my glue gun skills. Ouch.

Today I am going to work on a patchwork pillow – inspired by one that Alicia Paulson made this Summer, I bought a charm pack and now I need to go set up my sewing machine.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday.

Can you feel it in the air?

1. pumpkin field, 2. Autunno in collina, 3. orange umbrella, 4. Mid-Autumn Festival Lantern@Wanchai, 5. Door and Window – Memphis, TN, 6. Young At Heart, 7. S w i n g, 8. Autumn, 9. Autumn Ride !

Photos

One of my favorite things to find in an antique store is a stack of old candid photos. I love looking at all the details and trying to figure out what year the picture was taken, what was going on in the lives of the people in the photos.

I stumbled across the best website called Square America and it is a collection of old photos – exactly the kind I love best. The photos are sorted into different galleries that you can view as a slide show.

I have no idea how I managed to find this site – it was one of those down the rabbit hole type of searches.

Take the photo above – there is so much going on. It makes me very uneasy, looking at this picture. First of all that man in the background is so menacing. What is he lunging at? The poor kid next to him is just cringing. And the baby yowling in the woman's arms. That woman looks like she would like nothing better than to put that baby down and spend the afternoon at a day spa, being fussed and preened over.

Of course the man might just be tossing a stick for the dog to fetch and there isn't anything menacing at all.

What do you think? First day of school? Getting ready for church? I love their identical shoes and their identical postures. Do you think the one second from the left is unhappy because he got stuck with long sleeves and everyone else has short?

At first I though this next one was taken on a cold snowy day but then realized they aren't really dressed for snow. They must be standing on a sand dune. I bet they were on a road trip and stopped for the photo opportunity. Go check out the site – you will be entertained for hours.

English Peas

A week or so ago I was lamenting the lack of fresh peas in our area. I can remember, as a child, shelling them for my mother. Sitting at the kitchen table, bemoaning my fate that not only did I have to eat the disgusting things but I also had to shell them. Kind of like having to make the rope you are going to be hung with.

But in those days vegetables were boiled to within an inch of their lives so they ended up a mushy, tasteless mash. Then we were invited to a genuine British meal cooked by some genuine British colleagues of my Father's. One of the dishes was freshly shelled peas that were just lightly steamed. What an amazing difference.

So back to now where here in Northern California they just aren't common. You surely don't see them in the chain grocery stores – but even our more gourmet, smaller grocers don't seem to ever have them. So when I saw them today I pounced.

The sad thing is they are rather high in carbs so I'll only be able to partake in a few of them. I just have to figure out how long I should steam them.

Please excuse my son's dirty fingernails in the picture below. I made him come in for the money shot and he was in the middle of potting a stone cactus. I should encourage him to grow peas instead.

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