Wednesday, November 07, 2007

The Rectangle That Became a Pillow

Back in 2001 I stitched Lizzie Kate's Welcome Sit Stay. It's a cute design. I had planned to make it into a banner but the fact of the matter is that while I see things and I automatically think "oh I can make that into a pillow or a banner". I tend to forget that I can't sew!

Like for instance we salvaged some patio chairs from a dumpster. I am not a sewer -period. But in my delusional state of mind my first thought is "after we paint them I can make cushions for them". My first thought is never to buy cushions but to make them even though I don't know how to sew. So now that we are clear on the lack of sewing skilz 'round these parts, I decided to make Welcome Sit Stay into a pillow for my almost two year old buddy John. I found some fabric and sewed the stitching to the backing fabric, by hand:

Extra points for moi as I remembered to leave a little section unsewed so I can stuff the thing. We will not go into how many times I have sewed pillows together but forgot about that whole stuffing thing. Below you can see the backing fabric:


And here's the front:


Cute, no?



And here's the finished pillow sitting on my plastic front porch chair, my poor wicker has seen better days. We'll also ignore that the porch needed to be swept and two neighbors kept giving me strange looks as I moved the photo shoot to the front yard instead of in the back. They already know I'm a little "odd" anyway.


Now for the weaker aspects of my sewing:


Here's my whip stitch closing, not too bad. But below you will see the mistake I continue to make time and again:







I trim the fabric way too close to the sewing every flipping time. See why I don't participate in a lot of swaps? I won't even tell you how many ornaments I've had to restitch at the last minute because I cut too close. Now you all know why I procrastinate the sewing thing. But you know what?



My little buddy loves his pillow. This was what he did first thing. Run to the couch and plop down on his pillow.





This is what it's all about. Believe me there was a time when I would have cringed at anything stitched being chewed on, thrown around, but this little guy, he loves his pillow. It's got a puppy, he loves puppies. It's got a fire hydrant for good ol' little boy gross out stuff, a dog bone and a dog house and a heart for "I love you". Everything a little boy needs.
And the best part? He has no clue that I cut the fabric too close to the stitching.







9 comments:

Sharon said...

Melissa, it came out so nice and I am so happy to see a picture of John. What a handsome little boy, look how he loves that pillow. Great job. I know what you mean, to me its better to be well loved and worn then be left alone and preserved, Well you know what I mean. xoxox

Mindi said...

Best Finish Ever! That's all I have to say. Its perfect, and all that matters is your buddy loves it and you had fun making it and giving the gift.

Anonymous said...

The recipient loves it, and that's all that matters! It's adorable and already so well loved. Sounds like perfection to me!

Anonymous said...

Well, John loving that pillow is better than any blue ribbon a judge could give you, to show how wonderful it is. Great job!! John's a cutie, too. :)

Meari said...

Good job on the pillow. That's the great thing about kids... They never notice flaws. He loves it, so it's all good! :)

Anonymous said...

It's so adorable. :o)

I have to commiserate with the cutting too close even though you know better from experience. It's a bad habit of mine, too. But it's all no harm, no foul, because it's cherished.

Christy said...

Very very cute! You did an excellent job! Great blog too!!

Tanya Willis Anderson said...

What a cutie patootie!! Your pillow is lovely.

I enjoy your blog!

Tanya

Edgar said...

That is a really cute pillow, and I will second the "better to be well loved than preserved!!" Keep up the good work!!