I remembered a tip I saw on Erin's blog about using an inexpensive bed pillow to create two smaller pillow forms for throw pillows. So, over the weekend I picked up a 20 x 27 inch pillow for $2.50 at Wal*Mart. I found her post, but even when I re-read it, I managed to misunderstand ... and actually thought I could stitch twice through the middle of the pillow (I used a walking foot) and then cut it apart between the two rows of stitches to form two pillow forms.
I got about 1/3 of the way across the pillow before the needle broke in my sewing machine. I sent email to Erin asking if she had any tips and she very diplomatically replied, "Did you take the stuffing out first?"
Doh!
Last night, I picked out my stitching and opened up the pillow. The stuff inside is exactly the same as the bags of poly fill you can buy ... at less than 1/4 the price. Once I had unstuffed the pillow, I realized that I didn't have to use the icky fabric that the stuffing came in and that my new cat innards could be any shape.
Here's the shape I created from cotton muslin for my test kitty. It's about a foot tall and 8 inches wide, with a boxy bottom (in hopes that the softie will sit up nicely).
It's not the most visually interesting work-in-progress in the studio right now, but it's the one I can share for WIP Wednesday ... and since I cannot stop laughing at how I could misunderstand so completely, I thought some others might be amused, as well as pick up a great tip and remember to read those tips carefully :-)
Yesterday, I picked up the Cotton Robin quilt that I will be quilting and finishing. It's on my design wall now while I decide how it will be quilted. I also have my "separated at birth" center that I made as part of the Cotton Robin. It is similar to the one I sent out into the world to be added to and finished by others–I really want to finish it before my quilt comes home so I can enjoy seeing them side-by-side when it arrives. I did something like that a couple years ago (though I didn't finish my quilt until long after the cotton robin quilt came home). Here are those two quilts:
This year's quilts will be very different, but I hope they retain a little of the twin feeling, like these.
4 comments:
Reminds me of the time I tried to make two pillows out of one down bed pillow, using the same technique. I split the feathers evenly in half, and though I was able to sew through it, it still made a huge feathery mess when I cut it apart. I found cheaper down pillow forms to buy in MN--much easier and less messy.
LOL! I am with you! Our challenge this month in my fiber group was to make a block out of something non-traditional. Something other than fabric. What I found was that I can mess up a perfectly simple block in multiple mediums now. Go figure.
Hahaha! I would have done the same thing! Love those blocks, just gorgeous!
Love the twins! You are not alone, I would have tried sewing through the pillow too! Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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