Pinterest Pillow

I'm the kind of crafter who knows what I like when I see it. I may have only a rough idea of the kind of fabric or size of project I want to begin before I start poking around my stash of materials or cruising online for something to buy. Pinterest is a fantastic place to browse for things that appeal and that I may want to copy somehow. This bolster pillow is one example. I saw a bolster on Pinterest made from wide stripes of floral fabrics that all had a white background...orange on white, yellow on white, light green on white. The image rolled around in my head for awhile, and now it sits on my bed. I used stripes in two widths, but all patterns from Anna Maria Horner. The pillow reverses to denim with home-made bias binding in the floral Loulouthi patterns I consider the focal fabric.

Guerrilla Sewing

Now that I have my school days free, I am relishing the potential to be productive. I can sew for a good long stretch and keep the laundry clean; I can work a little in the yard and get birthday cards mailed to folks on time. I have noticed, though, that I tend to spend more time than I planned on whatever the first job of each day is. So, I'm experimenting with pre-planning at least the sewing projects coming up. I have made a master list of the items I think I'll need for the next Market at the Square and scheduled what day I'll sew what items. To keep things balanced, some days are set aside for sewing for my own house. Some days are completely open and may include no sewing at all. And some days are for "just because you brought it up" projects. For example, I heard from my mom that my sister might be interested in a tooth fairy pillow for her kids. She didn't ask me for one officially, and may only have been chatting, but no matter. With my projects organized, I can mix-it-up and enjoy getting to some of those "maybe someday" projects. Now the pillow is mailed off unannounced. It was fun to make, and I think I'll make more. But first I'll put them on the calendar.

Moms Day Craft Fair

Meet me this Saturday at the U of I's Moms Day Craft Fair. From 10am to 5pm, over one hundred vendors will display their wares in the ballrooms of the Illini Union. Since it has been awhile since I had a booth at a craft fair or farmers' market, I stuck tape to the floor of my house in the appropriate dimensions and installed a mock booth. I still have a few tweaks to make to the booth, including new matching tablecloths, and then I can load up. I plan to have a good time Saturday.

Safety Leash

My sister knows a lady who has had her purse stolen out of her shopping cart. She asked me to make a leash for her purse, really just a long keychain with hardware for hooking and unhooking. Made in a bright pattern so you can find it quickly in your purse when you arrive in the store, you simply buckle the handle of your purse to the shopping cart. If someone tries to stroll by and help themselves to your bag, they will also have to sneak off with your cart, your bag of apples and the roasted deli chicken for dinner tonight. I made several purse leashes. They go in the mail today so the woman with this fabric security idea can give them to her friends.