Gaining On The Pillows!

Look! A post only four days after the last post! Something must be wrong.

No. I finally got my vision of pillows in check and have been moving forward with them.

For some reason the computer won't let me put this to the left, so I'm stuck with center.

The first picture is the second pillow top. I didn't end up quite with the plan I had. I was just so busy adding strips and making sure not to put all darks or all lights together I forgot what I was going to do. Until, that is, the very last little corner there. Oh well, it gives it a little more dimension. I put a straight border around the whole thing to give me more room to work with and to stabilize the edges, because those are bias cut. The border is a little "ruffle-y" but I think once I sew the back on it will work out fine.

The first pillow top needs to be enlarged, so I will add another row all around it to bring it into line with the size of the pillow forms.

So far I am pleased with how this is turning out. I always have worked better with an ad lib sort of plan. Hopefully, I won't screw up the final sewing of the pillow covers!

Two squares Become One!

Finally! No...FINALLY! I got one pillow top done. Not the whole pillow, but there is progress. I worked diligently on the top and then tried really hard to dive into the second one, but my back was not having any part of it. So I put everything away and covered up anything I didn't want the cat sleeping directly on, and went to bed. My inspiration seems to come at odd hours, like when I should really be eating dinner, or taking a shower, feeding my critters, whatever it is I want to avoid for some reason or another. Don't get me wrong, I get it all done, just not by a clock or schedule. It's a good thing no one has to count on me for something!

Yes, that is a hole there in one of the strips. I'm keeping it real here. I did keep the stains for the most part out as much as possible. There were, after all, my dad's work pants. Which he wore until he absolutely could not work anymore. And then they were his "puttering around" pants.

So, I have cut more strips from other pants. I have to decide how they will go together. I want to do a diagonal pattern of some sort. Maybe one side diagonal and the other side the strips going in a different direction. Like:

I have cut the strips in different widths, so it gives it some interest. We will see what comes of it. I have to get brave again and battle the back pain! I am inspired though!

After all this I have a pattern for an apron and the fabric I need for it. I want to make the one sister an apron. She wears one whenever she cooks. (Probably why her clothes are never stained!) Then I want to make a table runner for the other sister. Confused yet?

More to come. What do you think of my projects so far? I am not looking for compliments. I would like feed back. Your comments mean a lot to me and my growth as a sewist!

Happy Labor Day! I hope you all aren't laboring!

If all goes well, next week I need to bake some bread. I have a couple of yeast packets to use before they expire! I can't wait to smell the kitchen! Hee Hee!

What a difference (Almost) A Month Makes!

I'm still at those TWO squares! and my other sister's birthday is coming up!!! ARGH!
But so many things have pulled me away from my sewing room. Still a tad depressed, but things are better.
Who would have thought?
My former husband, who I have not been married to for several years needed a place to live, so, I rented him the loft in my house. I am not comfortable with having strangers in my home and I wanted to rent it. It's extra money and then I have someone here besides me just knocking around in this house. I never ever go up there, it has a spiral staircase and those are extremely hard on my knees and hips. I figured why not? Plus it helps to have someone around who is willing and fairly able to do some of the heavier work around the farm. We have been friends for years. There was just no reason to not be, after all, we share a family, and I adore his mom and dad, they love me, so instead of being the typical divorced couple, we have worked out a good relationship.
Besides, our adult daughter (who lives on my property)  has a boyfriend who seems to listen better to "dad", so things that have aggravated me are getting replaced with things that are more productive to my peaceful frame of mind!
Okay, well...since other things are getting done, not so much the things in my sewing room. The stuff that is getting done, is stuff that had gone by the wayside since the aforementioned boyfriend is listening now, and I have been catching up on other things that I struggled with because of my physical limitations, now that I have help.
My daughter and her boyfriend are spending a couple of days at his folks house to help out his disabled dad. She has promised when she gets back we will start organizing my house room by room. So I hope that in a few weeks, maybe less, I will be getting some sewing done.
The "boys" will be putting together a pallet barn for my horses, and fence in a smallish area for the horses to hang out in the winter. My poor old mare doesn't do well in the PNW winters. (She's a California girl!) Then they will be putting a roof on my chicken coop, so I don't play mud slip-n-slide when I go out to feed and clean the coop. There are other farm chores to be done, but I won't spring those on them until we get the critters taken care of.
Also, no pictures for now. I had to get a new computer, because the other one is tired and shuts down in the middle of stuff. I need to transfer the stuff from there to this new computer and then download what I have on my camera...actually, there really is nothing new to show!
Tomorrow I should be getting my farm truck back from the mechanic. I bought this truck and it had noises when I drove it. We did get to use it for a few farm type errands (like gathering pallets for the barn) When I bought it the woman told me it needed wheel bearings, so I was aware of the need for a fix up. I have now spent $5000 on buying and fixing it! It better be worth it! We do have a huge dump run to do since we are rebuilding the mobile that my daughter will be renting from me. I need to buy a trailer to do that more efficiently too. It never stops, ya know?
Okay, I have gone on and on. I'm sure you are bored with it. Next post, hopefully will have pictures, and pillows!!!

A Journey

A journey of a thousand stitches begins with the first two squares...let's see where this takes me!

It's been like getting my teeth pulled to make myself make those first cuts. It's ridiculous. There is nothing so important pending, I have no job, it takes all of a half an hour to do the animal feeding outside and five minutes max inside. I never get to my dishes until afternoon, heaven only knows why. I know I am depressed. Enough so that I am thinking that since I have to change doctors before September, I will get the one tagged as Geriatric and spill the beans to her. My last doctor's bedside manner sucked so bad, I told him nothing. NOTHING! I'm glad he is leaving his practice here and going to work in a hospital. There he won't have to form relationships with his patients. Okay, wait. This wasn't supposed to be about my medical woes.

Part of the problem with cutting this fabric is, because it's from my father's work jeans. I am making pillows from the jeans for my sisters and me. Cutting into the jean fabric is just hard. I know the fabric will be around and my dad is in my heart always. Why is it so hard to let go of it? Maybe it's because my one sister may not appreciate it as much as the other sister. (and me of course.) This first one is for the sister who will not appreciate it as much. I'm still doing it, because well, she needs our dad's pants in her house. Why not? 

The first pillow and maybe even the subsequent ones will be log cabin squares. I have 16" pillow forms already, so the only thing I need to do is sew them up. I'm not sure how the back is going to be done just yet. I'm thinking the fabric needs to be as heavy as the front. Then there is the question of should I put a zipper on it, but that seems like a pretty heavy thing to do. I could do the overlap in the back so the pillow cover could be washed if need be. (She doesn't have animals or kids, so the pillow wouldn't get too dirty soon.)

Well, the more I type, the less I sew. So, I'm going to close here and get some sewing and cutting done. I'll post a progress picture.