Pillow Talk Swap 5 . . . aka "the quickie"

Pillow Talk Swap 5 . . . aka "the quickie", originally uploaded by threedancingmagpies.

Here is the mosaic for round five. I also thought it might be helpful for you to see my thoughts around this swap since the beginning. I still love all the pillows in old mosaics, but those fav'd photos are hidden in my crazy amount of things I favorite right now!

Here are some old related posts:

Mosaics made for rounds 1-4

and a very random, hard to read yet packed with details on color where pillows might live in our house!

Here are the pillows I have sent in rounds 1-4

Here are the pillows I received for rounds 1-4

Can you believe all the great pillows that have been sent and received in this swap? Every time I look at the flickr pool, I just am in awe. I find myself looking at the four I have received and holding them close . . . way to much to be normal! This is such a great swap and I want to thank Kelly and her sister for taking on the organizing this round. Also for all the angel pillows they have made . . . THANKS!

Pillow Swap Four - Cozy Winter Pillow

I must admit I have a love/hate relationship with winter. The kids still need to get from place A to B and I am not a fan of driving in the snow. Driving the 45 minutes back from Max's weekly soccer game last night, I realized soon I would be doing it on snow covered roads. The morning shuffle to school for all three kids is a bit more crazy when you add hats, coats, gloves and boots into the mix.

But for all challenges the snow brings I love snuggling in for the season. Sitting together as a family with a roaring fire, the little kids playing with blocks with Daddy and Max and I on the couch me knitting/hand sewing and him reading/small electronic device is just heaven. For this whole to work for me, I require cozy pillows and quilts to complete the picture. So when the velveteen came into one of my favorite fabric shops I knew that I had new plans for the pillow swap.

My partner asked for a pillow with lots of negative space, but other than that she was pretty open. She has young children and I thought a big cozy pillow would be fun. Anna Maria Horner's new Innocent Crush in the velveteen is amazing, buttery soft and so tactile. The colors are amazing and in my book it makes for one luxurious pillow. I hope my partner feels the same. I worry when I don't make a crazy over the top pillow, but I love the less is more approach and I am fairly certain looking a her blog and flickr stream this pillow will be right up her alley.

Pillow Talk Swap Sent and a Peanut Problem . . .

Okay I know we all sometimes say this about a new project . . . but I really do LOVE how this turned out! The Linen with the Little Folks by Anna Maria Horner is a great match and the fun relaxed feel I have when I think of my partner in this swap. I don't want to giveaway who my partner was since the package just left town yesterday am for its new destination . . . but she is one cool chick and I have really enjoyed getting to know her over the last year. This on-line sewing community is a lot of fun!

In addition to this pillow, I made a few more with . . . but I think I will wait until next week when she receives the package to spill the beans here.

Like all the pillow swaps, I learned a lot with this one. My first time using the quilt binding method to finish off the pillow. I actually had to pull out the seam ripper the first time I put it together because I didn't like how the binding was pulling. I cut wider stripes to accomodate the thick "quilt sandwich" and make the binding more prominent.

I kept the back simple as well. The last swap I added a zipper, so this time I wanted to try buttonholes. Also I think the design added a little zing to the pillow. The buttonholes were pretty easy to do, I just measured where I wanted them, put the buttonhole foot on and hit the foot pedal. A couple of snips with the scissors and it was good to go. Next time I will adjust the buttonholes a bit bigger so I could have used a bigger button. The scale of the size 36 was good, but I think I would have liked them a size or two bigger. I got my buttons from my favorite supply shop on ETSY, very convenient to be able to shop at this great little shop by walking into our basement! You can access our supply shop through the link on the top navigation bar on this new blog layout!

Along with this main pillow I sent my partner a whole bunch of fun! I will do another post once she gets the package to tell you all about it. I am always so happy when a swap package is on its way. HOWEVER, after dropping this one off yesterday . . .

Max and I had a rough first day of summer event. The two little kids were at camp, so I told Max after we sent my swap package we would have a little fun. One of our favorite bagel bakeries is right next to the UPS store, so after mailing the package we went in to get a bagel. They usually have bagels to taste on the counter, but yesterday they had cookies. Max has a severe peanut allergy and we are always very careful. Maybe it was the whole carefree first day of summer . . . but he asked if he could try it and I asked the clerk if it was nut free, she said yes, so I told him okay. As soon as he put it on his tongue, he said "it tastes like peanut butter"

She said, oh it is peanut butter . . . you asked about nuts . . .

He didn't swallow and I quickly wiped out his mouth. I gave him two benadryl and also had him drink water within a minute of the event. His tongue got a little fuzzy and a couple of hives popped up on his face. Our hearts were racing. We were near a hospital and I had the epi-pen and other medicine on hand. I drove to the parking lot of the hospital and sat and watched him. I called the allergist and made sure I knew what to look for and how quickly he would react. If he would have ingested it, we would have had a much bigger problem.

Max and I both remained fairly calm, but it was a big scare. I think all the education and training from the allergist helped a ton. We have been ready for this since he was just 9 months old. He did tell me, "Mom, we need to be more careful". I told him how much I love him and how sorry I was. He told me, "it is okay, we all make mistakes" I felt so bad.

Here is to hoping that the rest of the summer will be uneventful! He has been safe at school for three years where peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are on the menu every day and his first day home for the summer and he gets exposed before 10 am! Ughhhhhh.

We are hosting a end of the season party for Max's baseball team that Steve coached this season. So much to do and Steve has been traveling since Monday am. I am a little crazed at this point, but will somehow make it through. No sewing today for sure . . . but I will be cleaning the house and pool, baking a cake, shopping for food and drink and in my spare time taking care of three wild children! Enjoy your Friday!

Feeling the LOVE . . . pretty lucky huh?

Have you ever had that feeling that you were about to open up a package and it was gonna be good. really, really good. I rushed in the door this afternoon with a million things on the to do list . . . and then I saw the package, a package from Portugal. I knew I just hit the pillow swap lottery!

Then I opened up this little beauty.

Jealous? Really, really jealous, right! I told you, I knew it was going to be good, really, really GOOD.

Everything about this is awesome. The color, the shape, the colors, the tree, the faces . . . the thought and work that went into this pillow is amazing. Look at the faces and the tree . . .

then when I think I took it all in, I look again and see another detail that just makes me smile.

and just like my favorite movie line, "you had me at hello" this pillow stole my heart when upon opening the first thing I saw was the back. Amazing, huh!

Isabel, thank you so much. The one word of Portuguese I know sums this pillow up for me - Maravilhoso. I think maybe I need to say it three times . . . maravilhoso, maravilhoso, maravilhoso.

Check out all the amazing work of Isabel on her flickr stream here.

Her etsy shop is here.

Her blog is here.

Facebook fan page is here.

Pillow Talk Swap - Number 3

Whoo hooo, it is pillow time again. Sign-ups have just started for the pillow talk swap and I am thrilled! Heather and Kerri run great swaps, but I think this is my favorite. The pillows this swap has inspired is AMAZING. Also it has pushed me a bit in my sewing, my last pillow even included a ZIPPER, you heard me a ZIPPER.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE linen and patchwork in pillows, but what I am realizing when picking favorites is that wow do I like white and grey as well, the colors of the other fabrics come alive. So dear partner I would LOVE anything! It is funny how in your mind you think you really just are all about one style and then you step back and notice what you gravitate towards is not always what you thing you would . . .

So if you are up for a little fun, jump on over and join the fun! Just checking the inspiration of all the wonderful pillows is really worth a peek as well! Find them here.

Oh Mr. Postman . . .

Look what came in the mail . . . 

A wonderful pillow by Amanda at Sasikirana - she paired some favorites up to make an amazing pillow. The linen with the Hope Valley is delish and then add a Echino print for the pillow back and wowza, I am over the moon! I love all the details, the tag, the binding, just everything. Speaking of someone being over the moon for this pillow . . .

Ellie declared it her "piddow" and didn't put it down for the first 24 hours! Finally I got it from her and am holding auditions in a few spots in the house. It will either grace the couch in the living room or the guest room bed! We love it- thanks again Amanda! Also a big thanks to Heather and Kerri for putting on such a wonderful swap. Now that I have done quite a few swaps, I must say the quality of the swap they put together is really fantastic and appreciated! Speaking of appreciation . . .

I WON something. I haven't won anything for as long as I can remember. Maybe ever. Heather has a wonderful giveaway to celebrate her first year of blogging and I was actually one of the winners. Look at the CRAZY generous bundle of fabrics that came my way. I am in awe, thanks so much Heather! I must say you got me started on a awesome path. Tonight at BINGO night at Max's school, I won a CAKE. We never have won one before, but I think our luck has finally come in. So thanks again for being you and getting my winning streak going!

Finally, I got a wonderful package from Munki and they will hit the seam ripper soon. Here are the three new Munki Munki prints for spring and they are to die for - Fairground, Phones and Rollerskates. I plan to use them for a giveaway to celebrate a new look on this blog. We will be working with a designer to help us and then really hope to make the blog useful to our ETSY supply and jewelry customers. I will keep boring you with my adventures in creativity as well!

Pillow Swap - The Sequel

Finished this up over the weekend, stuffed it and sent it on its way. Not sure why I have to wait until the FINAL days to get it in the mail, but yet again it happened. Swaps are so great for me in so many ways, but I think the best is getting me out of my comfort zone. I should probably practice on a project for my own family, but that never seems to happen. The firsts on this swap are many. First zipper, using this awesome tutorial. Making and adding piping to the pillow. Hand stitching hexagons and then hand stitching them together! Finally I also made a Dresdan Plate for the first time, but have yet to actually quilt it and make it into a pillow. My original plan was to make three pillows and she which one my swap partner commented on. She actually didn't comment on either the hexies or the dresden plate, so I am hopefully it will be a total and happy surprise for her to get it in the mail. That is also why I have actually sent both this swap pillow and the last stuffed and also to make up for some of my first timer mistakes- I figure if they hate the pillow, they at least get a down pillow insert out of the swap! I also am loving the little surprise needle book, I made and sent along. It is a super simple yet fun little project. The first one I made was at my LQS during the end of the month, Mystery Project. This has been a ton of fun and if you are in the area and have the last Friday of the month open for a couple hours in the afternoon, check it out. You leave with a finished item and it is a fun group of women! Big Thanks to Heather, Kerri and Tasha for hosting another fabulous swap! Can't wait to see what I get in the mail, stay tuned! There are so many fabulous pillows, check them out here!

Dresdan Plate and a little Summer in the City on a Winter Day

okay all the complaining about living in the Southern Adirondacks and facing a winter of really no snow . . . and as I type it is snowing at a fast clip and what am I thinking about? Summer. It might be my very favorite fabric, Summer in the City by Moda. So sad that it is getting harder and harder to find. The weird thing is it is one of my favorites, but it is a favorite that I will actually cut into. Once I start using it, I have a hard time stopping. The Dresdan Plate is so fun in this print that I am not sure I will be able to stop at a pillow and might have to make a whole quilt from it. I guess first things first. The snow today has caused us to reschedule plans, so I can sew when the kids nap! I think I will work on the pillow and make sure I can master the applique portion of the Dresdan Plate. I have called or shopped at all the local stores looking for some varying degree blade templates, but I have a feeling it will be a on-line purchase soon. The blade I found at JoAnn's is a 30 degree which takes 12 blades to make the plate. I think I would love some with more and even some with less. Anyone know of a good source?

I used a tutorial from Amy at Badskirt and also one by Sara of Sewn, both fantastic! My partner in the pillow swap likes things paired with linen, so I am thinking of using linen for the background fabric and also the circle for the applique. I might even go crazy and try a zipper, but that might just be crazy talk. I think they are sleeping, so time to crank up the sewing machine. Enjoy the storm everyone and as I look out at our snow covered swimming pool, I know summer will be here before you know it!

Scrapbook Designs make great holiday fabrics

Have my string block/pillow making mojo going still and thought, how about a holiday pillow. Thinking it will make a fun holiday gift and the pillow without the form will be easy to send to Seattle and then I can buy a form when I get there. I think I am going to try and make a few more for various family members. I have had this fabric for a month or so, but didn't want to cut into it it is so cute! Then I found out my local fabric store and second home, KC Custom Fabrics was getting it in and decided I could get out the rotary cutter since more would be available soon!

Max had a fun day today with a readers' celebration at school. He has really taken off this year with his reading and we are thrilled. They got to take a stuffed animal and their favorite book to school for the party. He took Finn the Webkiz pug and Diary of A Whimpy Kid, Dogdays. He snagged the pillow as soon as I finished for a dogbed. So it looks as if I will be making a dog bed for his stuffed dogs for the holidays. He requested some guy colors so his dogs would feel proud of their bed. Too funny! I do think I will have to tone down the sewing for Ellie, both boys are starting to get jealous. I also sew more for my three nieces than for the boys. I have found some fun boyish fabrics lately, so maybe in the new year. I am as bad as Ellie is with the sparkle shoes with pink and girly fabrics!

Batman was a wildman today and I really didn't get a lot of needed sewing or glazing done. All these craft shows are starting to freak me out! Lots to do in the next couple days!

Ellie somehow snapped the photo of herself when I was trying to get her to stand still . . .it captured what I was trying to get, the shiny pink shoes. She has been sporting them everyday since Halloween and they really do go with everything! Today I did get her to put boots on when we went out, but as soon as she crosses the threshold, she is back in the sparkle shoes as she refers to them.

Pillow Inspiration

Pillow Swap, originally uploaded by threedancingmagpies.

So excited about this new pillow swap group that is getting going. I have already learned something! I have been wanting to make a mosaic of flickr favorites for awhile and just hadn't taken the time to figure it out. It was quick and fun! Swap groups have been a wonderful push for me to try things in a timely manner. I just finished a quilted pillow and have been crazy to try another- this will get me going! So here are some pillows that inspire me! I have just finished making one for a swap group with other Heather Ross fabric junkies and used some fun Munki Munki Coke Travelers print. While making the block into a pillow I realized I need to do some pillow mechanics research! I think I will have to make a couple of practice pillows for Ellie's room first! Before really charging ahead into sewing this last year, my friend Stacy at Red Door Home made some wonderful pillows for our living room in lovely shades of browns, greens and olives. I will show you some scenes from our kitchen and living room soon with shots of her awesome pillows. I love the way she pairs linen, burlap and home dec fabrics both new and vintage into wonderful and fun pillows. I have come to the realization through sewing lately that I am drawn to bright bold colors paired with white or linen. My plan is to make quilts and pillows for all three of the kids rooms and also some fun and bold pillows for their playroom. So I think I might start with some pillows for the nook in Ellie's room. I am thinking hot pink, pale pink, red, chocolate brown, aqua and maybe some lime green. Perhaps fairytales? Owls and birds? Graphic Numbers? I have a feeling it will be a bunch of various themes and colors. For Sam's room I was thinking more boyish fun . . . robots, animals, cars and a few ball sports thrown in. Max is become a teenager at 7, so perhaps I will finish his red/white/blue baseball quilt and some fun pillows in white with lots of pops of color. Our room is also in need of some serious help. Just before adopting Ellie and Sam 2 and a half years ago, we finally got a start at decorating our room. The walls are a wonderful shade of dark slate blue and the nook is a wonderful chocolate brown. Some chunky crown moulding and wooden blinds were added in white to make it all pop. Then the bed, oh how I love our bed. It is a big king with a padded headboard and footboard from Pine Cone Hill in a cream and brown ticking stripe. It is lovely and large enough for all five of us to cuddle in each morning. This is where the decorating stopped. We have the plainest pillows and a plain tan duvet. We decided to stop until after the kids got past the age of messing up our bed. I think the time is coming to finish the job. I have been so inspired by Liz's pillows at OllieKate that I feel guilty! Is it wrong to want to make exact replica's from photos someone is generous enough to share . . . all of her pillows are so fantastic! Ihad three of her pillows in my mosaic, but somehow messed it up. So I thought I would just link to them, here, here, and here. They rock don't you think? I am sure they will sell FAST at her show this fall. Okay more pillow talk soon and some photos of Stacy's pillows that grace our home!