~ Repurposing: Pillow Covers ~

I have spent more time this summer (when I have been sewing) on household projects than on Sea Quilts projects ... I cannot tell a lie.

For instance: I decided I wanted a new shower curtain in my guest bathroom, even though the one I had was pretty much in brand-new condition. At the same time, I had become aware of the fact that my porch pillows had seen one too many rainstorms. I was feeling guilty about unnecessary money to be spent on either one.

That is until I figured out that I could solve both problems simultaneously.

Since my shower curtain was of the water resistant variety, I just cut that baby up and made new pillow slips for the old faded porch pillows. By utilizing the already stitched side seams on the shower curtain, I saved oodles of time.  In fact I cut and sewed up all three in less than an hour.

Next, I found myself in the market for yet another white throw pillow for my bedroom. Which ... I needed about as much as a new shower curtain.

Or holes in my head.

In the course of another project -- a major, whole house purge -- I came across two embroidered napkins I had purchased about 20 years ago for some long forgotten project. (True story. Sad, but true story.)

I dug into my pile of pre-made pillow forms and found myself a down (feather) one, the same size as the napkins.

I stitched them together along the inside of the hem edges (with the right sides facing out) leaving an opening at the top. After stuffing the pillow form in, I finished sewing around it by machine. (This is where the down pillow form came in handy, as it more easily squished out of the way as I sewed that final seam.) This was a 15 minute project.

It's been a good month for pillows.

It's been an even better month for grandkids, as I had all five of mine together for the first time in awhile.

I Love Summer. And grandkids.

(and pillows)

~ Summertime ~

Forgive my absence, but don't expect a huge amount of activity from me this summer.

Why?

Because it's Summer!!

That's why!

Since all of my sewing is summery sewing, it won't surprise anyone that I have been sewing some waves.

And catching some.

I don't actually surf, but I did take the ferry yesterday at Balboa Island with two of my sunny grandchildren. It was heavenly.

 I wish you all a summer filled with sunlight and water.

~ Namely ~

One of my favorite parts of my Christmas decor are my grandchildren's stockings with their names on them. Making these constitutes one of the rare times I use the embroidery module on my Bernina.

It is all worth it.

My own children's stocking are made of felt and yarn and ... soot.  They were made in the late 70's and early 80's and they have seen a lot of Christmas eves on the fireplace.

I still love them dearly.

Also back in the early 80's, I made many a stuffed, fabric ornament.  Some of them are shaped like ornaments and I hand embroidered the names on.

When the grandchildren came along, I made one for each of them.  You can probably tell by the fabrics, which ones were made when.  

I do not have a grandchild name Falalalala, but ... that's OK, because ...

I do love Christmas and the decking of halls.

~ Pinkalicious ~

My granddaughter Penelope recently turned three.  This was the first year she really had an opinion as to how her birthday party should play out and what the theme should be.  When asked that very question, her answer was ...

~ PINK ~

Penelope wanted a Pink Party.
Her mom was more than happy to oblige.

You might say she was tickled ... Pink.

So ... there were pink cake pops and pink pretzels.

Pink candies and pink water.

There were pink pinwheels and a pink bounce house.

Penelope was appropriately dressed in ... well, you get the picture.

Unfortunately, I did not get the picture.  Once the party started, I was too busy having fun to take a picture of my Pink Penelope at her Precious Pink Party.

Just imagine a plethora of pink topped off by a head of curls.

Perfection.

~ Spring has definitely Sprung ~

I interrupt my regular Sea Quilts broadcast to showcase some land-lubbing beauty.

I spent last week in the great state of Oregon, surrounded by a great deal of color.

One of the activities on the agenda was a trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR.

The tulips were magnificent.

Even more beautiful were some of the tulip admirers ...

Like the sweet 19-month old pictured above who may or may not be related to me.




She really loved those tulips.

Her sisters enjoyed the views as well.

And just because I want to offer you even more in this post than just exquisite color and precious faces ... here is a piece of advice that should not go unwarranted:

Do not ... I repeat, do not ... fly on an airplane with a sinus infection, because your ears will punish you beyond measure.

And that's my PSA for today.

Your welcome.

~ The Joys of my World ~

I have not generally used this blog to publish pictures of humans ... particularly those near and dear to me ... but I have spent the last 2 weeks with my nearest and dearest and this is what I have to show for it.



I spent 5 days with every single one of my children and grandchildren.
Under the same roof.
At the same time.
This is huge, people!

Hundred of pictures were snapped and texted and grammed.
To the point where these sweet and patient grandchildren were beginning to lose interest ...

And possibly getting a tad annoyed.

I received a number of lovely gifts for Christmas, but these were by far my favorites.

And how about you?

~ Sister Act ~

I cannot tell a lie ... I have been gone.
For ten (count 'em 10) days.
I left the beach and travelled to the woods.

I spent a week in Sisters, Oregon.
Think of it as a little bit of heaven.

My purpose in going there was to hang out with a bunch of fabulous friends and to attend a weeklong class taught by Gloria Loughman.  She is a purely delightful Aussie who has talent up the wazoo.
Her work can be seen on her wall o'samples above.
And here.

I worked hard every day and then laughed myself silly every night.

I tried to encorporate some of her techniques ... like "tiling" my sky and ... inserting a picture within a picture.

Here is a sampling of some of the "skies" from around the classroom.  I was in awe of all the artistic flair  and pretty much considered myself the new kid in class.

While the week was spent in class it was sandwiched in between two weekends with these splendid ... Sisters.

Once again I cannot lie ... the bread was my favorite part of the trip. 

~ Buckets O' Fun ~

Not to seem redundant ... or overly cocky ... but I went to the beach again this weekend.
This time with small children and their sand pails.
I'm rather fond of these children (grandkids #2 and #4).
I'm also enamored of their pails.

Here's the Sweet Pea doing what she did for ... um ... about 4 straight hours.
She was filling the pails (which had already been filled with salty water) with sand until the water absorbed all the sand.
Then she would cry, as if on the 27th try she was still indignant that the water was gone.
My job was to dump the sand and fill the pail once again with water.
I was very good at my job.

Here is Mr. T using his bucket as a shield.
He made it quite clear that he was not putting up with the papparazzi yesterday.
He was, however, putting up his bucket of sand for all to see.

When he wasn't looking, I snapped this photo of him admiring a paddle-boarder.
While I was admiring him.

Here's a view (from where I sit at my sewing machine) of my design wall (and project basket) a couple of weeks ago before I started the whole pinwheel business. My initial sand pail inspiration was from a beach trip a couple of months ago.  I remember thinking ... how many of those came from the Target Dollar Bin? I considered naming this one "Ode to the Target Dollar Bin".

On further reflection, I have decided to name it ...

Bucket List.

~ Signs of Spring ~

Baseball. 

Flowers in your hair.
(And Carousels.) 

Flowers on your dress. 

The need for shades. 

Spring Candy Corn.

Signs of Joy? These five fabulous grandkids that I claim as my own.

Happy Spring!

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Creative ME!