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Another Big Bite

Another Big Bite

Tag Archives: pillow

Another day. Another pillow.

07 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by anotherbigbite in I'm a Crafty Mo' Fo', The "Joy" of Parenting

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

decorating, diy, kids room, kids rooms, pillow, pillowcase, pillowcases, sewing, upcycle

Another Big Bite - Pillowcase Makeover

Or two.

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I’ve been busy getting a duvet cover made for Finny’s Big Boy Room…  I have been looking high and low for exactly the right fabric.  Only problem?  I have expensive taste.  Which sucks.  For me.  And sorta for Jonathan Adler, since I’m not planning on buying anything from him anytime soon, no matter how deep my appreciation runs for white, mid-century-inspired ceramics and cheeky needlepoint pillows.

A duvet cover is also such a big project, for no other reason than the sheer linear feet of sewing, and it is not rewarding.  Making a dress or stuffed animal gives you a bit of pride; the feeling like: It was just a flat strech of fabric, and now?  (haughty sniff) I MADE THIS.  A duvet cover is nothing but a giant fabric bag – which should be simple, but always ends up a bit off.  I’ve got my share of sewing projects that I am purty darn proud of, but sewing miles and miles of straight lines is mind numbing. Monotonous.  Lackluster.  Unexciting.  Mundane.  Insipid.  Exciting enough that one has time to think of numerous synonyms to “BOR-RING.”

photo (5)

Before. Meh.

I bought a pair of flat sheets to make Finn’s duvet cover.  I picked up a pair of plain, white pillowcases while I was at it.  During all this dull cutting and sewing and sewing and sewing, I thought; Screw this.  I’m taking a break and doing something small.

It started with this tutorial for pillowcases.  I followed her instructions but used slightly different measurements since I was adapting a pair of existing pillowcases.  I had a pair of cases and I have a pair of children; it seemed only natural that each of them ended up with one.  I busted out the scrap stash and got to work.

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I love the pattern on Finn’s.  I want a shirt made out of that fabric.  Which would make me look a bit like a mime/lumberjack.  I’m okay with that, though.

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Alice’s is a little -ahem- loud, but since I used some of the leftovers from her quilt I made when she was still baking, it coordinates closely enough.

Every time I make something for the kids, I envision their beautiful, happy smiles on their little cherub-cheeked faces when I show it to them.  This is not reality.  “Finn, what do you think of your new pillowcase?”  I hold it up and smile brightly.  He glances over with glazed eyes and a dead stare that says Oh yes, Mother.  ANOTHER e’ffing pillow.  I’m ever so thrilled.  “Okay.  I have two pillows already, Mom.”  Which is better than what I imagine he is thinking.

Does this child realize that one can NEVER HAVE TOO MANY PILLOWS?  No.  No, he does not.

See? Told ya he was beside himself with joy.

See? Told ya he was beside himself with joy.

And so it is back to the grindstone with this damn duvet cover.  Not that it is anything spectacular.  But I’ve gotten this far into it – and plunked down eight bucks in supplies for it, so I ‘spose I’ll try to see it to the end.

Wish me luck.  Karma.  Victory.  Triumph.  Kismet?

My brain’s got all day here, folks.

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Woo! Foxy Pillow!

25 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by anotherbigbite in I'm a Crafty Mo' Fo'

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

before and after, decorating, diy, fox, home, pillow, recycle, sewing, sweater, upcycle, upcycling

Here I come, baby.  I’m comin’ to lean on ya.

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As I write this, I am beginning to notice a pattern.  Buying clothes for myself at Old Navy is not wise.  I have countless pairs of jeans and shirts in my closet that don’t fit, are a weird color, are falling apart or some combination of any of those three.  The one thing they all have in common?  Old Navy.

But, hey, they were also all very reasonably priced.  So there’s that.

photo 1 (9)

Here’s the thing; I bought that crap because I thought it was cute at one time or another.  This sweater is textbook Old Navy…  Cute idea, slightly the wrong color, poor quality, ill-fitting…  And only sixteen dollars!  Why yes, ma’am, I’ll take it!

I like the fox, I do, but no one over the age of fourteen (I’m being generous here) should be sporting woodland creatures in the name of fashion.  Since I’m not the greatest at math, I clearly overlooked the fact that I am in my thirties and have no business traipsing around in a sweater emblazoned with Tod from The Fox and the Hound.

Still, it is kinda cute.  So I made a pillow out of it.  Lined with (what else but) a drop cloth.

I was mad impressed with myself when I finally zipped up the invisible zipper that I put in – after ripping it out only twice.  By the time I got around to getting started on the insert for the pillow, I had an epiphany.

Lightning had struck my brain.

Hey, I’ve got 826 down pillows scattered around the house.  Surely I can spare one of them for The Fantastic Mr. Fox.  They are all too big; I’ll just rip one open and make it smaller!!  Easy, peasy!

Do you have any idea how many fucking feathers are in a 20″ down pillow insert?  This many; it fills a bin that is big enough for me to lay down in.

photo 2 (9)So there I am, in the middle of the night, choking on the remains of some unfortunate specimen of water fowl, wishing I would have worn a mask, covered from head to toe in static-infused downy goodness, and it strikes me that some poor soul has to do this every damn day, forty hours a week, fifty-two weeks a year.  And I’m doing it for a HOBBY.  Clearly, I’m a dumbass.

Not that we didn’t already know that about me.  I mean, hey, I’m a grown woman buying clothes from Old Navy without trying them on.

Now I’ve got a pillow – a fox, made out of sheep’s hair (wool), stuffed with a goose. It is the turducken of soft furnishings… A sheeoxaquack?  I dunno.

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Now, if you don’t mind me, I’m off to my closet to get a pile going for Goodwill.

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Howdy. It’s Lisa!

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