Easter Preparations

Easter Preparations

 

Life has been pretty busy recently but I have found time to decorate a little and to make a few things for sweet Caroline.



This wreath welcomes familly and guests.  The yellow chick was a felt Easter Basket that I found at Michael's.  Debbie wove the ribbon into the pink mesh, to calm it down a bit and also suggested using the green paper Easter "grass."

 

 

These funny bunnies are on the dining room table.

 

Sorry this photo is fuzzy.  This is the tree that we made for daughter Lauren's wedding to Chris.   We hung family wedding pictures on it at the entrance to the reception.  Since then, it has "lived" in my dining room and is decorated for holidays. 

 

These bunnies are at the base of the tree. 

 

The bunnies were entirely handmade.  The embroidery is beautiful and quite detailed.

 



 

My grandmother Cassels pressed glass bowl.  At Easter, she always served potato salad in it.  Now I use it for decorative purposes only.

 

 

And , of course, I have been making a few things for sweet Caroline!

 

 

The first smocking project I have undertaken in about 20 years!  My friend Andy gave me a quick refresher tutorial last week.  Hopefully this will be a dress by Easter morning. 

 

 

Here is a little outfit I made, using Simplicity 4243 as a guide.  I added the flower by making a rick rack stem, machine appliqued leaves and a yoyo flower with stacked buttons for the center.

 

 

Detail of the flower.  Won't rotate for some reason.

 

 

Every little girl needs an Easter basket!  For my own children, I made fabric baskets for their first Easter.  My inspiration for this fabric basket came from www.sew4home.com .  Then I saw the bunny ears on a 2009 entry of disdressed.blogspot.com.  My bunny face is machine stitched with a zigzag stitch.  "Caroline" is machine embroidered on the back side, just above the mohair tail.  I let the  floral lining form a decorative edge around the basket, instead of using rickrack.

 

 

This coming Sunday, 4 generations of our family will gather at my home for Easter dinner.  It will be a special day, with ages ranging from 88 years - my  mother, to granddaughter Caroline, who will be 78 days old on Easter!   

 

Happy Easter!

 

Renny



Pillow Fun

Pillow Talk
Part 1

 

 

It's funny how something as small as a pillow can change your mood - or the mood of a room.   If you want to quickly and inexpensively perk up a room, pillows are a great option.

 

Pillows are one of my favorite things to make.  It is an opportunity to be creative in a small space, which may mean that the project is completed in a relatively short itme.

 My absolute favorites are for Christmas.   This is one I made for my friend, Mary.  You will notice some black and white stripes and dots .  My friend loves everything by MacKenzie Childs.   This design took a number of hours to create but it was so relaxing and satisfying. 

 

 

This is a similar pillow that is in my home.  It has lots of hand embroidery to accent designs on the various fabrics.

 

 

A fun birthday gift from my daughter this past December.   We are both December babies!  The pillow was handpainted by artist Beth Wiseman of Lincolnton, NC.  It is one of only 3 pillows in my house that I didn't make.

 

 

 

 

 

 Valentine Pillows

 

 

 This was the first pillow that I made using this piecing method on a foundation of muslin.  For me, the design is never "all planned" before the stitching.  Instead, it evolves as each piece of fabric is placed.  This pillow also includes lots of hand embroidery and beading.

 

 Some pillows that are in use in my home everyday.  These are in my small music room - so named by my daughter, because it houses her piano.  I made the tuffet also in a fun class several years ago at We're Sew Creative in Concord, NC.

 

 

There are two of these French chairs in the music room, with the lively animal print pillows.

 

 

 Years ago, I stitched this bargello piece for the top of a footstool for my mother-in-law.  After she died, we found the stool, carefully wrapped in plastic in a closet.  It looked brand new so I took it off the stool and made it into this pillow for my kitchen desk chair.

 

Only one more pillow in this post.  My most recent creation:

 

 

 A lumbar pillow for the chair in precious Caroline's nursery! (my first grandchild).  Her room was decorated in white and pale grey until she was born.  Now we are having fun adding some pink accents.

 

That's all for now.   Another post will be coming soon and will include pillows made by my apparel students as a first sewing project and also by second and third year students who are making decorative pillows for our Rooms to Runways show on

May 2.