EPP Lion

When I first saw Violet Craft's english paper pieced lion pattern I knew I had to make one for my oldest, Leigh Anne. She's the one I plan to go to Africa with... and she loves warm oranges & pinks... perfect!

I have to tell you how very impressed I was with Violet Craft's pattern. It's so well laid out, the epp pieces are sturdy and well labeled. It was a delight to make. It took me quite a while to make, working in spurts, and I love the results! At 20" square, it was perfect for a pillow for Leigh Anne's New York apartment.

I used an orange grunge for the envelope back, and a ric rac accent...

It was easy to mail to NYC in a padded envelope, and send a pillow form via amazon. I couldn't wait until she received it so I could share it with you. The pieces held up so well, I could easily use them again. Maybe a lion for me too? We'll see.

woven pillows

I wanted to weave some pillows for my sister's birthday. She has a new gray couch. I chose these beautiful bright colors to go with two shades of gray (ps: that's not her couch, it's mine. I know, not gray)....

The weft was all light gray (double strands in a 10 dent heddle) and the warp was a mixture of the brights and darker gray. All of the yarn is Valley 8/2 cotton from Webs. I did all plain weave but played with color to create patterns.

In the end, I had 2 pretty pillows to bring to her last weekend. One 16" square and the other 11"x16" rectangle. I have oodles of fun fabric to make bags and things with later.

also not my couch, or hers

I hope they bring her joy!

Giraffes!

When your adult son's childhood best friend contacts you and says "can I commission you to make something for my mom's birthday?" you jump right on it! Seriously, I was so thrilled to hear from him and to make something for the precious lady who was my son's second mom growing up. An honor! He said mom loves giraffes & gave me colors to work with and I was off and running.

Two 20" quilted pillows were the end result. I used assorted grays for the backgrounds & burgundy and gold prints for the giraffes, which I drew up from random clip art, fused and machine stitched on.

I even put a giraffe on the back of one pillow...

She told me today that that one always makes her smile. 

I did exposed metal zipper openings on the back, so the covers can be removed and washed if needed...

I was really pleased with the end result and she loved them! what a fun project for me!