COZYING UP THE PORCH

When Fall is here and the weather turns chilly, we usually clean the porch cushions and pack them away for the Winter.

But this year since our home will be on a local charity home tour in December, I decided to cozy up the porch a little for this Winter.

I made some new pillow covers out of a beige, black, and red plaid flannel.  Thought they would look good with a rustic Santa and a wonky tree we have planned to place on the porch table.

I kept them simple. The flannel from Jo-Ann's is a nice quality, washed well and was on sale for $5 a yard (plus I had a 20% off entire purchase coupon).  Not bad for two pillows and a cushion cover for under $10.00.

I'm also using the plaid to recover the cushion (not shown) on the big wicker chair.  It's not done, yet, as I had to go out of town (100 miles round trip) to get a 28" zipper.

That's all right as it gave us an excuse to have lunch at The Olive Garden ($)
and for me to go to the quilt stores ($$$).  

We won't count the expense of the trip to buy a $2.50 zipper into the cost of cozying up the porch!

Edited to add:
Finished the cushion cover!

I'm joining with:

Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday
Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
Have a Daily Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday

A PILLOW, MORE PLAID

Since winter isn't really over in Colorado until Mother's Day, I figured I had time to sneak in another wool pillow.

This is an old cotton patchwork pattern and technique that simulates woven ribbons.  I thought it was worth a try to adapt with wool and plaids.

I added some machine embroidery and quilting to accent the pattern.

On our recent junking trip to Denver, I found a Pendleton gray plaid skirt for $3 at a Goodwill to include in this pillow with scraps from other Pendleton and Ralph Lauren thrifted skirts.

I also found a great blue and red Pendelton pleated plaid skirt for $2 at a Disabled Veteran's thrift store.  It has about 4 yards of wool fabric in it that I'm saving for a future large project.

I've been looking for awhile for a larger wool throw -- we really use these all winter long, and I wanted one big enough to cover from my chin to my toes.  Found this Pendleton one at an antique mall in Littleton.  

   

It was a good trip -- as always, I had my plaid radar up!!

I'm linking up with the following:
Vintage On a Dime for Welcome Home Wednesday
A Daily Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday
Common Ground for Be Inspired Friday
Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday

A NEW WOOL PROJECT

One of my new favorite things to do is work with recycled wool. I enjoyed working on my Penny Rug project (click here), so thought I would try a similar project by making a pillow.

 Before I could finish it up, I had to go in search of some more wool for the cording.  A trip to Goodwill yielded two wool skirts - one a nice Pendleton red plaid and the other, a pleated teal plaid skirt from Scotland.  I deconstructed the skirts, then felted them in a hot wash and dry.  There was a lot of yardage hidden in those pleats.  If new, the wool would have been close to $100 -- I paid $8 for the two skirts.

 I used the red plaid to make the cording for the pillow.  The brown wools were the result of previous trips to Goodwill.  Can you guess where the assorted small squares of plaids and checks are from?

 When out looking at new fabric, I always pick up those free little samples attached to the end of the bolt with a safety pin.  Some of these are from Nell Hills in Kansas City, some from Denver Fabrics, etc. etc.  I know, I have no shame!

The embroidery was done in a blanket stitch and a herringbone stitch using #5 Perle cotton.

I'll be joining in the following blog parties:
Home Sweet Home Friday - The Charm of Home
Vintage Inspiration Friday - Common Ground
Feathered Nest Friday - French Country Cottage
Saturday Nite Special - Funky Junk Interiors
Metamorphosis Monday - Between Naps on the Porch
 Nifty Thrifty Tuesday - Coastal Charm
Tweak It Tuesday - Cozy Little House
Wow Us Wednesdays - Savvy Southern Style
Transformation Thursday - The Shabby Creek Cottage
Thursday Open House Party - No Minimalist Here

PLAID ON PARADE

It's a fun week at the following blogs:  The Polohouse, Vignette Design,  Upstairs Downstairs, and Hyacinths for the Soul.         They are having a Tartan Day celebration to give us a chance to show off our plaids.  Be sure to stop by these wonderful blogs for a visit.  

A year or so ago, I did a post on my infatuation with plaid over the years -- you may view it by clicking here.

 When I go junk hunting, I look for wool plaid skirts in good condition which I can make into pillows. Most new Pendleton wools sell for about $40 per yard, but I have found skirts for under $10 that contain almost two yards of fabric.  My latest find was an authentic Royal Stewart Tartan according to the tag from Pendleton.

My method of operation is to completely deconstruct the skirt which sometimes takes longer than to actually make the pillow, which is O.K. as I have more time than money!  Once I have it in pieces of fabric, I wash them in Woolite, hang to dry, then steam out the wrinkles and/or pleat marks.

I was able to get two 12"x22" pillows from this skirt.  There wasn't enough fabric, however, to make a cording.  So I just made some using black twill, which frames the pillow well.

When out and about I also look for wool plaid travel blankets, but they are getting hard to find at a decent price.

Here are three more of the pillows I have made.  This is a pillow out of a piece of embroidery and a green plaid pleated Pendleton skirt.

Not a plaid, but a great check pillow made out of a Ralph Lauren wool skirt.

This red plaid was from a Ralph Lauren pleated skirt that had these great leather fasteners on it.

 

I enjoy making these pillows as it is sometimes a challenge to figure out how to match the plaids and make the size pillow I want from a finite piece of fabric.  Besides that quality wool just feels SO good!