create (Mama): cushions!

It was predicted, by a few friends of mine, that I would fall in love with quilting once I tried it. I was a little bit intimidated- Three layers to sew through? Measurements? All that ironing? It seemed a bit much for life with two little ones. But the best way to make anything, I find, is to jump in and get started. So when this beautiful Jansdotter fabric came my way (read more about my Jansdotter connection, here) I knew it was time!

Does everyone plan a room around fabric? I've never thought of grey as a background for yellows and oranges- but I like it. A lot. The very first pillow that I quilted was the trees. I layered the fabric and batting, then sewed lines back and forth across on my sewing machine. I love how the sewn lines complement the linear lines of the design. My next quilting project was the yellow pillow...

 ...followed closely by the orange pillow. I discovered that the multi-steps of quilting that made me so apprehensive, actually benefited the rhythm of my life right now. One day I could cut out fabric squares during a nap. I could piece them together and pin them during another nap. Quilt them together after the kids go to bed, iron them another day... and so on and so forth. Breaking it up into smaller steps also allowed me not to mess up too much at once. Such as not pinning it enough and having the seams move around on me (ahem). Thank goodness for seam rippers and forgiving fabric!

Not only was this my first time quilting, but it was also my first time installing a zipper. I enjoyed this tutorial that I found through Pinterest, here, that helped me to install a zipper even when I had mistakenly already sewn the other three sides of the cushion cover together- eek! Luckily it all ended well, and it gave me enough confidence to experiment with my other covers. 

 In our house pillows take a lot of abuse, so I need to be able to quickly strip the covers off and wash them as needed. I contemplated more zippers, but then I happened upon a pair of Isia's old overalls that had made it into my fabric pile. I wondered if I could sew the snaps on as one piece? I cut and sewed two pieces for the back of the cushion, to make two flaps that met in the middle. Then I sewed one side of the snap to bottom flap, and the other side to the top flap.Finally I snapped the sides together to create one piece, and sewed the pillow together. Success! 

Here's the finished room! Please ignore the easel and painting tray that are hiding under the futon- it's a bit of a catch-all these days (wink). Thankfully I've not needed to strip the cushion covers off for any washing yet, but it's so nice to know I can if I need to. In the meantime they're getting a lot of snuggling, especially as we start to watch our Christmas movies. There have been several viewings of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" already!