Feeling Crafty

I'm so excited! My children are coming in this week to spend the fourth with us at the lake. Whitney and Jason from Colorado and Emily, Matt, Lidia and Sawyer from just a hop, skip and jump away. 

To get a jump start on the groceries, Cliff and I went to the farmer's market yesterday and bought all kinds of fruits and vegetables.  These blackberries had to come home with us. They are so good! Cliff has already requested that I go back to the farmer's market on Wednesday for more.

To get ready for the fourth, I have been adding a little red, white and blue here and there. And I have a few projects I'm working on. Normally, I don't post about crafts, but since I have been feeling very crafty for the past few days, I thought I would share one of them.

I have been wanting to make a couple of pillows for the chaise lounge chairs on the lower patio...down by the water's edge. I had a couple of ugly pillows that we inherited when we bought the lake house and decided they would be perfect, covered. So, I purchased a painter's drop cloth and a stencil and went about making pillow covers.

First, I measured the pillow and cut the drop cloth to fit those measurements. The pillow is 18", so I cut the fabric 20" to allow for seam allowances. For this particular cover, I made the envelope style. It will be easy to remove and wash, when needed.

After pinning, I took the cover to the sewing machine.

Do you remember when a little over a year ago I had to say goodbye to an old friend? That old friend was my beloved sewing machine. You can read about her here.

Well, here is my new machine and I have yet to give her a name. Maybe you can help me with that. I am open to suggestions.

Anyway, she is a dream to sew on. I still don't know all that she can do, but I am enjoying getting to know her. She was a big help in making the pillow covers, this afternoon. 

Again, I made these in an envelope style and here is the first finished one.

I inserted the pillow here, to make sure it fit. It's a little roomy, but I don't mind.

Now for a little decoration.......

I chose the Fleur-de-lis.

In this step, I marked the center of the pillow cover with a disappearing ink pen. Next, I placed a piece of cardboard between the layers.

And then, centered the stencil over the mark and secured it in place with tape.

Next, I loaded up a sponge brush with some navy blue paint and pounced it over the stencil.

 

Here is the finished cover with the pillow inserted.

And here......their final home.
The lower patio.

The chaise lounges are a favorite spot........

...........for a Sunday afternoon nap. No doubt, these pillows will make the spot even more comfortable.

Zzzzzzzz!

Laurie


P.S. I'm dying to show you some new blooms. Stay tuned.