making stuff during quiet time

Up first on sewing in quiet time with Marian (should I start a show???) was a dress for my friend Kori - OK, Kori's yet to be born baby girl. I am always soooooo excited when a friend is having a girl so I can break out this pattern (originally bought to make Diana's blessing dress that wouldn't fit over her head when the day came, no worries I had a spare and Emily fit in the original, but I digress). Anyhow, I love little pleats and although the very lovely shower was all in pink, including most guest's clothes, I had to go blue, I am just drawn to blue fabric, don't know why, but I love it! Kori and I are due a few days apart and if history is any indicator she will go first. This is the third time I've shared a due week with a friend in the ward who also goes to the same doctor and the last two times he has induced the friend days early and let me wait and wait to deliver - no fair, but that's life! Maybe I'll beat Kori since she delivers just fine on her own and probably won't need an induction but, on the other hand she has exercised her whole pregnancy so is in great labor and delivery shape so her body might be more complying when she mentally gives the OK (I am not in good shape - oops).

Cute no?

This week I finally tackled s project I've been meaning to do for literally years. Way back in 1983 we moved from Utah to Arizona about the same time Grandma and Grandpa Boren came back from Catana (mission). While we built our house we lived in an apartment in ghetto Mesa that G&G owned and they lived in the one in front of us. Our family had 5 kids and my dad's business partner living in 2 bedrooms, so you can imagine we went to Grandma's often. Grandma's project that year was to embroider acres of heavy muslin with birds and flowers and then upholster 4 choirs with the embroidery! She was INCREDIBLE and I loved watching her embroider.

When Grandma passed away in 1999 each of her 4 children inherited a chair (maybe she made 5 because my Dad ended up with 2 or maybe one of the kids didn't want one). Anyhow, Jessica took one right away and tore it apart a framed some of the embroidery for each of the sisters. Mine hangs in my kitchen and I love it! The other chair sat in the barn for years, because let's face it, who has a formal enough house to have an embroidered chair and who would actually sit on it regularly if they did?

A few years ago in a cleaning binge the chair was brought out and the ultimatum given that it needed a home or else. I decided to take the embroidered panels and do "something" with them and so they have sat in bins, boxes and on my sewing table for literally years.

Last week I FINALLY did something with them!!!!! HOORAY!

The raw panels had to be trimmed down and made square. I felt bad trimming off some stitching, but because they had been upholstery they were oddly shaped. I ended up with 3 good sized squares. One was big enough to work on it's own, the other two needed to be framed to be big enough. Then I added backs and stuffed pillow forms into the covers and voila! new pretty pillows for my room. Hooray! I love the color they bring, but how they have enough white space to not overwhelm the one semi-calm room in the house.