Seahorse, Continued
I finished up the seahorse piece today. First, I added some fuzzy fiber for the seaweed.
You know, I thought I'd never use this green piece of fiber, as it is a bit reminiscent of Oscar the Grouch in color and texture. This happened to be the right project and I was happy to have it. To attach it, I just zigzagged over the fiber, very easy.
After a quick discussion with my daughter, we decided to do a pillow cover. I had first suggested a wall hanging, but she wanted a pillow cover. No problem, and it was actually easier. To frame the seahorse and make a back for the pillow cover, I found a great piece of batik in my fabric collection. I trimmed the seahorse and framed it with strips of the fabric.
For the pillow back, I decided on an overlapping back style so that I wouldn't have to stitch one section shut and it would be easier to remove the cover for cleaning. This is easy to do, and I could have added buttons, too, but it really didn't need any because I made my overlap pretty deep.
I cut two pieces of fabric, the width of the pillow plus 1/2" seam allowances and about 2/3's of the length of the pillow (this provides enough overlap), plus 1". I put a 1/2" double fold hem on the width-wise side.
I then put the back pieces right sides together with the front piece, aligning the top and bottom edges and overlapping the two pieces in the middle. The pillow was stitched around the edges on all four side and turned right side out.
Here's how the overlap looks with the pillow inserted:
The pillow is done, front and back.
Here it is, in her room, along with another coordinating pillow:
I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I have to admit, I wasn't so sure about the orange brain coral once I got it painted, thinking it was too bright. With the addition of the seaweed, the orange was toned down a bit and was much better!
Parting Shot: Recital Day. Today was music recital day for both of the children. The both played the piano and my daughter played the flute. The lighting wasn't wonderful, and it was a bit busy the way schedule was because I was playing accompaniment for the flute number and had to be back in the line up while my son played the piano.
14 comments:
How beautiful. The colors are perfect together.
The pillow turned out great! I bet she loved it.
The backing is just perfect. It really makes the whole piece stunningly beautiful.
Love, love, love DD's new pillow. What a memento!
And the word "recital" took me back to my own days as a young mother, only our girls were playing the piano and the violin. Memories.
Stunning! Such great teamwork between mother and daughter with such a great finished product.
The colours in your seahorse pillow are just lovely together! Your daught must be very pleased that her artwork is gettting so many homes :)
I think that the pillow 'sings' because you are using a complementary triad (orange, purple, green). It looks terrific. Thank you for sharing it.
I absolutely love the seahorse pillow! Wonderful job!
Love the pillow - the colors are great together. Congrats on the recital! Maybe one day you can post a short video of them playing. My daughter just finished her first year of flute at college. She loves it more than ever, but those college level flutes are not cheap!
Blessings,
Patti
Very cute!
The pillow came out fantastic.
You made me chuckle with the "Oscar the Grouch" statement. Because its a nice surprise to find useful ways to use those less than desireable trims. The "seaweed" trim perfectly completes the design of your pillow. Beautiful.
What a great result! The batik sets it off wonderfully.
That is really cute. The co ordinated fabric is perfect.
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