Sarah's Pillows - Part One

As you know, I'm making pillows for Sarah. She has two different pillow covers that she sent me to duplicate: one large square case and one smaller rectangular case.

"Three of the large, two of the small," she said.

Unfortunately, she only bought enough fabric for two of each. I hate disappointing a client, but she doesn't seem too upset about this, so I'm going with the flow.

I had a crazy week at work, and yesterday was a full day at the in-laws, so today I really needed to vegetate and get my head space back in order. Psyche myself up for work, so to speak. So, I didn't finish the pillows, like I'd hoped. But, Sarah (bless her!) assures me there's no hurry. Still, I'll work on them over the course of this week.

I have been putting a lot of thought into these. Each case has a zipper. There's nothing fancy about them, just plain zippers. I thought that since they're on decorative pillows, they should be lapped zippers. Thing is, I make items that don't require zippers. And I'm self-taught. So I have no clue how to sew in a zipper.

However, I'm my father's little girl, and my father always had the attitude: "How hard can it be?" The same attitude that led him to build the three-bedroom bungalow our family lived in for more than fifteen years. I inherited the Over-Achiever Gene.

So, I flipped through some sewing books I have, and I looked up lapped zippers. After reading the instructions, I thought I better do a few test runs. I pulled out some scrap fabric and I practised.

The instructions weren't very clear and I admit, I struggled. After watching a few tutorials, I realize I'm not the only one who thought the written instructions were confusing. Unfortunately, I didn't watch those videos until I sat down to write this blog. So, my seam-ripper was well-used. However, I figured out how to make a lapped zipper. And that's all that matters.

It's a little worn after taking it apart so many times, and I haven't cut off the threads, or finished the ends...and I don't even know why I'm apologizing for this. It's a scrap, after all.

All that matters is that it looks like it should. See? Peek-a-boo zipper.

Now to sew the real thing. Soon, Sarah, I promise.

Sarah's Drapery

I finished Sarah's drapes last night and delivered them to her today.

When I first saw the fabric, I immediately knew it was Sarah's personality. Bold, vibrant, colourful. Me...I'm a much simpler gal and I like something a little more low key.

But I have to say, after working with the fabric for a few hours, and once the drapes were done, I really like it. It's a bit like a Monet painting, with swirls of colour that bring forth emotion.

I have an unhealthy affection for fabric. My therapist says I'm handling it well.

Sarah picked bronze grommets:

The lining is lovely!

And I got to use my new labels.

Sarah sent me an email once she hung them at home:

See? Monet.

Drapery and Pillows for Sarah

A friend asked me if I could make her some drapes. It's not something I normally do. Keeping my product line simple and minimal is what keeps me sane. I work a ridiculous amount of overtime, I spend every Saturday looking after my aging inlaws and Sunday is the only day I can catch up with my own house chores.

But for Sarah, I'll make an exception. Have you met Sarah? She's adorable, and it's impossible to say No to her. Not to mention, I don't think she'd accept a No.

So, I agreed to make drapes for her.

She said she would buy the fabric, lining and grommets. All I had to do was cut and sew. Not a bad deal, I think.

I cut out the drapery panels yesterday.

My in-laws have an open basement with tons of room to spread out, so I thought I'd take advantage of that and bring the fabric to cut.

I brought all the tools I thought I'd need: measuring tape (both construction and fabric), rotary cutter, pinking shears, ruler, weights, snippers. In the end, I didn't need all of that, but it doesn't matter. Much better to have it all than to wish I'd brought something.

Today, I'll have to cut out the pieces for the pillows.

Oh, did I mention she wants pillow cases, too? No problem. Urban Contessa is all about customer service.

Of course, I had a moment of panic when I opened the bag of fabric she sent to me. I spread it all out to get a better look:

Then she sends me a text message: The drapery fabric is the one with the pattern. The pillow fabric is the solid green fabric.

Um...green?

I don't know how many of you know this, but I am blue-green colour blind.

For instance, the drapery fabric you see there is blue to me. And the "green" pillow fabric...not so green. That looks yellow to me...mustard yellow. Dijon mustard, to be precise.

I asked Chris which one was green and he looked at me like I had three heads. He points at the yellow fabric. "That one."

"Oh. Uh...thanks."

Maybe a business that relies on colour isn't such a good idea.

I should probably stick to writing. Black and white. Simple.

Did I mention I'm writing my first novel? See why I need to simplify my life?