One Thing, One Week Challenge

Last week Amy challenged her readers to determine to complete one thing over the course of one week. I chose to sew up the two remaining cushions for my patio. Remember how I had found two at a yard sale and was trying to find two more?

Anyways, I completed my goal a few days ago and was happy to finally have a comfy place to sit on the patio. Husband and I sat out there one evening when it wasn't so hot and it was nice until we started talking how we needed to paint the patio and spray paint the patio furniture. Ha! There is always something to be done!

These pictures aren't some fancy camera trick I tried to do. It was actually so humid the day I took these photos, the camera lens fogged up. You get the idea anyways!

I've still been going through my fabric stash and cutting it into 5" squares. I hope to finish cutting soon and get to sewing. I'll share more about that later!

Pillows and Cushions

Yesterday I finished up some projects I had laying around. Project number one was patio chair cushions. I have needed some for a while I am too frugal to buy brand new ones or buy new foam to make them. So, I waited until I found some at a tag/yard sale to recover.


I finally found two this past weekend (I need four, but, hey, two is a start!). I got them both for $0.50 and the foam is still cushy! I also went to a retail outlet called Essex this weekend and found a vinyl flannel backed tablecloth on clearance for $1. It was a great weave style print too!

I needed something waterproof for the cushions on the patio because it has no covering. I have yet to find an table umbrella at a reasonable price also.

Here is how I did it:

Take off the old covering from the foam cushions.

Lay cushion on top of tablecloth to measure the size you will need. Sew around three sides. Insert foam and fold under edges. Pin and sew all the way around the cushion.

Finished! (Ignore the horrible looking patio and rusty chairs--that is another project that is waiting)

Project number two was pillows. I had found some cute embroidered scenes (looks to be on potato sacks) at a tag sale and wasn't sure if I wanted to frame them or make them into pillows. I decided on pillows because the guest bed needed a few more pillows. I think they make the perfect addition. Husband said they looked so good that he would have thought I bought them and not made them (is that a compliment? hmmm....).

I'm going for a shabby chic look in the guest bedroom. I have a plan to make a pretty quilt for the bed perhaps using pinwheels but for now I have a handmade quilt by my grandmother.

Aren't the adorable? When I bought them they smelled funny and the stitching wasn't to clear. Maybe it was dusty or something. I washed them and ironed them a lot and the colors in the thread became brighter. The kitty and bird are so cute!