Thursday, November 29, 2012

DIY Sweater Pillow


This is a  repost of a project I did recently: how to make a DIY sweater pillow from a sweater I found at a thrift shop.  But before I begin let me explain. I have been  so indecisive the last few months and have announced that I've started a new blog and then I've changed my mind (twice!) And some of you have been kind enough to follow me
At last I have come to the conclusion to keep my old blog name  Rose Colored Glasses and just transfer it over to Wordpress.  So here I am. In the move some of you may have lost track of me, but I hope that by now you have found me again and I promise not to move anymore :)
Please sit down and have a cup of tea with me and I'll show you what I did.  The inspiration came from a knitted pillow with a cable design on the front, that I saw in the Pottery Barn catalogue. It looked like it could have been a sweater, which gave me an idea. So I went to my favorite GW (Goodwill Store) to look for a sweater and found this blue one with a cable design on the front.

 It looked about the right size to cover a 14″ pillow form. First I washed it. Then I turned it inside out and used my sewing machine to sew a straight line from armpit to armpit.
 Next I cut off the excess and turned it right side out again. Then I put the pillow form inside. At one end was the seam I’d just sewn and at the open end was the ribbing which was at the bottom of the sweater.
I folded the ribbing over to the back and pinned it. This photo shows the back of the pillow. The cable design was only on the front.
 The next thing I did was unravel some of the wool from the parts of the sweater that I’d cut off and I used it as thread to sew where I just pinned. It’s best to use a needle with a big eye, so you can thread the thick wool through it.
                                                                  The finished seam looks like this.

                                           And here is the finished pillow on our couch in the TV room.
 My recycled sweater cost $3.79. That was the total cost because I already had an old pillow form which I recycled. A very stylish pillow in the color of my choice for a very low cost!
So how much do you think the Pottery Barn pillow was? It was $49.50 in a choice of only 3 colors and you have to provide your own pillow form!
My pillow turned out so well I just had to make another one. This time I went shopping at Salvation Army.
As luck would have it I found another one that is a perfect color.

                                     Here they are on the couch. Looks warm and inviting doesn’t it?



Cashmere would be so soft.  A  men’s sweater size could make a nice big one.  I can picture a whole bunch of multicolored sweaters or all white ones covering a couch.
Do you think you could make one?  Send me a picture if you make one and I’ll post it.
** Since I first wrote this post I have been looking for more sweaters.  They are harder to find than I thought.  I haven't found another suitable one yet!!
Glad you stopped by today!

Rhondi xo

Monday, November 12, 2012

Twig Tree For Christmas


Like most of you I have been decorating our house for Christmas.  Many of my decorations are red but in my sunroom red is just too bright.  So I made a twig tree for Christmas in here.  Our home backs onto a woods which makes it very  easy for me to get some branches and put them in a vase.  If you already know me it's no surprise that I just happened to have a blue and white vase!

These crocheted snowflakes that a student gave me years ago make such a nice contrast against the dark brown branches.

Some small glass ornament from my collection add a sparkle of silver blue and aqua.

My twig tree  is the perfect tree for the sunroom: light airy and whimsical and it doesn't take up too much room.



Here is a view from the other direction.  This room is also my office so I get to look at my twig tree  and it doesn't block my view out the window as I work.


Maybe I have inspired you to find some branches and make a tree like this.  It is so easy and you could hang anything on it: cookie cutters, pinecones,  paper snowflakes, bows, spray it white, glue sparkles on it.  There are endless possibilities.


I like my twig tree so much it may stay up after Christmas and it can be a winter twig tree!

I'd love to see what you've done to decorate in your home.

Thanks for stopping by.
Rhondi xo