Blog Booty Call?

Oh.

Hey, Blog.

How have you been?

I know, it's been a while since I called, but I just got caught up in life, you know? Things happen. The kids are sick, the house needs to be fixed, bills need to be paid...

So...

I've missed you.

I really have.

I thought about you a lot, all the time. You know I couldn't forget you.

So, can I come over?

Spring Has Sprung!

Well, I have been so busy keeping my other resolutions that the blog has sort of fallen to the side. I lost a bunch of weight already, and have also been in a frenzy of organizing and purging and planning new projects... Don't worry, though, I have all sorts of craftiness to share!

I finally finished and sent the Giftmas goodies for my DearSis and all her awesome family. I know, I know, I know... it's March. Last year the gifts went out in May (I think?) and I didn't even have a good excuse, so I figure I'm ahead of the game!

Also, instead of some handmade and some store bought, this year I sent all handmade gifts. Hand knitted skirts for her 3 girls,

a car caddy for the nephew,

a crocheted scrubbie mitt for my sister (which was one of the fastest things I made, so I forgot to take a picture, of course) and just a gift card for BIL - by that point, I couldn't stand making anything else. Sorry, bro. You'll get homemade brownies next year. In July. ;)

So, here it is, the first day of spring, and love is in the air! The baby lambs are frolicking in the fields, and I'm starting to see calves in the pastures and smell the scents of spring. (I seem to forget every year that the first few days that are nice enough for me to open the windows are also the first few days that are nice enough for the farmers start spreading manure.) In the spirit of love, rather than manure, I whipped up this nifty little gift pillow today!

It has a zipper down the side, and is actually two small pillows with a heart-shaped space in between for your gift to hide.

To make this, you will need:

• 4 pieces of appropriately sized fabric, 2 for lining and 2 'pretty' pieces for the outside (we'll look at how to determine the size in a minute)
• batting or fiberfill
• zipper, velcro or other fastener
• needle and thread (You can hand sew this if you want a small one, or use your sewing machine for a bigger one. A zipper foot isn't necessary, but might make your life easier.)

See? Not too complex. Of course, I made it harder than it had to be. Cuz that's what I do. Make sure you read all the way down, and check out the "What I Learned" section before attempting!

The first step is to determine what size you want your pillow to be. I had a 7" zipper on hand*, so I determined that one side of the pillow needed to be at least that long. So I made a half-heart template, making sure that the outside straight line was seven inches long. I just used a paper plate to trace the curve, cut out my template, and made a few snips here and there until it looked just right. Make sure to leave an even seam allowance!

*Had I thought just a little more, I would have realized that it could have been any size had I used Velcro instead.

The pillow itself would have been more even, and the opening seam would have been almost completely hidden, like I wanted it to be. Of course, I went right ahead and used a zipper, not even thinking about the fact that a) I have only ever sewn in a zipper once before, and b) with my limited sewing skills, there was no way I was going to be able to successfully hide a zipper in a seam. But hey, live and learn, right?

My fabric was a really soft and slinky remnant that I had picked up somewhere, perfect for a pillow, but scary for me to work with. I debated for a while, and finally decided to use the freezer paper stenciling idea and just adapted it to my needs. I cut the pattern pieces out of waxed paper, then carefully pinned and ironed the waxed paper to the fabric before cutting the fabric. Worked like a charm!

I just left the waxed paper on while I sewed the lining and outside pieces together, of course remembering to leave a small hole (in the same place on each half) for turning and stuffing.

I pinned the zipper in place on the wrong side of one half of the heart. I aligned the two hearts, and pinned the second half to the other side of the zipper. Then I flipped the pillow over and topstitched the zipper in place, and all around the outside edge on both sides.

Then I stuffed* it. Not too firmly, remember. I turned and pinned my stuffing holes, then ran another top stitch all the way around to connect the other sides, making sure to catch the raw ends of the stuffing holes in my stitches. Unzip, et voila! A nifty pillow with a semi-hidden zipper to stash your love notes, or... y'know... other things.

No judgement here.

*All of the lint is from my stuffing - I used shredded socks. Seriously! Gives the pillow a nice weight, and is soft and comfy. They were bleached within an inch of their life before being consigned to the shredding bin, fyi, because I know my imaginary readers are all like "Ewwww..." right now.

What I learned from this project:

• Waxed paper is awesome.
• I could have sewn the zipper in at the same time that I was sewing the lining and front pieces together, and saved a few steps and a lot of time. I will do that, or use velcro to close the pillow, next time.

Keeping Resolutions

That's what I've been doing this year. My resolutions?

• Be more healthy. I'm not setting any weight loss goals, because I don't want to get stuck in the diet cycle, but I do want to eat healthier and exercise more. And I have been, all month so far! I even survived a dinner out @ Outback Steakhouse, under 700 calories! Yay me!
• Finish what I start. I have been trying to finish old projects, and not start new ones until the old ones are done. It's been slow going on finishing up the old ones, but the new projects I've started have been completed and not set aside. That's progress!
• Be more creative. I am trying to do at least one creative thing every day. This hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be, but it is still in my mind as something I must do, and I'm trying.
• Be more organized. Doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with being more creative, but - even as much as my nature is rather scattered - I am in charge of the household, and running it requires organization. Time to knuckle down and get there.
• Journal. I'll never be a daily journalist, but I have been making an effort to write down any significant happenings at least once a week. So far, so good! Hopefully, as I improve with this, I will improve with blogging a bit more regularly as well (she said, to her audience of none). Even if no one reads, this is something I enjoy and I want to keep up with it. Which goes right back to that follow-through I was talking about.
• Try new things. I have tried lentils, and chocolate salad dressing, and going to a get-together where I only knew one person. None of the results were necessarily positive, but I am still trying new things anyway. Because I will find something new and fall in love with it, eventually.

This year, my resolutions have been all about taking care of me, which is something new I'm trying, as well.