How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I hadn't really planned on making this one of those show and tell blogs, but WTH I am making my own rules as I go along (finally!!).  Allergies and asthma keep me in for a good deal of the summer- this summer has been  either hot/humid (asthma) or cool/wet (allergies and/or asthma). My tutoring schedule was very sporadic this summer between vacations, camps, and wonderful family summer time activities but I tend to go a little crazy with time on my hands.  After two very traumatic summers getting Jeff back on his feet from that horrific fall in 2012 and open heart surgery 2013 I found myself with a lot of unfocused energy.

So here are the pillows that I made for my first born who lives in Chicago.  I will admit, I was not thrilled with the idea of her moving  there (crime, distance from family, urban isolation) but she has made the city her own and created a wonderful life for herself- career, home, friends......we could not be prouder of her.   I wanted to make something to go  in her new home that she would have for many years to never forget that she is always in my heart.  I combined the sentimental with the practical and came up with the idea of making pillows to go with her new couch.  This couch  was a story in itself--her original couch was defective and had to be returned, the new couch required many, many, many phone calls and emails to discuss style and color and after a twelve week wait  it wouldn't fit into the condo without being taken apart and rebuilt (a very traumatic day). I stumbled upon some graphics (slightly insulting) of Chicago neighborhoods and because she has lived in a few and works in another I ran with that idea.  It required transferring and sizing the images, projecting them on the overhead projector I have at school, tracing the image onto the fabric, cross stitching the design, and sewing up a pretty basic envelope pillow. But, I'm very project/goal oriented, so this was right up my alley.

She was very happy with the result and just sent pictures of how they look in their new home.

I see pillows in my future.....

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