Here are a couple presents I made for Mom in the last six months.
Minnesota Pillow (Christmas 2011)
Mom gave me a dishtowel that has this cool Minnesota theme embroidered on it, and asked me to make it into a pillow for her. I considered making it into a pillowcase, but I would’ve had to try to add fabric to it and I didn’t have any fabric that matched it in both texture and color. I did take the trim off the edges of the dishtowel and incorporate them into the seams on the top of and bottom of the pillow (bottom image). Also, when pillow making – make sure you buy the stuffing for pillows. Originally, I tried to stuff it with the white stuff used in snow villages, but while it looks like pillow stuffing, it is lumpy and weird and definitely not make for pillows. Pillow stuffing is wonderfully soft and fluffy and works much better. 🙂
Luggage Accessories (Mother’s Day 2012)
I made Mom a luggage handle wrap and a luggage tag for Mother’s Day, as I know she’s always liked having really colorful luggage tags (it’s easier to spot your luggage that way). I improvised off of a tutorial on how to make luggage accessories from recycled neckties, though I used fabric from my stash and not a necktie.
The luggage handle cozy has velcro to wrap around a handle and make it both colorful and more comfortable to grip. The luggage tag has a pocket made from clear laminating contact paper (which you can get by-the-yard at Ace hardware! I got 6 inches for 30 cents – how neat!) that is doubled on itself (sticky side in) and sewn on three edges – the top is open so that the address card can be taken out. I wrote each of Mom’s addresses on the card, so all she has to do is flip the card for Minnesota in summer and Florida in winter. 🙂
