Pillow talk
Lily’s asleep, Amelia’s at school… I am keeping cool behind drawn curtains. It’s going to be 38°c today, can that be fair? It’s Autumn! The hot weather is going on and on and on.
After I first discovered the Maki Squarepatch site last month I was inspired to make a crazy patchwork cushion and couldn’t resist adding some ears and eyes to give it a little more character. It was pretty easy and haphazard – I cut very random, not terribly even strips and hastily sewed them in a log-cabin-like formation. Nothing was measured and no lines are parallel. The stripe fabric is one of my favourite Kaffe Fassett fabrics… but having discovered a stitch in dye and her batik stripes I feel like it would be incredibly fun to break out some of my Mum’s ancient 70s batik equipment and dye some stripes of my own. The likelihood of that actually happening is slim so instead I will just keep my eye on a stitch in dye’s etsy store.
Speaking of Maki Squarepatch (again), I was looking through their flickr stream last night and discovered this hotdog bolster — which coincidentally is a lot like the one I made for the back of our couch the week before last.
Mine still needs a tail (and a decent photoshoot minus the ugly couch, clearly). To make your own sausage dog bolster, I used the pattern from good old “Splendid Soft Toys” and just cut the body pattern piece in two and extended the stomach section. Stuffing it was a nightmare (hence the lumps) but it looks pretty cute.
I love so much of the Squarepatch stuff. These girls are clearly on my wavelength.
Responses
13th March 2008 at 11:06 am
So cute. You have the ability to take the mundane and make it sing. I envy that!
13th March 2008 at 11:33 am
I have a whole lot of fabric from my visit to Purl Patchwork last year, in a pile waiting to become a log cabin cushion. Now I am starting to feel doubt about my plans, I am feeling the need for ears. I love the whole face/cushion thing, but fear not, I also hate to copy. I will just admire and say you are one clever lady Claire.
PS I was also enjoying a little peek at a much larger Lily – but don’t want to sound strange or anything.
13th March 2008 at 12:36 pm
I just to say: so happy that you’re back! I missed your blog so much…
13th March 2008 at 1:10 pm
Oh my daughters would love to have such a cute cushion 
You are very creative!
13th March 2008 at 2:16 pm
hi claire,
it’s brooke from brown owls.
I’m just looking at your beautiful sausage dog!
Nice work indeed.
Happy Thursday to you.
brooke and moca(the sausage dog)
13th March 2008 at 2:47 pm
Loving the sausage dog. They have such personality don’t they?
13th March 2008 at 3:29 pm
Hi there! It’s great to see the things you are making again. Do you have an etsy shop?
13th March 2008 at 8:02 pm
Hallo Claire,
I,m so happy that you’re back!
I read your blog from 2004, but sometime I don’t understand because I learn english slowly.
Chiara
13th March 2008 at 8:35 pm
Oh how I wish I could sew!!! (Quilts don’t count.)
I’d love to make fun things like that, and I’d MAKE the boys like them. (They’re too tall and manly to officially dance around with cushions and sausage dogs, but maybe I could refuse to feed them until they did…???)
Or maybe I could just buy a real sausage dog. I’m seriously considering it. Do they come in blue?
13th March 2008 at 9:19 pm
Seeing how cute little Lily is now I can only say that you are a truly talented dolls maker, Claire. 
13th March 2008 at 11:36 pm
Thanks for mentioning my store on your blog. I just had someone place an order and they mentioned hearing about my store through you. I’ll have to check out your etsy store.
14th March 2008 at 3:08 am
That’s “super duper” cute, to use my five-year-old’s terminology.
14th March 2008 at 9:28 am
that cushion is sooo cute! It’s inspiring me to try one 
)
15th March 2008 at 5:02 am
how cute, getting to see your littlest one AND one of your infamous soft toys. it’s been too long
15th March 2008 at 5:29 am
what a wonderful hotdog dog. I love the character of both pillow and bolster. It’s all in the eyes, I think.
15th March 2008 at 6:55 am
I’ll have to try to make my little boy a cushion inspired by this, it’s so cute!(could take a while though!)
17th March 2008 at 5:45 am
The cusion is adorable and the bolster too. Your couch is a little zoo!
17th March 2008 at 12:09 pm
Pillow.Is.Soooo.Adorable!!
I’m motivated to maybe making one someday 
17th March 2008 at 5:19 pm
That cushion is cuteness plus more cuteness! More soft furnishings should have faces…. When I graduate from lilo-with throws and cushions to a real growed-up couch, I am detirmined that there will be cushions with faces!
18th March 2008 at 5:05 am
i so love this pillow. and the dog is fantastic too. i wish i could sew!
25th March 2008 at 4:39 am
I love the cushion. A happy cushion!! And the dog…well… I think I’m in love.
25th March 2008 at 5:18 am
I think the couch brings both pillows into perspective. I love how well they go together there!
27th March 2008 at 11:26 pm
I am loving that cushion! The eyes and the ears truly make it
13th March 2008 at 11:05 am
Is that Lily with the cushion? She looks so gorgeous – and the last pic I remember seeing of her was the one of her on the washing pile! She looks so much the girl now, toddling out of babyness.