Monday, February 25, 2013

Doilies and Such


About seventy or eighty years ago when my mother did a favor for a neighbor she was usually rewarded with a doily or some sort of handwork.  She died and left many doilies, a tribute to her kindnesses.  And now the question: what to do with so many doilies.
Since I consider myself a thrifty and resourceful person I pondered over this question and came up with various ideas.  The most gorgeous pieces you can frame and give to grandchildren.  Others you can use as appliques on cushions you make, or if they are round, they can be one side of the cushion .  I took some rectangular crocheted pieces and made bathroom linens by sewing up a rectangular piece of white fabric and then placing the crocheted piece on one end.  Pretty.

Other crocheted pieces I placed under objects which might scratch coffee tables.  When I made a vest I used some of mother’s crocheted pieces.  Also, I took a denim jacket and embellished it with appliques and small crocheted pieces.  The contrast is interesting and striking.

Not only did I enjoy Mother’s work, I now buy crocheted pieces wherever I see them and then use them creatively.  Long live handwork made by dedicated folks!

About seventy or eighty years ago when my mother did a favor for a neighbor she was usually rewarded with a doily or some sort of handwork.  She died and left many doilies, a tribute to her kindnesses.  And now the question: what to do with so many doilies.

Since I consider myself a thrifty and resourceful person I pondered over this question and came up with various ideas.  The most gorgeous pieces you can frame and give to grandchildren.  Others you can use as appliques on cushions you make, or if they are round, they can be one side of the cushion .  I took some rectangular crocheted pieces and made bathroom linens by sewing up a rectangular piece of white fabric and then placing the crocheted piece on one end.  Pretty.

Other crocheted pieces I placed under objects which might scratch coffee tables.  When I made a vest I used some of mother’s crocheted pieces.  Also, I took a denim jacket and embellished it with appliques and small crocheted pieces.  The contrast is interesting and striking.

Not only did I enjoy Mother’s work, I now buy crocheted pieces wherever I see them and then use them creatively.  Long live handwork made by dedicated folks!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Cushions for Couches


I saw an ad in the newspaper in which cushions for couches were reduced by seventy-five percent.  Wow!  I ran to the store.  Yes, the cushions were reduced from $80. to $20.  I went back home.  I like cushions whose covers I can remove because I like to nap on the couch with our cushions and so does my family.  Well, the type of cushions on sale cost too much, and the fabric didn’t lend itself for removal and certainly not washing in a machine.  Perhaps they required dry-cleaning and who wants to sleep on a cushion that smells like chemicals.  No way.

I took out fabrics I already had and scraps of my husband’s old blue jeans.  Voila!  I combined all sorts of fabrics and came up with an assortment of cushions for my couch.  I mixed faded denim with regular colorful cottons; floral prints with eyelet; denim with lace; and a previously embroidered University of Texas logo on white fabric with a western print.  All were colorful and practical and most important of all, they suited my kind of life.

And I bought my filler cushions on sale at the local fabric store.  Savings?  Lots of money.