MORE LILLY PULITZER PILLOWS

A pile of Lilly pillows!  I made 2 each of 22" and 20" and 1 - 18".  I liked the way they looked on top of each other, with the different ruffles showing.

Close-up of the ribbon that surrounds the 'picture.'

The buttons and ruffles matched

These were a little challenging to make since they were originally dresses.  I couldn't quite get a straight square because of the taper, but visually, it really isn't that apparent.

CAT-PROOF FABRIC

I have a client who rescues Persian and Himalayan cats and, hopefully, finds them new homes.  At any given time she has between 30 and 35 cats.  The funny thing is, never does her house small like there is even one cat, let alone as many as she has.  One of her biggest challenges is keeping her furniture safe from the scratching paws of all these residents.  After much trial and error, she found a fabric that none of the cats like.  It is a kind of fake ultra suede, and whenever she finds it, she buys ALL of it.  At the present she has several large bolts of it.

 One of her kitty cats, relaxing on the new chair cover.

Because of the style of the chairs, they were a bit challenging.  As you can see in the above photo, I had to make little tabs that snap on to connect the skirt to the base.  

The 'cushions' have batting inside, just to give the chairs a bit of padding, but not make them look so formal.

I had to do gathered corners on the front because of the shape of the legs.  A tailored pleat would have bowed out in a funny way.  

The slipcovers made the chairs more inviting.  My client was happy, and, maybe even more importantly, the cats were all happy, too!

LILLY PULITZER, RESORT 2005

I made this pillow from a Lilly Pulitzer dress.   My client got these adorable dresses, for little girls, from Marshall's for a fraction of the original cost.  I wish they came in my size.  I would totally wear them all!

As you will see on the photos below, the appliqués  were too small to make a pillow without enlarging them somehow.  I accomplished this by cutting the white denim 20" x 20" and sewing the appliqué directly to it.  I could have done it by cutting pieces and then mitering the corners, but that seemed like too much work and I wanted to frame the image with a small trim.  In this case, I used a pink polka dot ribbon.  The 1" ruffle is also a Lilly Pulitzer fabric.

The back has covered buttons from the same fabric as the ruffle.

The pictures above are of the other dresses that still need to be made into pillows.  They are all so cute.  I can't wait to make the rest of them.

BEAUTY AND INSPIRATION AT PARIS IN A CUP TEA SALON

 Beautiful table settings

The Paris in a Cup Tea Salon

Everywhere you look and in every corner there is something special to see

 Bejeweled shoes

Paris in rhinestones

Our wonderful hostess, Sharon Hughes

I waited a long time to finally meet, in person, Deb Ward-Kennedy

Yesterday was the Launch Your Creativity event at Paris in a Cup on the square in Old Town Orange, California. It was my second time attending.  The last time I went was in October 2011.  The unfortunate thing about that one was it was exactly one week after I was sexually assaulted.  I really have no memory of that event, though I do have a picture, so I know I was there.  Yesterday though, was a whole other story.  It was beautiful, the speakers were wonderful, inspiring women, the food was yummy and the love and support we all felt and held for each other was very much in the air.  The amazing speakers included Sharon (of course,) Tara Wilson, Jane Button, Christine Rose Elle, Jenny Doh, Lidy Baars, Debi Beard and Deb-Ward Kennedy.  Talk about a superstar lineup!  And as if this wasn't enough, they had a very special surprise in store for me!

This pendant was made by the fabulous Rita Reade!  The picture isn't great, but what it says is 'Brave.'  I am so touched by this gesture of love and support.  I do not feel like I am brave in sharing my story.  It is just something I feel like I must do.  You can check out my other site, At Long Last Heard, for my story.  

It was a magical, inspiring, beautiful day with magical, inspiring, beautiful women who are all following their creative bliss!

WHITE DENIM JUST NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE

 The two wing chairs and two ottomans got new white denim slipcovers.

 Back view with covered buttons.  In this case, buttons were not needed to get the cover on and off, so they are just for looks, they they do function.  Over time, though, fabric, and especially denim, can continue to shrink.  If this happens, the covers will be easier to remove and put back on.

It's a little hard to tell, but the skirts are not to the floor.  They are just long enough to cover the upholstery underneath.  It is a way to save on fabric when you are running short.  Plus, it gives a lighter feel to the piece and to the room.

SLIPCOVERS AND PILLOWS FOR THE BEACH HOUSE

Two posts in a week!  What has come over me?  Well, I can't promise I will be posting twice a week on a regular basis.  I do, however, wish to be more consistent in posting.  That, I will promise to do.

On a trip to Laguna Beach, oh, 3 or 4 years ago, we came across this fabric.  It was very expensive and, though, lovely, not in the budget.  After returning to San Diego, I was in a local fabric store and they had it.  For $6 a yard!  The exact fabric.  I excitedly called my cousin and told her what I had stumbled upon and asked how much she wanted.  At this point there were 3 bolts of it.  She eventually decided on 25 yards.  She wasn't sure what she wanted to do with it, but wanted to make sure there was enough to do a couple chairs or a love seat.  I purchased the fabric and then a couple days later, she decided she wanted more.  I went back and there was nothing left. 

At that point, my cousins were living in Rancho Santa Fe.  They have since moved to Carlsbad and now have a house on the beach.  Finally, it was time to use the fabric with the khaki sea stars.  It turned out there was 26 yards with which to 'play.'  She decided on two chairs, both with ottomans.  That was going to barely be enough fabric for all 4 pieces.   The solution was to do a contrast welt and to make the skirts a little shorter than to the floor.  The chair above is in the master bedroom and, as you can see, the ocean is right outside the sliding glass doors!  Beautiful!

This is the back of the chair that is in the downstairs family room.

Front of chair with matching ottoman.

After the slipcovers were in place, and her giant white slipcovered sofas were delivered, it became apparent that throw pillows were needed.  The fabric was all gone, though.  So I started googling 'sea star fabric' and finally found it.  Further investigation revealed a navy blue one as well.  In the end, I made 15 pillows in the white/khaki and 11 in the navy.  I did a navy welt because there was half as much of that fabric and my cousin wanted the maximum number of pillows it was possible to get from the available yardage.  My car was literally full of pillows on Easter Sunday when I delivered them.

Closer up picture of the family room chair.

SLIPCOVERS AND WINDOW TREATMENTS

I did not realize it had been soooo long since my last post.  I, of course, had the best of intentions to begin posting on a regular basis again.  As it turned out, my healing took much longer than I ever thought it would, and one of the casualties was this blog.  Now,  however, I truly am better and will be making a concerted effort to actually post my new work.  While it is true I did very little, if any, really, work while I was getting through my trauma, I am back to working full-time.  I had a call from a potential new client the other day and she had been on this blog and thought that I was no longer in business because there had been no new postings.  I'll say it again, I AM BACK TO WORKING FULL-TIME.  And below is one of my recent jobs:

Inverted pleat draperies.

Matching chair and ottoman in the sitting area adjacent to the bed.

And another ottoman at the foot of the bed.  I also did pillow shams, but my client will save those for her 'summer' bedding.

THIS OLD HOUSE

Kim Kelly, Bella Rustica, and her St. Simons Island, Georgia cottage are in the October issue of This Old House magazine.  To get the entire story, go to her blog.  There are also outtakes and the story of what really happening when your home is photographed for a magazine.

Above is a slipcovered Parson's chair that I made.  The shot below shows what the inside back looks like.

The center picture below is the burlap roman shade I made.  Again, not a great shot (for my work) because of the hanging light that's in front of it.  

 This is a better angle to see what it really looks like.  Burlap is not my favorite fabric to work with, but it turned out pretty well in spite of all the 'issues' that sewing on burlap presents.

And last, but not least, the screened in back porch has a (barely visible, unless you happen to be looking for things you've done in someone's home) chaise that I also slipcovered. This is one of Scout's favorite places to lounge.  

The shot below is what it looks like not shot through a screen.

 I just love when work I've done ends up in a magazine.  I never get tired of it.

BEWARE OF CHENILLE -- IT GROWS!

Below are the new covers, but

 about three years ago, I made chenille covers for these chairs and ottoman.  Recently, my client decided she wanted new ones, partly because she wanted to lighten up the room and partly because they seemed to not fit properly.  Before I went to measure, I looked for and found the old measurements, and thought that would save time this go-around.   A funny thing happened, though, when I thought I'd compare measurements.  They were so far off that I couldn't believe it.  Now, I've been known to make things a little bigger, but 4" bigger?  I don't think so.

 My client liked the new covers so much, that with the extra fabric, I was able to make pillows for her red chairs.  The 1" pleated ruffle is in a contrast linen that I happened to have sitting around.  It matched perfectly and framed the pillows nicely.

 The 3 photos below are the original covers in the chenille that grew over time.  They look nice in these pictures because it is before the 'growth spurt.'  They definitely do not look like this anymore.

So if you decide to use chenille for something, be forewarned that it GROWS over time!

BACK FROM THE EDGE - LITERALLY

It has been nearly 9 months since my last post.  At the time, I had every intention of continuing to blog and carry on with my life like nothing had happened.  Trouble was, something very traumatic had happened,  and it was much harder to heal from and took far longer than I ever imagined it would.  In fact, I am still in the process.

On 24 September 2011, I was sexually assaulted.   This coming Monday, which is the one year anniversary of the attack, I am launching a new project called At Long Last Heard.  The statics say that every 45 seconds someone in the United States is sexual assaulted.  If this is correct, then that means that NO ONE I know has had that happen to them?  Seems impossible.  To me, this means that people simply do not talk about it.  (That has changed a little; I think maybe 5 women I know have told me of their ordeals.)  In our country, there are still two subjects that are very taboo:  sexual assault and suicide. I think the time has come to change this.  I am only one person, but I truly believe that the good that can come from my attack is to, at the very least, begin to change the attitudes and thinking about these subjects.

My new web site will tell the story of my journey this last year:  the good, the bad and the really ugly.  It is a little scary opening up my entire life so much, BUT I think it is very important.  If I can help even one woman understand the process she will go through or make someone feel like she isn't alone, then it will all be worth it.  Let me say right now that I understand sexual assault happens to both women and men, but as I am a woman, that will be my focus.  (If you are a man that has been sexually assaulted, I suggest you start your own web site to help other men.)

At Long Last Heard will launch at 12:01 am on Monday, 24 September.  I also have a Facebook page set up and next week, will set up a Twitter link.  If you, or anyone you know of, would benefit from this, please check it out.  And I would be forever grateful if you would copy this post and put it on your own site.  Or your Facebook wall.  If you would prefer to contact me directly, please write me at: atlonglastheard@gmail.com. 

As for A Little of This That and the Other, I am working again and have lots of new pictures to post.  It may be a lot juggling 2 sites, but this is my creative outlet and I think it is important to get back to sharing here.  Other than this post, I will not talk about my experience on this site.  I want to keep this blog as my 'happy place.'