Throw Pillows: One Room Challenge Week Five

Welcome back to the Main Bedroom Makeover. It is Week 4 of the One Room Challenge, and so far, so good. I am still in Missouri, visiting my mother for a few more days. We’ve had a great time, and The Great Pillow Pattern Dilemma has been solved. If you were unaware of The Great Pillow Pattern Dilemma before now, that’s because I just named it this very second. It’s not your fault that you didn’t know there was a problem. Lucky for me, I’m the daughter of a very patient seamstress and experienced quilter. Mom bailed me out (again).

If you’re here for the first time, welcome! Here are some links to bring you up-to-date: Week One || Week Two || Week Three || Week Four

Since I knew I would be out of town for nearly two weeks of the challenge, I planned accordingly and added a sewing project to our schedule. My mom, Vera, has been sewing for nearly her entire life. She sewed all through high school, college, and I wore about an equal amount of hand-me-downs and mom-made clothing as a child. She made all of my prom dresses, my wedding dress, and when she retired from a long career as a children’s librarian, she took up quilting.

My feelings about sewing can be described as apathetic at best, but that’s a post for another day. I can sew and have done so for years, but I rarely enjoy it. The promise of completing a project with my mom’s help made it more appealing.

Back to the Mood Board

As a reminder, here is the mood board.

Take note of the throw pillow. That pattern is a sawtooth star.

I arrived at Mom’s convinced that I would be replicating that pillow almost exactly. The plan was that she would teach me how to sew the sawtooth star, and I would do the work. However, after we sat down to talk about it, I had second thoughts. Thus began The Great Pillow Pattern Dilemma. Copying the exact pillow did not feel quite right, and my mom discovered that what I thought was printed fabric was really thousands of teeny tiny half-square triangles sewn together. No, no, and no. That was definitely not happening. No.

We grabbed some fabric from her…ahem…extensive stash to play around with some new ideas. We tried some stripe variations, but I felt it looked a little too crafty vs. artsy.

Also, I was not convinced that I could line up everything well enough to happy with the outcome.

After a lot of thought, I went back to my kindergarten days and pulled out the paper and crayons. That exercise led to this mock-up made up of half-square triangles.

Then, I got sidetracked by other more interesting tasks such as patching drywall and cleaning the gutters on mom’s house. My mom, recognizing that nothing was happening with my pillows, offered to sew them, and I said yes very, very quickly. No take-backs!

She turned my idea into reality, and I am so grateful.

To make the pillows different, I suggested that we change the color variations, and I think it works. These pillow tops feel more artsy and less crafty, which is how I roll.

When I get home in a couple of days, I will finish the pillow tops with an envelope back and stuff them with pillow forms.

From this point on, it’s all about decor and accessories. I have enjoyed my visit to Missouri, and now I’m ready to get back on track with the main bedroom project at home.

Be sure to check out all of the other creative and beautiful One Room Challenge projects. The featured designers posted their week five updates Wednesday, and the other guest participants like me will link up their posts today.