An Embroidered Spring Pillow and Giveaway Winner

When I was a little girl, my mom didn’t drink coffee in the morning.  Instead, she would wake up by the method of creativity, with a needle and thread.  I will never forget the sound of the needle, filled with embroidery floss, making a distinctive “pop” through the canvas, and then the voice of the fibers rubbing together as the threads created strokes of color on the colorful canvas.  As a child, I was mesmerized by the scenes my mom created.  One was a spring scene, and the other an autumn.  And when they were both completed, they would alternate space on the wall, all professionally framed as a work of art, depending on the season.

Once the 80s had come and went, and hanging crewel and embroidery was no longer envogue, those beautiful works of art were replaced with more updated pieces.  But, my mom never threw them away.  She knew even though they were not trending, the time, effort, and beauty poured into them made them something of value.

So when she saw me make this pheasant fall pillow with a thrifted piece of embroidery, she should give you me the old pieces of crewel to do something with.  My mom unburied them from their hiding place and gave them to me about a year ago; where upon I buried them in my craft room, until I found the time and inspiration to do something with them.

When Mother’s Day was quickly approaching, I decided that was the kick I needed, and I got to work.  I ended up using some heavy-weight home décor linen I have a lot of yardage for a reupholstery project coming up.  I simply hand-sewed that circle onto the square and it was so perfect.  I love how the nubby colors of the linen tied in with the colors of the birch trunks.  Then I added some gold cording (on clearance at JoAnns), which tied in perfectly with my mom’s gold accents, and put it all together.  For a full tutorial, go to this post.

I am so pleased with how it turned out.  My mom was equally as thrilled.  It looks even more stunning sitting on her rock fireplace, and ties in effortlessly with her birch accents.  And every time I look at it, it is so familiar.  How many times, as a child did I look at the dreamy scene and picture myself going over the bridge, and in the little cottage?  I love giving a gift that brings an old piece back to life again.

I love that it is something that both our hands created together.

Thanks for following along on the journey.

Also, I wanted to give a huge thank you for all of you who participated on my anniversary giveaway!  Karenann Sharrot, you are the winner of the apron!  I will be emailing you to get an address to send the apron to you soon.

Blessings,

Cheryl

Sharing with:

Seeking Lavender Lane

French Country Cottage

Kingsbury Brook Farm