Sunday, July 15, 2012

It's the little things

I don't remember how I stumbled across a crochet edge pillow case by Rose Hip on the Internet, but I immediately fell in love with it. The vintage look really appeals to me. I've seen pillow cases with tatting on the edges and those are very attractive, but I know tatting is not in my future. I do know how to crochet though!

After a little research I found a tutorial on how to do this and made my first case Sunday night and completed it by Monday afternoon. I have to keep telling myself it is a first attempt and will not be perfect. By about two scallops in I knew my cotton yarn was a little too thick, but I pressed on. The fabric I chose (Ava Rose by Tanya Whelan) was too perfect to abandon ship without finishing.

A few scallops into my pillow case.

Completed pillow!
 Monday night before bed I put the case on my top pillow and it looked amazing! I said to my husband, "This case is so beautiful, I bet tomorrow morning I will wake up beatiful too!" His response wasn't what I was looking for. Men!  But I love it and plan to make more soon. I have such a huge fabric stash and yarn collection I am sure I can make hundreds without having to buy anything else...or maybe I need to go looking for another perfect fabric ... and then the yarn to match!
After a little more research I found another tutorial on Heidi Bears' blog that showed using a back stitch inside the seam to create the base for the crochet. That is going to be the method for my next attempt. Pulling yards of pink cotton yarn through this pillowcase took a bit of time, and I like the look of a hidden base.

Having a nice pillow case on the bed seems like a small thing but means a lot to me. Our English Mastiff, Starbuck, sleeps with us (directly in between us EVERY NIGHT) and I can't put one of my quilts on our bed because of that. But he doesn't sleep on my pillow (usually). So I get to have a nice handmade piece to lay my head on. Like I said, it's the little things.


The big one is why I can't have nice things! Some perspective...this is a king size bed.