accent-pillows Archives - Ruffing’s Artist Dolls and Toys

Posted on September 14, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 1 Comment

Bunny and Slug Pillows

I finished my Hug Me Bunny decorative fleece pillow and made a Hug Me Slug pillow friend for her out of sheeting and quilting cottons. I’m experimenting with which fabrics I like the most for pillows. I think I will try a combination of a fleece background, with sheeting and quilting cottons for the appliqués too. I tried that on my Super Slug and liked how it worked out before.

I made an envelope closure for each pillow back, in their background fabrics. To do this, you work out the measurements for half your pillow height, plus a hem and seam allowances for the top piece, and the same plus 3 to 4 inches for the bottom piece, by the pillow width. Then sew the hems, overlap the two pieces, and sew them to the front of your pillow, right sides together. Finish the raw seam edges, and turn the pillow cover right side out.

I made a pillow insert so the covers could be taken off and hand washed as needed. It slips right inside the back closure. I found the easiest way to get the insert in was to flip the top half of the back enclosure over so it is inside out, slip the pillow insert inside the bottom half, then flip the top half back over, right side out.

I recommended hand washing for the pillow covers, cool water for fleece, and warm water for sheeting. Sheeting can be ironed with a warm iron on a synthetic setting since I used a poly/cotton blend. My pillow insert can be washed too. I recommend hand washing for handmade items, and leaving them to air dry.

Both pillows are over in my Etsy shop.

Posted on September 2, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Started fusing my appliqué designs onto fabric

I, of course, redrew parts of my drawings from yesterday, playing around with bunny, kitty, and puppy clothes, and thinning my Hug Me! Slug down a bit. I have to fuss over what I do or I just wouldn’t be myself. Hug Me! Kitty can now be a Siamese or a tuxedo kitty. Today she is Siamese. I really like how her dress came out too. These are photos of the fabric after it was fused onto the background pillow fabric, before I’ve added any machine stitching embellishment.

I cut out and fused these two slugs before I thinned them down in my drawing. They’re well-fed slugs. I must be polka dot happy this week. I’m thinking of ordering some solid color cottons too, for variety.

It feels good to be making something with my hands instead of typing, clicking, and moving a mouse around. I’m enjoying “dressing” these little animals too. Once I have the other two characters fused, I’ll start embellishing them with machine appliqué and some decorative stitches as well.

Posted on September 1, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Took a break and made some appliqué designs

I got one of those long-running headaches last week, and decided to let up on my push to get our web site relaunched this week or next. I’ve gotten a lot done, but I was working too hard. My eyes needed a break from the computer too. While surfing the web (I know…I never really leave the computer for good), I was inspired by some fun throw pillows by Robin’s Egg Blue and so I wanted to give that idea a try with my own designs. I found my own favorite throw pillow, and used its 13 x 14 inch size for my drawings.

These are the first four designs I’m working on, “Hug Me! Bunny”, “Hug Me! Kitty”, “Hug Me! Puppy”, and “Hug Me! Slug”. I think throw pillows are good for hugging too. These have been modified from previous designs I’ve made of the same characters. I may modify them some more, depending on how they look once they are done up in fabric. I’m starting by picking out quilting cottons for the appliquéd parts, and I’ve got a few yards of a natural cotton I’m using for the background. I’ve been debating over whether to make the pillows with an insert so the covers can be washed, or making them spot clean only, without the insert. Personally, I really like things to be washable, but I know I’d have to charge a little more for the time and supplies involved. Given my own inclination, I will most likely start with covers with pillow inserts.

I can imagine these as quilted wall hangings also, or maybe even painted designs with a name incorporated somewhere.

My dad was given seventeen pounds of pears recently, and I tried my best to do something with them. My first challenge was a pear pie. The recipe was very much like one for an apple pie, only my pears needed extra cooking time. They were very crunchy to start with, the homegrown kind you see in lots of back yards in our neighborhood. A friend suggested poaching them first, which would probably have been a good idea. I put apricot preserves in the bottom of the crust, before layering in the pears, to waterproof it a bit. I got my recipe from The Perfect Pie by Susan G. Purdy.

My second challenge was going to be pear jam, but that’s when my headache got me. I’m feeling better now, but the pears are passing their prime. I think I may just eat some, and share the rest with the wildlife.

I will continue to work on our web site, but I’m going to alternate doing that and sewing. I will be happier that way. As much as I’ve been excited about having a newly designed site, mixing things up works a lot better for me.