Have I mentioned my addiction to throw pillows?

Export to PDF | Export to DOC

Both of these super cute fabrics were only $3.98 a yard -- I got a half yard of each, to make 4 new summer pillows for my family room. That is an amazing BARGAIN! (I once paid $75 for a yard of fabric. Fortunately, I still LOVE the 4 valances I made with it. We were even able to take them from our house in Wisconsin and use them here in our dining room.)

I think it matches the fabric in my family room remarkably well... the stripes will go on the back and the flowers on the front. Or vice versa, depending on my mood.

The pillow shown on the chair is one of five in this room. They stay out for about half of the year until fall/winter comes. I made all these pillows (and the matching cornices) by purchasing a quilt that was on clearance at Pottery Barn and using that as my fabric. Now if I had gone out LOOKING to match my cornices/pillows, I NEVER would have found anything. Trust me — I carried around a swatch of this fabric in my purse for months. What I just found at Wal-Mart last night is the best match I've ever found!

  • bulletin board
  • thumbtacks
  • printer paper
  • colored paper for rummage sale flyer
  • shampoo for Nathan
  • pool toy
  • Begonias

This was the list I carried with me through Wal-Mart last night. So how did I end up with fabric to make four new pillows?

Those who know me well are probably not surprised.

I have a serious addiction to pillows. It’s so strong, that I had to learn how to sew my own pillows in order to quench my never-ending desire for new fabrics and patterns to sit upon my intentionally neutral furniture.

The irony of my impulsive pillow fabric purchase is this: I am having a garage sale in June for the express purpose of ridding our home with ALL the pillows I no longer care for any more.

I have many plastic containers full of pillows that I haven’t used for years that I just couldn’t part with when we moved. (And this was after giving away at least a dozen pillows to Good Will.)

I am not proud of my addiction, but I am aware of it. I guess this is the first step to recovery.

I actually thought that the fact that I would put my retired pillows in the garage sale meant I was making progress. But now that I found this cute fabric for MORE pillows… well, I’m not so sure I’m cured anymore.

The good news is, I do have a plan for this next round of pillow creation. Instead of making four completely new summer pillows, which I will store during the other 3 seasons, I am finally getting smart.

I am going to make pillow SLIP-COVERS for pillows I already use! So then I will only have to store the covers, and not the bulky pillows. Is this all just rationalization?

Too bad if it is. The fabric looks PERFECT. So perfect, in fact, that I may need to go back to Wal-Mart and get some more…

I’ll do a follow-up to this post when my garage sale is in full swing so you can see my retired stash of pillows that I’m hoping to part with.

Leave a Reply