Seven Hundred and Fifteen Pillows: Runner? Pillow? Or Both?

SPOILER ALERT: PICTURES OF MY KITCHEN ARE AT THE END OF THIS POST

Anyone who has been to my house knows that crafts are not really my thing. I 100% appreciate handmade gifts and crafts, but I don't do them. No one, I mean no one has ever walked into my house and said, "Wow! That is awesome. I can't believe you made that." Usually, there is a snicker from those who have seen my attempted crafts. Trust me, I don't take it personally. The snicker is usually warranted. Despite this, I did start sewing and blogging and in return discovered something about myself. You want to know what I discovered? I am not completely inept. Since I am not completely inept, I decided to make a runner for my kitchen last night.

Have any of you taken a literature or creative writing class? If you have, you have probably heard various versions of the following two statements. 1. Write about what you know 2. Always write. It is true that it much easier to write about what you know. I remember in college taking a course which was themed the American Dream. We had to pick our research topic the first week of class and then present our papers at the end of the course. So, I picked The Bell Jar. It was on the course list and I knew the book well. Write about what you know, right? Well, it turned out that my professor and his wife were well known Sylvia Plath scholars. I figured this out about half way through the semester when I realized my main source was the professors wife. Then, my professor started to tell me about how they traveled to England to interview Sylvia's husband, Ted Hughes. The pair spent many hours with Sylvia's mom and other important people in her life. Do you want to know how I felt? First, I felt really excited to be in my professor's presence. I mean, how cool is that!!! Next, I felt fear and panic. He was kind of a Plath know it all and I really needed to make sure my cite my references. I spent the semester writing and re-writing and I got an A. I wrote about a topic I was comfortable with (Rabbit is Rich was not an option) and I kept working on it. I guess there is some truth in those two saying. But how exactly does this apply to sewing? Bear with me, it does and I do have a point.

I am have been making a lot of pillows. I have been doing it over and over and over again. I am going to make more and more pillows. But, I needed a pillow break or should I say a break from pillows. Soooo, write about what you know and keep writing. Reapply to sewing. Sew what you you know how to sew and always sew. As a new ~~sewer~~ (that does not look right) seamstress I am sewing nothing but what I know. It is probably a good idea to branch out a bit and as a result I will always be sewing. Onto the runner.

My mom made us our curtains in our kitchen last winter. We were at Ikea and found the fabric and it was on sale. Yippee!!! We bought a lot of extra fabric since we did not have the window measurements with us. A couple weeks ago, my mom brought over the extra fabric so I could "practice." Yesterday I bought a pattern for runners. I knew I could not cut, measure, and design a runner without any help. According to the pattern, I was supposed to use multiple fabrics. I did not. According to the pattern, I was supposed to sew some kind of border on the bottom of the runner to create a flatter surface. I did not. According to the pattern, I was supposed to make the runner ~~fatter~~ thicker by using a fleece insert. I did not not. I simply used the pattern to cut out two pieces of material. I cut out two pieces of material, sewed them inside out like I would a pillow, turned them right side out, hand sewed the small hole, and broke out the iron. Well, I think I figured out how to make a body pillow. Yes, my runner is basically an unstuffed pillow but I think it looks pretty good, for a first try. Heed my warning Martha Stewart: I am on a role and after your job!