Pendleton Scraps: A Glorious Pillow Emerges

Remember when I went to the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store in Portland, Oregon? Well I couldn't wait to start sewing with the strips and scrap pieces that I bought. This pillow above isn't finished into a pillow yet, I've got to do a bit of sewing, but I wanted you to see what I came up with from this! The woolen mill store sells the strips, edges and wool worms that are the natural cast offs in blanket production. The strips are sold by the pound and its up to you to pull the colors you're interested in or take a gamble and just grab an armful to experiment with. I had fun selecting the colorful strips that spoke to me. I spent about $3.50 on the strips i used to make this pillow and I have a lot left over for future projects. What a deal.

I am so very pleased. A bit like painting with wool, you have to look at the patterns and imagine them working together. I love that it still has a Native American feel. The pillow is pieced together from 6 or 7 different patterns.

What do you think? Isn't it great on this chair in our apartment?

Shipshewana: Native American Feather Lollipops

Sometimes my blog posts just fall into my lap.  I mean really, as a candy lover, could I make up anything more interesting to show you?  Not a chance.

I was in Aunt Millie's Candy Shop in the Davis Mercantile (same building as the Lolly's Fabrics) in Shipshewana when I saw him.  A beautiful statue of a Native American man wearing a full headdress of feather lollipops.  It was as beautiful as it was unexpected.  I was so taken with the overall effect of the display that I didn't buy a handful of feathers.  

What was I thinking?  They would look so beautiful grouped on a Thanksgiving buffet. Or as a treat for kids who didn't want pumpkin pie?  I did include a link (click "feather lollipops" above) where you can buy an entire box of them online.  Are you thinking what I'm thinking?  If you want to split a box, let me know!