Turn your Vintage Linens into Linen Pillows...

You must have a little stash of Grandma's embroidered, 

or damask linens you don't know what to do with...

Embroidered, monogrammed, or just linen napkins?

Don't we all have a few stacks of those just sitting in a drawer somewhere?

Perhaps, you have linen cabinets full ~ like I do? 

(Sssshhhh, don't tell anyone I'm a hoarder...) 

Maybe, you just like soft, luxurious things and you're cheap like me and bring them home from the thrift stores for pennies?

Maybe, you want to figure out something to do with them, to use them more?

They are easy to turn into pillows. You could just turn them inside out and sew the edges together, or put a couple of linen napkins together and sew them, or just crochet around the edges of a couple of table cloths... 

You could use lace, vintage trim, crocheted edging, it doesn't matter. Turning them into pillows will give them a new life. It also gives your bedrooms some high dollar bling~!

This beautiful embroidered table cloth only cost me $1...

I just folded it in half and crocheted around the edges, stuffing it before the stitching was complete. The stuffing is actually out of an old hotel pillow I picked up in bulk for $2 each. I just bring them home and let them soak in hot water and bleach overnight and then finish drying. That's way cheaper than the stuffing from the store. The crocheted cotton I picked up at another thrift shop for a $0.25. There was enough on the skein to complete the project bringing the cost of this linen embroidered pillow to $3.25 and an evening's time crocheting on the trim.

What a wonderful way to enjoy all of those old linens you have stored away - 

Cheaper than any throw pillow from Walmart, or any homegoods type of store in a strip mall, don't you think?

I can't even imagine what a large size, hand embroidered linen pillow would cost brand new, can you?

Using your vintage linens give everything an old, worn, timeless look, I think...

Don't hurt yourself running for your Cedar Chest to see what you can repurpose for the 

'Guest Room'...

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A beautiful doily coverlet and some vintage linens...

Isn't it pretty?

Our local antique store owner visited another estate sale over the Holiday's and brought this treasure back with her. It's very long. I believe it's a twin, but with its length, it will be beautiful on the bottom of any of my beds.

She kept it hid out in the secret closet for me, until I could get there to retrieve it...

The 'Secret Closet' is really a closet in the old house where the antique store is located. It's chock full of treasures being held for the natives she knows. The 'Secret Closet' is my favorite closet ever. It's like the wardrobe in the book, "The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe," only it's full of antique wonderfullness.

This coverlet is amazing...

It fits nicely in my piles of other hoarded, antique, crocheted coverlets. I may just have the Western World's largest collection of antique bedding, but I'm scared to get it all out at one time and see...

I'm scared to face my obsession all at once~ 

*smile*

I also bought a full Rogers Victorian Rose silverware set and an old vintage anchor hocking syrup dispenser that I desperately needed for the kitchen.

Would you believe I've never had a matching set of silverware?

I'm like the patchwork silverware goddess, or queen. We laugh about it at every holiday. It's because I'm so picky. I've had the same, antique, mis-matched rogers silverware for most of my adult life. I like the size and weight of the antique, albeit mis-matched pieces. Oh, trust me, if I could ever have found a full set, I would have bought a full set, but all I could ever find was a couple pieces of this one and that one and another one, so I just made due.

Now that I have a matched set. It's really strange to do the dishes~!

<Whose kitchen is this with the matching silverware ~ he, he>

When we got done at the antique store, we stopped into the local thrift store and hit a 'Jen Jackpot'...

~Ya, the Man-Child was along for the hunt. He don't mind. He has great taste~

Someone must have cleaned out Grandma's closet and thrifted it over the holidays...

There were matching sets of embroidered pillowcases and lots of vintage linens. Of course, I loaded up!

I figure I can crochet a cotton edge around the pillowcases and gift them, or use them upstairs in the bedrooms, when I get stairs, of course... 

We're getting closer to  getting stairs put in to the upstairs bedrooms.
~Well, at least, we've finally decided where to put them~ Yay!~

How could anybody walk away from matching, embroidered pillowcases for $2 a set ($1 each)?

They were dusty from being stored, but an overnight soak in some Oxyclean brought them back to crisp white and new / unused.

There were a few other random linens I bought too...

I think, I'll turn the butterfly piece into 2 quilt blocks and salvage the lace edging. 

And, I'm thinking about turning the bottom, linen one, into a bolster pillow. 

The bottom linen piece is gorgeous~!

It's a hand embroidered piece of really heavy linen cloth. 

I think, I'll fold it in half and stuff it. Then, I'll crochet around the edges with doily cotton in the same color. 

Can you believe it was only $1 ~ ?

I even came out of the thrift store with a really pretty burgundy berry wreath for 3 quarters... ($0.75)

It's a nice change on the kitchen table now that all of Christmas is tucked safely away for next year.

When I put Christmas away, I took some time to change the living room curtains for a few months...

Having full size lace panels and some balloon lace valances in the entryway brightened up the whole room. 

But, it instantly went Victorian, so I'm undecided.

It sure made a great backdrop for a pretty picture though...

I hope you have a "Beautiful Week~!"

Vintage, linen, pillow covers...

I picked up a 'Sweet' set of vintage, linen, pillow covers at the antique store yesterday...

Who could resist?

The tag says; "Pair of Pillow cases - need edge finished - soiled - $10.00"

Soiled meant one of the folded seams had a rusty stain on it...

They didn't cost me $10 because I bought a couple other things and she discounted them to $6 for me, when we squared up at the checkout...

The unfinished edge said, "Paragan Needle Crafts" 

I trimmed off the stamp, around the cut work, to crochet a fancy edge and complete the set.

I even used a skein of 'vintage' crochet cotton...

They turned out beautiful and only took a couple of hours to complete...

They're a wonderful, soft, taupe linen...

I sprayed the few, little stain 'soiled' spots with my favorite stain remover from Home Depot called "Folex". 

I like it because it is enzyme based and doesn't hurt the delicate old fabrics. 

Folex works on EVERYTHING~!

They are soaking in hot water in the washer with a few drops of dawn dish soap as I'm writing this...

I'm anxious to see them on my bed soon...

I also purchased two, antique crochet coverlets that will be in a future blog post...

So stay tuned~!

Lacemaker Prayers...

Guide my hands with speed and grace
To weave the intricacies of this lace.
Let the bobbins weave with ease
To create a pattern that will please.

Let there be Love in its creation
And give it Artistry in its inspiration.
May special Care keep the threads from breaking
And give me Energy for its making.



Allow this lace to bring joy and pleasure
And give to others a lifelong treasure. 

I rolled over in bed this morning to this sight... 

A heaping mound of beautiful old lace piled in my bedroom window next to this candelabra... 

I had been rummaging through my lace hoard the day prior, piled it all in the window and moved on to other things.  

I'm glad I didn't get it put away... It was a wonderful sight to wake up to this morning...

I love old lace and I've found the secret to keeping the threads pliable and soft is to use it often. 

Lord, let me grow old like beautiful lace, cherished and treasured and cared for with grace...

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Bella Notte inspired pillow covers...

You didn't really think I would stop with the crocheted edge curtain panel to throw pillows did you?

After all, it's just me and my multiple personalities here & home alone for the week. Heck, the sewing machine is all set up. I haven't vacuumed up the strings from the crocheted edge pillows. Why not keep going, right?

How about some "Bella Notte" inspired pillows to go with the crocheted edge pillows...

Last week I decided I was going to make some cushions for my kitchen bench seats. I searched high and low in town and couldn't find any old, vintage drapes (I wanted ivory)... Then, I had this epiphany. My daughter had a bunch of huge drapes in her old house when she moved in. She thought they looked 'old lady'ish' and immediately took them down. At this point, I was slapping myself. How in the world did I ever let any curtains slide by me?

This was a couple years ago that she changed her curtains. Would she still have the old drapes? Why didn't I grab them sooner? Where were they? I text'd her... She replied that she thought her husband threw them away after a yardsale. Threw them away? Oh the TRAJEDY~!

I was bummed...
How could anybody throw away curtains? Especially old curtains... Yardage and yardage of thick, old, drape type curtains... She texted back that they were still in the basement ~ Yay!

They were the old kind of drapes. The kind you put the sharp metal hooks in and put on the kind of rod that you pull the string and they open and close (because I am brain dead right now and can't remember the name of it...) They are the old HEAVY curtains.

I was excited and it only took me an hour to pull out all the sharp hooks. When I washed them, they came out beautiful and soft. When they went into the washer, they were rough (starched in a previous life?)...

Then, I realized, they were possibly linen. Or, something like it. Heck, I don't know - they're just soft...

<Yes, I'm smiling because I'm not so smart this late at night>

They turned out to be a little too 'beige' to match my kitchen, so I'll still be hunting for ivory vintage curtain panels for the kitchen cushions, but these drapes match my bedroom~ !
And you know that made the bedroom pillow redo continue...

I cut about 1/4 of 1 of the 4 panels into two pillow case size covers and then added an 8" ruffle. I used french seams again so they won't fray when they're washed...

And "Walla"~~~ !

"Bella Notte" inspired pillow covers. 

And, they're soft. And they're pretty. 

And, they cost me NOTHING...

And, I have plenty of yardage left to make a quilted throw for the end of the bed...

And, enough yardage left to make some curtains to hide the strange space the man-child left above the closet (between the closet and the ceiling) when he built it. It drives me 'batshit crazy' and it's time to 'cover it up'...

*Not even going to show that space above the closet, until it's covered...*

It is that bad~!!!

(=

And, I'll have enough yardage left 

to make a few more pillows, so stay tuned~!!!

=D

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Crocheted edge curtain panels to throw pillows...

I was going through my linen cabinet and came upon these cute, little, curtain panels with a crocheted edge.
Of course, I have 10 throw pillows I picked up at a yard sale from a lady that was going to make some homemade Christmas presents and never got around to it. They were all the perfect size to go together, so I turned the 2, crocheted edge curtain panels into throw pillows...

Pillows just came out of the dryer, so they are lumpy~!

The curtain panels are both folded in half in the pic - it seriously was a perfect marriage...

I trimmed the curtain rod end off the panels...

I done a 'French Seam' along the outside edges...

Here's what it looks like before I turned it 'right side out'...

I dug through all my buttons and found a couple with a little wire eye on the back, so I could safety pin them on. I wanted to safety pin the buttons on, so it closes the pillow edge, but so I could still take the buttons off and wash the pillow covers...

Little known fact about me ~ I hoard buttons too~!
Actually, buttons are so hard to come by nowadays (and in this rural area) that when I'm at yard sales, or the thrift stores, I keep an eye on the clothes. If I see an article of clothing I like, I buy it, just for the buttons - lol

(I can cut the clothing up later for quilt blocks, or crazy quilting...)

There are times, at the thrift store, I buy something and at the cash register (if I don't like the material), I cut the buttons off and donate the clothing back. I walk out feeling vindicated - and they never reject the donation of clothing back to them ~ lol

See, cute little, crocheted edge throw pillows~!

These took me about 30 min. to make, if that...

I could even string a little ribbon through the small crocheted strip and pull it tight and make a tootsie roll type pillow later, to change things up a bit. 

And, if I ever wanted to use them for curtains in the future (doubtful - I have lots and lots of curtains ~ yes, I'm a curtain hoarder too!), then I could just unpick the hems and resew a rod pocket and hang them...

I luv curtains & I luv throw pillows...

So, why not merge them together and make

 'Curtain panel throw pillows' ???

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