Making it Work

The morning when I forgot both to put water in the coffeemaker and to put a cup under the drip spout. Fortunately, I caught my senior moment right away, turned the coffeemaker off, fixed the situation and reset it.

On Sunday, at precisely 11:53 A.M., I put the last stitch in that needlepoint project begun in May of 2017.

I thought that project would never end. So many different colors. So many one stich one color here, one stitch a different color there. So many thread and rethread the needle.

It tested my patience at times, but I got her done and I’m ready to begin another.

Deciding to do something different with the finished project, by 9:00 Monday night I’d turned it into a decorative throw pillow.

Front

Back

I’ve made pillows before, but this is the first time I’ve turned one of my needlepoint projects into one, and mistakes were made.

Because I used denim for the pillow back, I chose a corresponding rope cord for the decorative edging.

Problem was, I didn’t realize I needed cording with some kind of edging on it, so I could sew that edging in with the needlepoint, muslin support and backing fabric. There was just no way I could properly attach this particular type of cord.

I considered making the pillow and hand sewing the rope around after, but decided it just wouldn’t look right.

I could have gone back to the craft store and opted for a different cording, but I really liked the blue rope, so I headed to Walmart and picked up double-fold bias tape, figuring I could fabric glue the cording onto the bias tape, which would give me an edging to work with and make the blue rope work.

Glue was a little messy and taking too long, and though fabric glue is supposedly meant to last, I knew it wouldn’t hold up over time.

Using the sewing machine to stitch the cord to the bias tape was working better. Plus, it was fast and neat.

The finished product, all in all, is not bad for my first needlepoint pillow. My corners suck, but that’s because the cording was so heavy, so thick to begin with, and once attached to the bias tape, became impossible to bend and miter at the corners. I probably could have taken some time and come up with a way to make it work better, but I didn’t. So it is what it is.

It’s not perfect, but I’m satisfied.

Will I make needlepoint pillows in future?

Absolutely. The pillow is fun to look at, and it’s a good alternative to framing and cluttering up the walls. Only now that I know what I’m doing, my next one will have perfect corners.

The April Activity Calendar was posted to our doors yesterday. The Community Manager, suspended for 30 Days, is still listed as Community Manager, so I guess that means Corporate Office is taking her back. I hope she wins the lottery so she can tell Corporate to kiss her where the sun doesn’t shine.

The calendar also shows pizza today, with wings and breadsticks, so I guess that’s still on, as well as the Activity Director's late Easter celebration.

Another pig out day for the seniors, as I content myself with butter coffee and raw veggies.