Spring Is In the Air

My first foray into home décor design was pillows. I loved discovering gorgeous fabrics and selecting color palettes that complemented each season. When I designed my first pillow collection, it was spring, so I opted for fresh, light blues, aqua, and taupe. 

My first pillow, "Royal Hydrangea," featured two butterflies flitting around a hydrangea. The next was entitled "Birds of a Feather," with two birds perched upon an apple blossom branch. The final pillow design, "Robin's Nest," featured three tiny blue eggs in a nest perched high upon the branches of a tree. 

What made these pillows both more engaging and challenging was learning a new sewing technique: free-motion sewing machine "sketching." By using a specialized free-motion foot on your sewing machine, you can move the fabric around and sketch with thread. I love this technique because it allows each piece you create to be unique, yet still resemble a work of art on fabric. I first saw this technique on Pinterest (which I adore for inspiration and new project ideas), by Australian blogger Gina of Clutterpunk.

I also appreciated the idea of "thread sketching" over appliqué, and found a lovely example by Joanne Hill, of Jo Hill Textiles in the UK. I decided that each pillow would feature it's own smaller appliqué element to match the pillow fabric.