Pillow talk

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Lily’s asleep, Amelia’s at school… I am keeping cool behind drawn curtains. It’s going to be 38°c today, can that be fair? It’s Autumn! The hot weather is going on and on and on.

After I first discovered the Maki Squarepatch site last month I was inspired to make a crazy patchwork cushion and couldn’t resist adding some ears and eyes to give it a little more character. It was pretty easy and haphazard – I cut very random, not terribly even strips and hastily sewed them in a log-cabin-like formation. Nothing was measured and no lines are parallel. The stripe fabric is one of my favourite Kaffe Fassett fabrics… but having discovered a stitch in dye and her batik stripes I feel like it would be incredibly fun to break out some of my Mum’s ancient 70s batik equipment and dye some stripes of my own. The likelihood of that actually happening is slim so instead I will just keep my eye on a stitch in dye’s etsy store.

Speaking of Maki Squarepatch (again), I was looking through their flickr stream last night and discovered this hotdog bolster — which coincidentally is a lot like the one I made for the back of our couch the week before last.

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Mine still needs a tail (and a decent photoshoot minus the ugly couch, clearly). To make your own sausage dog bolster, I used the pattern from good old “Splendid Soft Toys” and just cut the body pattern piece in two and extended the stomach section. Stuffing it was a nightmare (hence the lumps) but it looks pretty cute.

I love so much of the Squarepatch stuff. These girls are clearly on my wavelength.

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30 Responses

  1. xin says:

    too beautiful! i’m inspired 😀

  2. plum says:

    Is that Lily with the cushion? She looks so gorgeous – and the last pic I remember seeing of her was the one of her on the washing pile! She looks so much the girl now, toddling out of babyness.

  3. sarah says:

    So cute. You have the ability to take the mundane and make it sing. I envy that!

  4. Claire says:

    I have a whole lot of fabric from my visit to Purl Patchwork last year, in a pile waiting to become a log cabin cushion. Now I am starting to feel doubt about my plans, I am feeling the need for ears. I love the whole face/cushion thing, but fear not, I also hate to copy. I will just admire and say you are one clever lady Claire.PS I was also enjoying a little peek at a much larger Lily – but don’t want to sound strange or anything.

  5. Cate says:

    I just to say: so happy that you’re back! I missed your blog so much…

  6. Oh my daughters would love to have such a cute cushion :DYou are very creative!

  7. manda says:

    ears make everything cuter dont they?

  8. brooke says:

    hi claire,it’s brooke from brown owls. I’m just looking at your beautiful sausage dog!Nice work indeed.Happy Thursday to you.brooke and moca(the sausage dog)

  9. Miss Cinti says:

    Loving the sausage dog. They have such personality don’t they?

  10. sabdha says:

    Hi there! It’s great to see the things you are making again. Do you have an etsy shop?

  11. Di says:

    Cool cushion and sausage dog! he’s a fabulous colour!

  12. chiara says:

    Hallo Claire,I,m so happy that youre back! I read your blog from 2004, but sometime I don’t understand because I learn english slowly.Chiara

  13. Frogdancer says:

    Oh how I wish I could sew!!! (Quilts don’t count.)I’d love to make fun things like that, and I’d MAKE the boys like them. (They’re too tall and manly to officially dance around with cushions and sausage dogs, but maybe I could refuse to feed them until they did…???)

    Or maybe I could just buy a real sausage dog. I’m seriously considering it. Do they come in blue?

  14. Marcia says:

    Seeing how cute little Lily is now I can only say that you are a truly talented dolls maker, Claire. 🙂

  15. malka says:

    Thanks for mentioning my store on your blog. I just had someone place an order and they mentioned hearing about my store through you. I’ll have to check out your etsy store.

  16. Ellen says:

    That’s “super duper” cute, to use my five-year-old’s terminology.

  17. Starashan says:

    that cushion is sooo cute! It’s inspiring me to try one :o)

  18. how cute, getting to see your littlest one AND one of your infamous soft toys. it’s been too long 🙂

  19. angelique says:

    what a wonderful hotdog dog. I love the character of both pillow and bolster. It’s all in the eyes, I think.

  20. Karen says:

    I’ll have to try to make my little boy a cushion inspired by this, it’s so cute!(could take a while though!)

  21. That cushion is fantastic. Glad you’re back.

  22. meg says:

    The cusion is adorable and the bolster too. Your couch is a little zoo!

  23. Elaine says:

    Pillow.Is.Soooo.Adorable!!I’m motivated to maybe making one someday 😉

  24. lou says:

    That cushion is cuteness plus more cuteness! More soft furnishings should have faces…. When I graduate from lilo-with throws and cushions to a real growed-up couch, I am detirmined that there will be cushions with faces!

  25. Mariana says:

    i so love this pillow. and the dog is fantastic too. i wish i could sew!

  26. natascha says:

    I love the cushion. A happy cushion!! And the dog…well… I think I’m in love.

  27. rhelynn says:

    I think the couch brings both pillows into perspective. I love how well they go together there!

  28. aidan says:

    I am loving that cushion! The eyes and the ears truly make it 🙂

  29. Hannah says:

    Hello! Love it! That is soo cute.I spent ages trying to work out how to make a sausage dog draught excluder pattern. Since my boyfriend won’t let me have an actual sausage dog (because he doesn’t want a dog that has to be helped up the curb) I have to make do with little stuffed ones at the foot of every door in the house.

    Anyway, I digress. I ended up spending hours designing a pattern, which I can proudly announce is now tried, tested and printed. They have been selling very well on eBay with lots of great feedback, so if you want one just take a look.

    Search for “really cute sausage dog draught excluder pattern’ in the great department store in the sky (eBay), and I’ll get one out to you in the post. Happy sewing…Hannah xxx

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