Sleep Pillows

Back when I posted about my lavender harvest I mentioned making sleep pillows. Finally put a few together tonight using a blend of chamomile, lemon balm, rose petals, lavender flowers, hops and passionflower. I added a few drops of organic lavender essential oil and filled the pillow loosely. They're about 5"x 6" and one's already tucked in my pillow case. It's an experiment! Combined with my nighttime tea, I'm sure I'm in for a dreamy night!

Sewing Zipper Pouches

Sewing is not my forte! I've always preferred hand stitching to the sewing machine and have a tendency to be intimidated by the process. I find it difficult to understand sewing patterns, being unfamiliar with the lingo and tools. I have been able to make curtains though, simple rectangles are ok, and I love batik fabrics. In previous posts I've mentioned that I don't use a purse, but I do carry one of these. I bought it on Etsy last summer to carry my checkbook and cell phone.  In fact, I asked the store owner to make me a smaller matching one for my license and cards. When it arrived, I started thinking about using up my scrap fabric and went online to Sew True and bought zippers to match my favorite fabric pieces.
So I pulled out the sewing machine and found the manual (I always need to re-learn how to thread it and wind a bobbin)! I found a few tutorials and my first attempt was a failure (sort of like my pancakes). My husband suggested that I find more tutorials (or take sewing lessons) and I found this one to be the best - See Kate Sew. The instructions are clear and include a step that the first tutorial didn't - top stitching. It adds a professional look (not so much on mine), and makes it so the inner lining doesn't get caught in the zipper. I was so excited at how these turned out that I headed back to Ben Franklin for little ribbon for zipper pulls, more zippers and even bought a few fat quarters! Thank you Kate for getting me excited to sew!