Not long ago, I had a brave moment and decided to try crocheting. I got pictures to look at and lots of tips from family and friends. I already had some beautiful reddish yarn and a crochet hook. I made the chain and then dug in. I did it! Yay! I got to the end of the first row and added another row . . . and another . . . and another. “This isn’t so hard,” I congratulated myself.
Then I spread it all out and looked at what I’d made so far. Instead of a rectangle, it was an arch! Oops! I guess I added a stitch or two on every new row! But since it was my first try, AND I love the yarn, AND it looked pretty even in its wonkiness, AND it reminded me of the red soil on the farm where I grew up, I decided to make something out of it.
The picture slowly grew in my mind: a red hill covered in grass and wildflowers with a bright blue sky and bright yellow sun. So I dug through my remnants and . . .
- found some blue canvas duck for the pillow squares
- handstitched my piece of crochet at the bottom of the pillow front,
- found some yellow canvas duck and appliqued/embroidered the sun,
- embroidered some lime-green grass on top of the hill,
- chose some vintage buttons that complemented the colors I’d already used and stitched them at the top of green embroidered stems for flowers,
- sewed a zipper in the center of the pillow back and opened it,
- stitched the front and back right sides together,
- trimmed the seams,
- turned the pillow right-side out through the zipper opening, and
- inserted a 12-inch pillow form.
That’s my lucky save, all ready to jump-start my spring decor! And today is your lucky day, too, because you get to read some amazing posts on the “Lucky” theme from eleven other bloggers (including one on how to REALLY crochet!) in this month’s Collectively Creative. Enjoy! ♥
The many meanings of “lucky” – (The Thing About Joan)
This Party Calls For A Theme: It’s All Rainbows and Unicorns – (Green Door Hospitality)
Keep Calm and Pinch On – (A Ponytail Kind Of Day)
Honorary Irish and my favorite Irish Soda Bread – (My Healthy ‘Ohana)
Hello, 6 – (Joy, Lovely Joy)
Luck o’the Irish for Easter! – (Minerva’s Hand)
Lucky Gold Elephant – (Now at Home Mom)
Asian Cucumber Salad – (Inspire and Indulge)
I love the things you create but more than that, I love the way you take something that may not have turned out the best and create something of value. Great attitude. Thanks for sharing. It’s contagious.
Awww . . . thank you! I used to teach first grade and we always tried to turn our mistakes into “saves” . . . so I still think it’s fun! :)
What a beautiful (and lucky) save!! The pillow is perfect for spring and the crocheted red hill is great!
Kenley
Thank you, Kenley! :)
Glad to see your first crochet project, looks great !! now a rug? lol I love your pillow, a wonderful project as always !!
Maybe a dishcloth first (that turns out the right shape!) . . . then a rug! :) Thanks, Liz!
It’s so cheery and fun! I love it!! xox
Thank you, Danielle! :)
I love what you did with this! It’s bright & cheerful & downright gorgeous!
Thank you! And I loved checking out your blog . . . you have a new follower! :)
this is truly a lucky save Katherine; it looks fun and it’s a great way to start your spring decor with these pops of color!
Thank you, Ingrid! :)
I simply love how creative you are…to take something that wasn’t going as planned and make something lovely out of it…wonderful! My attempts at crocheting are wonky as well!!
Thank you, Kelly! I’m ready to try crocheting again now . . . and maybe pay a little more attention to how I end/start the rows! :)
A marvellous save indeed! Absolutely gorgeous.
Thank you, my dear! :)
That is the most clever recycle!Something to enjoy !
Thank you, Arvilla! :)
What an adorable pillow! I love it & the story behind it!
Sarah
Thank you, Sarah! It was really fun to see it all come together! :)
Beautiful!!!!
Thank you! It was really fun to see if I could recreate the picture in my mind . . . and it worked1 :)
Awww, super cute idea. I’m a beginning crocheter too and I’ve had my fair share of “arches!” ;)
That makes me feel better, Leah! :)
Love the pillow; so cheery!
Thank you, Laura! :)
Love this! so cheerful.
Thank you! It definitely has some bright colors! :)
I always love how you put colors together, but this pillow really shows off how you combine both color AND textures. You really are a textile artist! Keep on crocheting…could knitting be far behind? :)
What a nice thing to say! And yes, knitting will be next . . . I’ve tried it, too, but I can’t even follow the directions in a book that’s written to teach 10-year-olds how to knit! So I need to sit next to someone VERY patient and learn. I just love yarn so I need an excuse to start collecting it! :)
Brilliant idea to turn it into a pillow! I love the way you think outside the box! Awesome!!!
Thank you, Ruthie! :)
You bet! You’re the queen of “Making do” or Making something new again!
I love how you have combined the textures of yarn and fabric in this cushion. And ..it is such a cheerful creation – perfect for cheering up a rainy day! Made me smile x
Thank you, Natalie! :)
Crochet???? You can be very proud!! You did a great job for some one who doesn’t know how to crochet. The colors and composition are perfect, you created an amazing picture – I love it.
Thank you! I can’t wait to dig into your pdfs and get back on track with crocheting! Soon!!! :)
I love it when “mistakes” turn out to be so beautiful! Great job!
Thank you, Sarah! :)
I’m working on a crazy furry pillow made from the yarn of an un-raveled good will sweater. It’s knitted, I’ll probably post a pic if I can ever finish it!
Yay! Can’t wait to see it! :)
What a lovely pillow! I love the bright colors and how you successfully combined different textures together.
Thank you, Kim! :)
That pillow is perfect. I love the colors!
Thank you, Pam! :)
This is an adorable pillow! Perfect for a sunny summer. Love how a project starts out one way and takes a total turn around before coming to rest!
Thank you, Linda! This one definitely surprised me, too! :)
Great save!!! I’ve had crocheting projects that end badly. I ususally rip them out and start from scratch. For me i have to count or I do end up with arch:)
I thought about undoing it, but then this came to mind. And yes . . . COUNTING!!! Next time! :)
So glad you saved your first crochet attempt, if you hadn’t pointed out your flaws I would have never known about them on this pillow. It really does bring thoughts of spring.
Thank you, Lois! :)
love it!…those cute little button flowers…Spring has sprung!
Thank you, Marilyn! :)
Those buttons are gorgeous! I would want them in my collection of they didn’t look good where they are! Great way to use a first attempt at a new skill too.
Thank you, Judy! The buttons were my grandmother’s. I think she would have loved seeing where they ended up! :)
That came really nice and the colors WOW!!!
Thank you, Patricia! :)
Yet again, I so respect your creativity and talent! ~Thea
What a nice thing to say! Thank you, Thea! :)
oh mY! Katherine! what a beautiful work! I love everything about this pillow :) and I love the way you used your first crochet project (congrats for learning, you will be hooked!) can’t wait to see what you ‘ll crochet next!
Thank you, Josee! It just kind of fell together! :) And I can tell that I’ll LOVE learning to crochet! I’ll try again soon! :)
I love how cheery this pillow is! You certainly have a creative eye :)
Thank you, Maura! :)
What a creative use of everything. You made lemonade with this pillow. Great job!
Thank you, Angela! :)
Katherine, UR A-mazing. How’d you even think to do that. WOW
Thank you, Boomdee! I guess my mind just works in mysterious ways! :)
Katherine, this is so cute. You’ve always been creative, even when you were a classroom teacher. But your getting better with age. I love all your ideas on your blog. There use to be an artist on TV that painted years ago, and he would have a mistake & call it a little happy mistake & he would leave them in his pictures. You inspire alot of us to try new projects!! Lov ya dear friend :)
Aww, thank you, Kay! We had fun working together, didn’t we? But I LOVE the “you’re getting better with age” compliment! You made my day! :)
As a teacher of crochet, I applaud you! No one would ever suspect the arch was ever meant to be anything other than an arch. It looks great!
Wow . . . thank you! That makes me feel great! Now to try something simple (and square!!!) like a dishcloth . . . then maybe a scarf . . . :)
I love it, so beautiful and colorful !!
Thank you, Izabel! :)
Yours sounds like my first crochet attempt! I eventually crocheted enough to make a whole pillow but it was a rather lop-sided one! After lots of use, it has stretched into a better square shape. I never would have thought of adding to it like you did, though. That was pure genius! :)
Thank you! And I LOVE the idea of crocheting a whole pillow! I must try that (especially hearing that it will get better with age!) :)
I love this pillow! I have a pile of buttons and would love to do something like this…though I doubt it would turn out as pretty. Oh and also, I don’t crochet or really sew :-)
I’ll bet you could do it! Just crochet something wonky, and the sewing is just straight lines. :) And don’t you just love buttons??? P.S. Your jewelry is gorgeous!
I probably could sew and crochet…it’s just finding the time! :-) And thanks for the compliment!
Yes . . . time!!! It’s a golden treasure, isn’t it? :)
I could never do this. Never ever. And that “Wonky arch”? I never would have noticed. But I think the vision you created with your “mistake” is great. Cheery and colorful and perfect for spring.
Thank you, Lara! :) (But I’ll bet you’ve turned LOTS of lemons into lemonade in your life in ways no one else could replicate!!!)
Wow! I absolutely love this Katherine!!
Thank you! It sure was fun to make! :)
Love the crochet red dirt and love the vintage buttons. Great combination!
Thank you, Rene! :)
I still have my first attempt at crocheting….a scarf that turned into a long skinny triangle :) Maybe someday I’ll lucky save it into a pillow. I love how yours turned out!
That made me smile! I’ll bet you’ll be able to lucky save it into SOMETHING fun someday, Erin! :)
I love the cushion, the colours make it look like the sunniest, happiest day ever. Keep going with the crochet, I’m new to it too but when you get going it’s a bit addictive.
I can tell it will be! And thank you for the lovely compliment on the cushion. I’m loving your blog, too! :)
Thank you, I’m just starting out, so hopefully will see a lot of you in the blogosphere.
WOW!!!!
Thank you, Maryanne! :)
That is the coolest lucky save I have ever seen! I love it! You’re inspiring me make stuff….and neglect other stuff. Oh well, who needs dinner anyway! ;)
Oops, I forgot the “to”. I hate when I do that. :) P.S. I love buttons, so the flowers are my favorite part!
Mine, too! (And they were my grandma’s!) :)
That made me laugh! Frozen pizza tonight??? :) And thank you for the lovely compliment! :)
This is absolutely beautiful!
Thank you, Judy! :)
Fabulous cushion! How clever to rescue something not so good that way. I really like this.
Thank you for the lovely compliment! :)
As a knitter I found crochet hard to learn and get used to. However now I think I like it more than knitting. It is so versatile and great for 3D projects. Also for sewing projects it is lovely as an edging.
I really want to learn to knit, too, but I’ve had even less luck with that! But I’m eager to get my crochet hook out again and give it another try. I know I’ll love it once I get the hang of it! :)
With knitting and crochet I think it is a matter of waiting for your brain to stop telling your fingers what to do …. if that makes sense!
Oh . . . like playing the piano! Now THAT I can do! :)
Your pillow makes me smile! I love the fun colors! It makes me happy! I think your crocheting (sp?) is perfect!
Aww . . . thank you, Vanessa! :)
How creative, Katherine! Love the buttons and the entire design. This pillow makes me smile!
Thanks for sharing ! Enjoy your day, Vickie
What a sweet compliment, Vickie! Thank you! :)
Gorgeous cushion cover! I love it. The butons, fabric and yarn work so well together x
Thank you! We’re getting snow again so at least I have a LITTLE touch of spring in the house! :)
Oh! This is so beautiful. I LOVE using buttons as art. Great idea … great save!
Thank you, Susan! :)
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