Mini Pillows for Trenna - Fiesta & Hashmark Florals

You've heard me say many a time that we often have to do some finagling because we don't have enough fabric for what the pattern may call for.  These next 5 posts are going to be from a photo shoot like none other.  For this shoot, the fabric had not even been printed yet, all we had were some small samples - smaller than fat quarters and fat eighths from the test batch for the company to look at it and give the go ahead on the printing.

These cute little pillows were as big as I could make them with the fabric I had.  Finished they were somewhere between 7 and 8 inches square with a back that matched the tassels. They are made from Michael Miller's Fiesta collection in the fabric entitled "Eduardo."  Colors are Kryptonite, Turf, and Malibu.

These two pillows are made from the Hashmark Floral collection.   The floral fabric is called "Fringe Flowers" in Magenta and Marine.  The striped fabric is called Big Hash Stripe in Marine and Clementine.  These pillows are probably about 7" x 12" finished.

Pillows for Trenna - Whisper 2

In December, Trenna called me up and ask me to make five pillows and a duvet cover from a selection of the Michael Miller Whisper collection in Violet.  As you can see, there are two Euro size pillow shams in the Mara pattern, two 20" pillow shams in the Maybelle pattern and one rectangular pillow with a 1" ruffle in the Melanie pattern.

For the duvet, I had to do a little piecing.  As is typical, they didn't send enough fabric.  There was enough to do the front in the Miriam patterned fabric, but not enough for the back, nor was there enough in any other fabrics to do the back, so I did a little of everything.

That little strip near the bottom of the photo on the left which shows the front, was the flap that folded over to the back, so it wouldn't show on the front or in the photos.

 On the back, I was able to primarily use the Maxine fabric down the center of the back, with the sides being a mixture of the Maxine and Miriam.  It all worked out in the end.  Below you see the back draped over the ironing board.

Pillows for Trenna - Whisper 1

In October (2014), Trenna called and asked me to make these pillows and overnight them to Kathy Miller who was at Market, which I happily did.  These pillows are from the Whisper Collection.

 The fabrics are (starting at the back left and moving forward):

Maybelle in Cappuccino
Miriam in Terracotta
Mara in Cappuccino

Melanie in Stone (I think)
Miriam in Mud
Maxine in Mud

Pillows for Trenna - Menagerie Collection

These pillows are made from the Michael Miller Menagerie Collection of fabric.  I made these for Trenna back in July 2014.

 For the central pillow sham above, Trenna showed me a picture of how she wanted the pillow to look and I was to duplicate it.  Drawing the pattern so that it was just right took some time, as did the sewing on of the grosgrain ribbon, but I was pleased with the outcome.























The other fabrics used were:
Menagerie Collage
Pagoda Time
Sun Tiles in Coral
Garden Landscapes

Pillows for Trenna - Cotton Couture

The exciting thing for me about these pillows is my son (who has learned to sew because I made him, but other than that has shown no interest beyond), asked to help me make them in hopes of me paying him.  Now, when a seamstress's son asks to sew and is willing to learn new things, how in the world can she turn him down?  So, my 15 year old son helped make these, including learning how to sew a blind seam or ladder stitch to sew up the small rectangular pillows.

 The exception was, for the oddly pieced fronts of 2 above and the 3 below, I needed to do them - at least the piecing part.  It looks like I was purely random, but each one, Trenna had made a little 1" thumbnail idea of what she wanted it to look like and in what colors, so I was trying to make them look exactly like what she specified.

Pillows for Trenna - Zoo Littles

Lots of pillows to show you over the next week or so.  These I made for Trenna in July 2014 for the fall catalog.  These are from the Michael Miller Zoo Littles Line.  You will have to use your imagination a little bit since I didn't have the pillow forms to put in them.  There's a pillow case, a large Euro size (26"), and 2 - 20" pillows for the girl bed and the boy bed.

Buttondown Shirts for Trenna - Black, White and Citron Gray

Here are the shirts my sister, Emerald, made from the Michael Miller Black, White and Citron Gray line of fabric for Trenna Travis Design Studio.  The pattern she used was Simplicity 1544.

The fabrics used were Mountain and Valley, Spot and Aziza (from Left to Right as pictured below, or top to bottom as pictured above).

Bow Ties for Trenna - Black, White and Citron Gray

It's  been a long past few months first getting my daughter ready to leave on an 18 month mission and then helping all the kids get their Christmas presents made for each other and then making a pile of stuff for my sister-in-law's adoption fundraiser.  But, I'd like to think that I now can take the time to update my blog.

Last July (2014) my sister, Emerald, and I spent a good 2-3 weeks sewing our brains out.  Here are 3 great bow ties I made for Trenna Travis out of the Michael Miller fabric in the Black, White and Citron Gray line.  I'll be posting the button down shirts from the same line that Emerald made in a couple days.

The fabrics used were Play Dots, Asha, and Diamonds in their Eyes.  The pattern was one I made up using a couple on line, but the one closest to what I came up with was the Martha Stewart free downloadable pattern.