Embroidery-ish-ness

I have two of those "European" square pillows cluttering up my bed and have disliked them for at least the last six years, maybe more. They are however the perfect size for movie watching in the living room. Since the shams I have for them are also not my favorite, I've been planning to sew some pillowcases for them. In my naively idealistic "I-can-do-anything" attitude I decided I wanted to stitch a unique pattern onto the front.

Granted, this idea was born after stumbling upon a pillow I loved at Ikea and wanting to replicate it. What I came up with however is not even in the same hemisphere as my original idea.

Since I love nature and earthy neutrals in my home, I decided on a leaf motif, eventually settling on an olive branch (which I only tell you so that as you see the photo you think 'aha, I see it now'. The real hilarity of the project is the way I decided to "stretch myself" and "go outside my box" with a color more bold than I usually choose. It's only a pillow case, after all. I can change it! After settling on this great army-ish green heavy cotton, I set it on the couch where it landed alongside my usual too-small couch pillows. My elation at trying something different vanished when I saw it next to the purple and realized that, once again, I have chosen variations of plum and sage. I just can't escape the taste trap. And you know what? I'm ok with that.



I can tell what order I stitched the leaves by the sad state of the stitching. Even then, I like it. Now I just need an idea for pillow number 2.