Patriotic Patchwork

When I think of the 4th of July I don't usually think of patchwork. Yet, somehow this photo showed up in my picture file on my computer.


Then I remembered these pillows I found in the Studio Annex.
Remember Polly and Esther? I had a lot of polyester double knit fabrics and I made many pillows with them. It was a good way to learn different quilt blocks.
At the time I did this quilting cottons were almost non-existent.
I had been creating knit clothing and also teaching how to do this. I had an endless supply of fabric scraps so what better to experiment with?


The pillow on the left is actually the back of one of the log cabin pillows. The 9 patch on the right was about the simplest design I could make.
Of course being polyester these will last forever!

Perfect Patchwork Furniture

I have been enthralled with patchwork furniture for quite some time.
I have finally come up with a few places I could use some patchwork on furniture in my house.

I have a few pieces of furniture that are hard and not as comfortable to sit on as I would like them to be. I will be adding more padding to the cushions and then making new patchwork covers for the cushions.


This sofa is very bold and would only work for a certain style of decorating.
The sofa I intend to use patchwork on is a loose cushion Scandinavian sofa. I had new cushions made for it, and they were thinner and harder than what I wanted. I had them covered with black Ultrasuede. I will remove the covers from these cushions and add a lot more padding to them. I most likely will reuse the black Ultrasuede in the patchwork either combined with more Ultrasuede in other colors or other fabrics. The other options would be to cover each cushion with a different color of Ultrasuede.


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I have a chair that is similar to this one. I will not cover the entire chair with patchwork. I will just use a tasteful assortment of fabrics to make patchwork to cover the cushions.



I also have an antique chair in quite a state of disrepair that is similar to this. It could be only used as a decorative accessory, maybe hung on a wall or from the ceiling. I intend to paint it and then use some fun patchwork on it. I haven't decided what room I will use it in yet, so that will affect the decision on what colors I will use.

This is not something I'll be doing soon. I just wanted to share some of my inspirations with you, and perhaps give you some ideas you could use.

Now I know at least a few of my friends who are reading this are rolling their eyes and saying, what is she doing now. You know who you are! Well, they will have to wait and see. They may just love the finished products!

Perfect Painted Patchwork Furniture

You don't have to be a quilter to fall in love with the patchwork furniture.


I'd love to have this dresser in my home.


If you have an old dresser with good lines and drawers that work you can paint it to give it a new life. I wouldn't want to do this with a valuable antique.



When I look at this dresser it makes me think the effect could also be achieved with wall paper or fabric. If I were to use either of those I would be sure to apply an appropriate sealer after I had covered it.



Even mirrors can be painted as an accent to coordinate with your decor.



I love this fun and funky mirror. I have several old mirrors and my mind is racing thinking about which one to paint. I have an old mirror with very cloudy glass. Since this would be more of a decorative accessory than a mirror to look in I think that would be very interesting.

If you don't have a mirror or piece of furniture to paint, look at flea markets, rummage and tag sales or ask your friends or family if they have any they'd like to get rid of. You could buy a new one in a home decorating or craft store.

The skies the limit when you create your own one of a kind piece of furniture or accessory.

I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do

I don't know why, I just do!

What is it about patchwork furniture that makes me love it?



Is it the varying fabrics with their complementary textures?



Is it the sophistication that is unexpected with patchwork?



For this chair they have actually pieced a diamond patchwork fabric and used the buttons to emphasize this.



I thought this was a very interesting chair. It appears that the triangles are pieced and then added to the upholstery. When I look at this I can't help but think about how this would be a great solution if you got a hole in the fabric of a piece of furniture. It is a very sophisticated look.



While you could say this is just a blue chair, it takes the meaning of a blue chair to a whole new level.



This chair looks like it is a companion piece to the double wedding ring couch I showed you yesterday.


I still have so many other pieces of patchwork furniture to share with you. If you are interested in seeing more, let me know.

Me and My Shadow

When we start to quilt all we want to do is make quilts, quilts, and more quilts. Then many people discover wall quilts, art quilts, miniature quilts and wearable art.


For me I have transferred this love of fabric and patchwork to the furniture on my lanai. Each cushion on the couch and chair is covered with a different chintz decorator fabric is cheery floral prints. The unifying factor is the edges where I used the same fabric on all of them.
I felt I was being so creative and also thrifty.

I'd like to share with you other patchwork furniture I have seen. It seems to be very trendy right now, although not necessarily inexpensive.


Like my couch, this corner sofa has a different fabric on each cushion. I feel like this is the shadow of my creation!


This is a very country calico look on this couch, completed with applique pillows.


This sofa has a more elegant formal look.


This sofa is upholstered with a quilt. Although it's a traditional quilt this could be at home with many different decorating styles.


This sofa uses a lot of different fabrics and is very bright and cheerful.

You can see that there is no limit to what you can use for patchwork on a sofa. You can purchase one ready made, reupholster or slipcover what you are using or have your own professionally reupholstered of slip covered.

For maximum impact I would suggest only one or two pieces of patchwork in a room. Then it becomes a focal point. It is also a great way to start a decorating scheme. Choose the patchwork sofa first and design the rest of the decor around it. This does not mean you need to go out and purchase everything new. It can mean refinishing or painting things you already have.

Decorating should be fun and your house should make you happy.

In the future I will be doing more posts about decorating with patchwork furniture.
The sky is the limit!

Another puzzle for all you puzzle fanatics among my followers!