A shirt, a skirt, and a pillow

It all started with an acorn.
No, I don't mean an oak tree. I'm talking about the birthday pillow I just finished for JK's 7th birthday tomorrow. You see, when my grandmother kept Ava they were always going on nature walks. On these walks Ava would stuff things in her tiny pockets. One time I forgot to check her pockets and an acorn was washed and dried with a load of laundry. The acorn dust turned to a nasty stain all over the arm of my shirt. After several washes and even a second opinion by the Queen of Stain Removal (Judy) it was decided that the shirt was a lost cause. Instead of throwing the shirt away I stuck it in my scrap fabric bag for later.

Recently my sister and I dug around in my grandmother's sewing room for treasures. We ran across fabric remnants from our favorite outfits, quilts, pillows and so much more. We left with bags and bags of things for future sewing adventures. I claimed this old skirt because of the sweet flower cut-outs. I stuck it in my scrap fabric bag for later.

Welcome to later.

I cut out these three darling birds from some fabric that I found on a fabric hunt with Robyn in Brenham. Then I cut out the J and K and pinned everything onto the shirt fabric.

Next I cut a section from the skirt, and lined it with some soft purple fabric. The purple fabric was leftover from my favorite quilt that my grandmother made for me in middle school.

After finishing the needlework on the front of the pillow I sewed the fabrics together. Ava helped me stuff it.

Then I stitched up the opening.
(This picture isn't super flattering of me, but Ava took it so I had to put it on here.)

The back of the finished pillow

The front

I can't wait to give it to her in the morning.

Happy birthday sweet JK!