I need to get in touch with my pre-teen 4-H sewing club skills. I want some cool pillows for my couch and all the ones I like run over $150. For a pillow. Sheesh. My mother is convinced that tea in restaurants is 'the biggest scam going' (you know, charging for one cup practically what a box of lipton costs) and since, regrettably, I haven't fallen too far from my ancestral 'cheap' tree, I'm forming the opinion that pillows are in the same category. They are nice though...

I definitely agree with rr. I'm shocked how much some people charge for pillows. My wife and I are in the process of purchasing a new sofa, and we will need some pillows to go with it, but I'm hoping my wife will sew up some.

Hey, m, get on the metrosexual crosstown express and fire up that Singer sewing machine yourself!

these pillows are lovely--the colors are just delicious. anyone up for planning a shopping trip to india? a friend of mine recently did that--with the sole purpose of visiting a beautiful country and purchasing gorgeous fabrics and pillows for friends and business associates. she determined that it was less expensive to fly to india and stay for seven nights than to purchase pillows, much like these, that are sold in the likes of abc, etc.

i know it may be a dream to travel to hand select them, i must say, this photo with the blues and yellows is just heavenly.

Anyone have a clue how much these fabrics run per yard on average?

The beauty about making your own pillows is that you can work from mere remnants of really gorgeous fabrics. And NYC is a treasure trove for fabrics, remnants or otherwise. And pretty much any tailor (or Calico Corners) will run you up some pillows for less then store-boughts.

Plus, if you're handy with fabric paint, you can copy just about any print out there on a fabric of your choice... Making pillows is really as simple as sewing can be. I made a bunch of red silk shantung floor pillows for my house before I bought a couch. You basically make a pocket with back edges that overlap a bit and slip either an old pillow or a store-bought pillow form inside.

Patrick (the other one),

My wife is very good at this sort of thing so it's probably best that she rather than I sew the pillows. I think I once made a pillow with my sister when I was a kid, and it wasn't that hard to do. But my wife a few years back made pillowcases for our apartment, and she handstitched all the buttonholes. It was really quite nice.

m

m--
was really just teasing you. I'm all for sticking with what works!

John's office is upstairs from Alpha and I have shared several elevator rides with him as well as buying up pillow covers and a new summer quilt at his last sample sale. That kind of Indian ethnic thing is not usually my thing, but his stuff is really beautiful and I got some great deals. And he's a really nice guy.

Hmmm...what do you mean by "ethnic"? Aren't we all "ethnic"?

Sure, we are all ethnic, but one use of ethnic means that you are outside your national boundaries. Indian ethnic seems like a perfectly valid term to use a decorating style outside of India. It wouldn't make sense used IN India, though.

I had the good fortune to travel with Mr. John Robshaw to some of the places he ventures to, to find those extraordinary hues and patterns he is so justly well known for - his is a discerning eye and his is a keen sense for things unseen, of the layers beneath it all. Recently, while playing badminton with John in Jaipur, he offered up his winnings to some small street urchins, which I thought a beautiful gesture. Keep it up Mr Robshaw! We need you in this dull Wallpaper-bullied world, this monchromatic endgame!