bleeding heart

I'm feeling nostalgic this morning. Believe me, it doesn't take much. Maybe it's just that our little family (sisters and Mom) were apart for Catherine's birthday; or that there was a thunderstorm two days ago, and I opened all the windows in the apartment to let the rain smell in; or that I listened to some Disney movie songs and thought about riding in the car with the sisters, but I spent the morning looking around the apartment in a restless state and finally latched onto this pillow as a link to a time when we were mostly together.

I made this little pillow back in 2004, inspired by a photo of Sondre Lerche holding a similar pillow in the first issue of BUST magazine I ever purchased--Ms. Tina Fey on the cover.

My pillow is actually better because my heart is made from
red herringbone tweed purchased at a thrift store.

This was back when BUST was sort of awesome--the sisters have collectively decided it is much less so these days. Rude! Anyway, I was charmed by the pillow's Emo/Sacred Heart mix, and like I always do, I look at a something and think, I can totally make that.  (Just for the record, sometimes I can and sometimes I cannot.) In this instance, I could make it, with a little help from Mom. I completed all the hand-stitched parts and she did the straight lines/trim on the machine. If you've followed the blog with any regularity, you'll be well-aware that I cannot machine sew a straight line for anything.

The sewing machine is my sworn enemy, which is a shame because if I had any skill with the sewing machine,
I would have been a great talent. Wait. Did I just lift and garble a line from Austen? Mayhap I did.

I've gotten a couple eye-rollish looks from guy friends over this pillow, but I love it unabashedly.