When I sourced my additional Bucilla Ballet Bears kits at Herrschners, I signed up for their newsletter and got sucked in badly by some of their stamped cross-stitch pillow cases. Over the Christmas period they had sales and I bought some pillow slips to embroider for the children. Each pair of pillow cases (49% cotton, 51% poly) with thread kit averaged $10 Australian.
I chose bluebirds for Brigid.
and sport for Fionn.
Although the colour variation requires a chart, it is pretty simple, so I did do some of it on a plane and while staying in a hotel over the holiday period.
My mother used to sing The Bluebird of Happiness while working around the house (my grandparents may have had it on a pianola roll, I think) and the song is stored away in my brain.
I liked the words on the sports pillowcase and, on Jim's suggestion, added "mark" below the lower ball, for good measure. I also changed USA on the basketball to AUS (barely discernable in red).
I then got carried way, and added some words of the song to the bluebird pillowcases.
I have a couple of crinoline ones to stitch for the younger girls later in the year. In the meantime, I had more fun with these than I had anticipated.
9 comments:
Maybe it is a difference between North American terminology and Australian? We would call those pillowcases - no closure but long enough that the pillow doesn't fall out. They are for sleeping on, rather than a sham, which would be mainly for decoration on a bed. A pillow cover would generally go on a square decorative pillow for a chair or sofa. Pillow slip is not a term used here. I never thought of all the terms before! It is pretty funny when you think about it. :)
That's really helpful, Monica - and I agree, pretty funny.
I suspect it IS a difference, but maybe I've led a sheltered life in relation to pillowcases! My mother, who was born in England, talked of 'pillowslips' which I assumed were the same as pillowcases. A sham is the same here (now very old fashioned - I doubt my daughters know what they are).
What do you call one for sleeping on that has a closure, either by a folded pocket, to hold the pillow inside, or buttons?
I think that pillow case and pillow slip were used interchangeably in our home as I was growing up. I wonder whether that was because my father's parents came from England, while Mum's family had been in Australia since the 1840s, and came from Scotland. At this distance, I can't rmember who said what. Pillow shams I do remember. They were on our beds, and the spare room beds, to match the bedspreads, also called quilts, though they weren't quilted, and the quilted things on our beds, although they didn't all contain feathers, were called eiderdowns.
Love the pillowslips. Bluebirds are gorgeous. Cant wait to see your crinoline lady ones.spersh
Pillowcases with a closure are not generally made in N. America, but I've bought those from Ikea, so they were probably designed/made in Europe. We still call those pillowcases too, I think by default.
Pillow shams are very current here, because the trend is to have a million decorative pillows on the bed. Not a trend I follow! Here's a sample: http://www.landsend.com/ix/home-travel-luggage/For-The-Home/Bedding/
Thanks for the link, Monica. I'm learning a lot. I did a bit more searching and came up with this link http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-pillow-sham.htm.
In my childhood, pillow shams in our house were only a cover. They had no back at all, like the top half of a pillowcase, with a frill all around. They were often embroidered but i remember some made to match the bedspread (another concept!) that my mother made for my bed. They went over the pillows during the day and you took them off at night. I notice modern ones are enclosed, with an opening at the back.
Also the Australian Maquarie Dictionary gives pillowcase and pillow slip as alternative words for the same thing in Australia.
Interesting that we evolve such complexities for going to sleep!
Whatever you want to call them, I think the kids will just love these pillowslips/covers. It is nice to do some simple stitching every now and then, it keeps the fingers busy while not being too taxing on the brain. I love crinoline ladies, can't wait to see what you do with those.
I agree,Karyn. I think of it like comfort food - comfort stitching. I've finished one crinoline lady but I'm saving the other for when I really need a bit of easy stitching.
Ok, maybe we have already said enough on this topic, but I did want to add that I didn't realize that a sham once had no back. Calling it a "sham" makes more sense when you know that!
Live and learn!
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