pillows, curtain & a snow chilled Arnold Palmer

Well thank you for the comments on our trailer and trip pictures. The suggestions for a post with tips for hiking with kids surprised me. I am definitely not an expert on that topic, but I do have 5 kids and hike quite a bit. I’ll put a post together of my practical advice for how we do it…just remember I’m a Okie who often hikes in flip flops!

I have a few posts related to projects in the trailer. Today I thought I’d share my MacGyver pillow making skills. This is sure to make any seamstress cringe…so look away now if you know how to sew.

I didn’t feel like going back in forth between the house and the trailer, so I just took my sewing machine out to the trailer. I draped random sheets and table cloths over pillow inserts to see what I liked. Then I just started cutting…without a measuring stick of any kind. Don’t tell my mom.

I needed to get a bunch of pillows made in about 2 hours, so I just made really big pillowcases and tucked the ends in around the pillow inserts. It works and they come off easily for cleaning, which is important considering all the dirty camping kids that lay on them!

I keep my eye out for stained vintage table cloths. They are usually much cheaper and they would get stained in my house anyway. I’ve had a growing stack that I usually use for picnic tables, but I decided to cut into them to make the trailer pillows. Thus, the pillows have some stains and holes, but I sure don’t mind.

The other big sewing project was the ruffled bathroom curtain. My mom bought me the dishtowel and I was hoping to use it in the trailer. It is the perfect fit for the doorway going into the bathroom. I picked out two other tablecloths and asked my mom to sew me some ruffles…well I asked her to make the whole curtain.

Turns out one of the tablecloths had too many holes for my mom to work with, so I picked a different one and my old duvet cover. I figured they all had that rosy red color so that counts as coordinating. Right?

I had a steady flow of helpers, namely this little miss.

In other news, I found a perfect little spot to watch kids fish. I buried my sweet tea/lemonade in the snow next to me and plopped myself down in that patch of sun. Approximately two minutes later someone needed help. I’ll be bringing my chair and Arnold Palmer with me again soon…maybe I’ll get three minutes. But if I don’t, I really don’t mind!