“Back in the day,” which, for the purpose of this blog means the early ‘80’s, I had a purple velour sweatsuit Clay says I wore all the time. I had only vague memories of this outfit, as it was the only warm one I really owned in college. So, when ever it was even moderately cool, out came the “purple suit”.

Then, about 3 months ago, a funny thing happened: a box arrived with the top of that long ago lost sweatsuit.

You see, my mother throws nothing away for fear someone might need it someday. (And, yes, in case you’re wondering, her daughters all suffer from this to one degree or another.)

I had no idea what I would do with this item until right before Valentine’s Day. I decided to make a “love letters” pillow for Clay since he had such fond memories of this outfit.

There was not enough of the fabric to cut both sides without some alterations. I used the front of the shirt as the back, by removing the “V” insert and sewing two sides together.

Once I had a piece of fabric, it was a simple matter of cutting the pattern so the center of the heart matched the center of the fabric.

As if destined for this final transition, the waistband was exactly the right width and length to form the gusset. It was effect!

I had some leftover cording from a chair makeover, and found a coordinating gold upholstery fabric for the pocket. Using some glittered iron on, I added the words “love letters” to the pocket.

I’ll spare you the gory details of this being my first (and not terribly successful) attempt at adding cording to a pillow, and how I had to do a lot of hand stitching. I will also not mention that it still needs some tweaking.

No, none of that, because in the end, when I tried to point these things out to Clay, his response was, “I love it! Stop dissing MY pillow!” Enough said.

So, when I left home that next day, I left a “love letter” for him to find when he returned.

That’s what it was all about: not that the pillow was perfect, but that the gift and sentiment were.

Love and best wishes to you and yours,
Shari