Embroidered Pillow: Trixiebelle the Ha-Ha

 I bought Zaynzley, lover of horses, some horse sheets at Target. The sheets came in a fabric pouch and I thought I would use the fabric from the pouch to make a throw pillow. So I looked on pinterest for quite a while before I found the perfect horse coloring page that I could use for my pattern. 

Original pattern

I traced with a water soluble pen which I wouldn't recommend using as it didn't wash out well. I decided to use some vintage ribbon I had for the bridle which completely changed my color scheme and so I didn't use that fabric from the sheets. 

Pinned on the ribbon

Machine stitched the ribbon

 I am terrible at taking pictures as I go so there are no more in the process pictures. I began embroidering it when I realized that there was too much white and so I got some fabric markers and colored in the mane and the horse. I appliqued fabric for the reins and used some buttons for embellishment.  I did use fabric from my stash for the back of the pillow and the four gold buttons are vintage from my stash while the other fabric is new from the quilt store as are the two cream crocheted looking buttons (from Wal-mart).   Is there anything more delightful than picking out some fabric from a quilt store?  

Zany with her horse pillow

Since she calls horses ha-has I embroidered the name Trixiebelle the ha-ha

Here sits the long awaited horse embroidered pillow

(You may wonder what that green yarn creature is, why a unicorn of course. I collect funky yarn animals for Zany's room this one is my favorite)

This pillow was very much a:

 figure it out as you go and embellishments are used to hide flaws, but I have never been a perfectionist if I were I would never complete anything being stymied by my own lack of talent. 

I have embroidered on and off for years. I usually stop for a couple years when I would have a new baby and then gradually get back to it.  I recently shared my hobby with my sister Ashlee who has really taken to it and now competes with me at thrift stores and yard sales for embroidery stuff but it is such an enjoyable hobby how could I not share it with her.  I like to keep a dish towel stamped with a Aunt Martha's pattern in my car to stitch on while I wait to pick up kids from practices.  Anytime Zany sees me embroidering she asks, "A ha-ha for me?" well, no there is just the one, but I do still have that fabric from the sheets that is crying out to be turned into something.