Anatomy of a Pillow

I bought these Vogart stamped-for-embroidery towels a couple of years ago on Ebay. I loved the designs of chicken waitresses carrying coffee and bowls of salad. But I didn’t really have any fabrics that went with them so set them aside. Then I found this fun fabric with yellow chicks and some vintage yellow and brown polkadot napkins and things started to come together. The striped fabric is a leftover piece of vintage feedsack from another project and I’ve used it for the thin border around the embroidery. It has the same browns and tans but some turquoise, too, and I’ll add some matching buttons from my stash. It needs a bright color to keep it from being too monotone.



So, with all the details worked out, I chose embroidery floss colors to match. I gave her a funky yellow and turquoise apron. And the soft red that I used for her comb, waddle, and the coffeepot is the only color that won’t get picked up anywhere else.



Next, I’ll complete the pillow top by adding the polkadot fabric to the triangular corner spaces and an outer border of the yellow chicks. And I’ll probably use that for the back, as well. The buttons will go in the corners.



I always name my pillows and I wanted it to be something chicken- or diner-related. So I did a little research and found a great list of diner-speak at the American Diner Museum’s website. And several options. I think I’ve decided on Sunny-side Up or Blue-Plate Special. But it was great fun to read the list. See if you can guess what “foreign entanglements” is. Or “nervous pudding”. Or “bossy in a bowl”.

Sadly, with so many fast food restaurants replacing old-fashioned diners, this slang is fast becoming a thing of the past. Destined to be listed on websites for people like us to laugh about. Although we still have a few diners where I live—the Glider Diner in Scranton (famous for their hot roast beef sandwiches), and the Bluebird Diner near Keystone College. I don’t know what they’re famous for but it sure is crowded most mornings around breakfast time!

I have two more of these towels—another of the same design and one where she’s carrying a salad bowl. I’ll be making more pillows but probably not exactly the same because I hate to repeat designs. I’ll start this process all over again with different fabrics and colors. And I’ll have to name it something salad-related, like “rabbit food” or “cow feed.”