Ever See A "Qui-ofa?" A "Qui-ofa" You Say? Let Me Show You What It Is! ;)

Welcome to my Meta Monday Qui-ofa Share & My first Blue Monday Post~ Thanks Susan from "Between Naps On The Porch" for hosting one of my favorite themes of the week! And thanks goes out to Sally of Smiling Sally for hosting Blue Monday! Make sure you stop by both their places to catch everyone elses fabulous makeovers and Blue Monday shares~ Maybe it was the fact that I was a Girl Scout, and one of our pledges were, "A Girl Scout is always thrifty". Or, maybe it's because I was raised in a home where my mother made everything from anything... Whether it was made from material, Clorox bottles, readers digests, or even tin cans...my Mom and her love for crafts and sewing gave me an insight to this really cool creative and artistic world! I'm not sure if she realizes how much she taught me, and continues to teach me...but here goes; which leads me to this weeks Meta Monday share, dedicated to my Mom, Myra!

Thus, a "Qui-ofa"!

Meet my little traditional style love seat/sofa & lovely wine~green~gold pattern. These colors and pattern were great while I lived in my home in PA, but when I moved south where I wanted more of a French Country theme in my new home...it just wasn't going to work...
So, my lil brain started thinkin about what I could do to change this to the look I wanted to achieve "using what I had". (Another thing my Mother taught me~) At the time I worked for a company where I was paid in commission and 10% of free merchandise of my choice from the company's retail items. Well, there was this quilt that I just loved and had purchased with my free merchandise for my spare bedroom's queen size bed. I decided to use my "free" merchandise and order three more quilts to have my "Loving and Devoted to ~Moi~ Mother" make me a custom design slip cover to match the beds quilt. This is how the quilt looks on the bed...

I can dress this quilt up & I can dress her down...one of the things I love about her!

Here's a side view of the quilt so you can see the border that goes along the edge. It's also reversible which has a really sweet delicate blue/white tiny pattern on the other side.

Not that this has anything to do with the "Qui-ofa", but my guests always love this, so thought I'd share it with you. A missionary friend of ours wrote this prayer in her 80's before she died. When my guests come, I personalize the prayer and put it inside of one of my custom photo note cards I make. I have a little gift on the bed, the card which has the prayer, and little mints or chocolates on a bed tray. This bed tray is adorable, as it's made out of a picture frame and a piece of chenille bedspread. (very easy to make Jan, of Rose Haven, that loves Chenille) ;)

How can I show you what's inside the card without showing you what was on the cover... ahhh, isn't she a cutie? This is ~Sasha, my sister-in-law's Yorkie. This really makes a cute prayer card since she looks like she's asleep! ;)

© Photography by ~CC

Ok...now for the "Qui-ofa"... This is not considered a slip cover, because each cushion is custom covered with a zipper, just like the original cushion was covered. Notice the little piping around the edge of the cushion? This is what the reverse side of the quilt looks like. My mom is such a perfectionist that she decided that all the piping needed to be made from the material and thus, she worked her little fingers to nubbins, and made all the piping by hand as well.

Then we had the custom slip cover part begin...this was where the real "Brain Crackin" came in. My mom really had to think this through...it was not an easy task because of the patchwork design in the quilt, and the border that went around the edge of the quilts. So, she worked through it in her mind, would cut, sew, think, cut, sew...and this went on for nine days. Yes, God love her, nine days she worked on this labor of love for me. Notice how she even had the piping on the front arm of the sofa so it would mimic the original front of the arm?

Well, what about the back you say? Yes, she even thought of a unique way to finish off the back. On each side are two heavy white zippers that she sewed into it. Once the custom cover is slid over the sofa, each zipper is pulled down as if you've just slipped into the prettiest little dress you ever did see. And she's as snug as a pea in a pod. (I don't like bugs in a rug...scary in a bedroom) ;) Is this just not the coolest?

And "Voila" here she is from the front view... "Francais et Chic"... Notice how neat the side view is, as well as the front view around the bottom? All nice, neat, and coiffed~

One more view from the front with my sweet little Boyd's Bear White Teddy..with her blue velvet outfit, she just looks so cute on this sofa!

When I tell people that my Mother made this custom slip cover, they marvel at it, as it looks like it was manufactured by a professional company. It was, Myra & Co. I got the idea to use the quilts, thus the "Qui" part... ;), and she's the one who actually did the work on the Sofa, thus the "ofa" part. ;) So, it's our "Qui-ofa"!

I hope you enjoyed my Meta Monday post...you'd love my Mother Myra, I do...and so does everyone else that meets her! Look for her picture on the sidebar of my blog...she's a cutie patootie!

I love my lil French Country spare bedroom~

Love ya Mom, and thanks for my "Qui-ofa"!

~CC Catherine