Pillows, Frugality and the Virtuous Woman

I have always aspired to be the woman praised in Proverbs 31:10-31:

10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.

19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Alas, I fall far below the description of the Excellent Wife. But I do give it the old college try! Here are a few things I have done lately to try to be more like the woman in the Proverbs passage.

I made cushions for our banquette seating out of a very inexpensive sale fabric. The covers seemed a bit big for the cushions, so I wrapped them in batting. Perfect!

I was visiting my sister-in-law and she offered me some fabrics that had been given to her. Perfect again! Everything she gave me matched my home. I made these 5 pillows out of fabric that she had given me--except for the blue. It was from chairs that I sold in a garage sale. The lady was going to recover the chairs, so I asked if she would allow me to have the fabric. Voila! Pillows to match the kitchen/breakfast room curtains. I used old pillow forms. New pillows for absolutely nothing! Pretty good, eh?

We needed a longer table to seat our 12 grandkids when they come over for a meal--which is quite often! I kept looking for something just right at a garage sale, and one day a friend called and said that she had found a table on the side of the street and dragged it home. It didn't quite work for us, but we had a large piece of oak left over from a project, and her husband "re-purposed" (my new favorite word) the wood and the table, and here it is. He wouldn't let us pay him for his work. Can you do any better than a free table? Thank you, Bruce. Isn't it lovely?

Notice the bench. We wanted a bench for this side of the table that the younger ones could eat on (to try to preserve the cushions for a few months). I found an old table at a garage sale for $10 with these sturdy legs and casters. My wonderful son-in-law re-purposed it into a bench for the table. I love you, Alex! We are going to paint it the blue in the cushions and curtains. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I made 4 pillows like this for the living room sofas. The others were very tired. I used the pillow forms and fabric that my sister-in-law gave me, and this is what I came up with. I love them, and again--new pillows for free.

Do you think the excellent woman would have been proud of me?
I hope so.

I'm linking to:
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Show off Your Stuff Party
http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/2010/09/show-off-your-stuff-43-and-giveaway.html
&
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Transformation Thursdays
http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/