Fiber Snob

I love to knit. And not just with anything. Only the best yarns appeal to me: fine and exotic wool, silk, alpaca, mohair, linen, cotton. Basically, something that actually exists in nature and not just in a chem lab. (More on this theme in a couple of other posts over the next few weeks.)

Why does this matter on a home decorating blog? Because my love for fancy fibers bleeds over into my decorating. We've been on a quest to find some pillows for our sofa. We found one pair many months ago from Pottery Barn that perfectly complimented the blues and reds of our decor. And better yet, in a linen/cotton blend! They live on our leather sofa and are oh so comfy for a mid-afternoon nap, being perfectly stuffed with just the right amount of feathers. That's right, no polyfill for me! (At least not when I can help it.)

The gray sofa did not get such special treatment, and kept two pillows on it from our old apartment made of blues, browns, and greens. It didn't clash, but it just didn't look right. Here's an old picture, just to show you the pillows I'm talking about. See? Kinda blah. (The red/blue one is on the left.)

But all that changed last week when I was bargain hunting on Pier 1's website. A teal mongolian wool pillow (still on sale! snap one up now while the link still works!) Made of real wool! (You laugh, but Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target were both selling Mongolian "wool" pillows made of 100% polyester.) Be still my heart! Suddenly in the mood to keep hunting, I also found a beautiful red silk pillow, also on sale. So I submitted my order (they do a nifty in-store pick-up kinda thing) and then, in store, found some beautiful citronella lamps in the exact same shades (they'll live indoors when not in use, but obviously will only be lit out on our porch).

Aren't they pretty!? In addition to being a soft, comfy place to rest my head, the teal pillow makes a wonderful cat substitute if I need something to pet when no one's around. And the colors go perfectly into our decor.

Last year we also invested in a beautiful Jacob sheepskin--yes, it looks like a cow hide, but it's really sheep--which we thought would look nice in back of the sofa and would be a nice place for the cats to lay. Well the cats couldn't care less but we think it's a nice textural accent. So here's the sofa now (complete with kitty--must have felt jealous of the pillow).