Bad Purchase Made Good
The soft green and lovely lacy crochet of these pillow shams called to me. Even ready-made crochet and handicraft pieces get my respect. Someone somewhere (China? Taiwan?) spent hours making it. I’m fairly certain that a machine hasn’t been invented yet that can duplicate handmade crochet.
The crochet is beautiful. The cheap muslin backing not so much. It shrunk in the wash — and even before that the muslin is so thin that you can see the ticking on the pillow through it.
For a time, the shams hung out in my linen closet. I am physically incapable of throwing out handmade stuff … just can’t do it … hives and all that 
I decided to try to take the crochet off the sham casing to use as table covers. Now, I’ve attempted to take lace off old, vintage pillows before where the lace was created on the pillow — edging for instance. Without the material as a base, lace just falls apart. Luckily, the crochet was created separately for these pieces and then attached to the muslin. You can see the machine stitching above.
Now I have two open and lacy doilies. The plan is to use these to cover cable boxes, etc. — ugly electronics that get hot and need air.
I am one who is addicted to hand crocheting lace, afghans, jewelry, curtains, etc. I have a hard time throwing away hand made items too. I don’t mind selling my work, though. It is now part of trying to make a living for me. You can check out my website to see some of the items I make: lace collars, dolls, greeting cards, and more to be added. Making things is definitely addictive! http://www.aheartofmersea.etsy.com.