emerald fairy

Revival of the Famous Peanut Travel Pillow

It was sometime during 1980 when my friend opened her Chemist Shop on the Northern Beaches in Sydney. She didn’t have much money for stock in her new Chemist Shop so I decided to make her some peanut pillows as my mother had given me one and it was a great item for traveling.

Well I was like a woman possessed making loads of them, the room was full of peanut pillows. Back in those days cut of bits of foam were used for filling not easy soft toy filling we have today.

My boyfriend came home from work and there I was in the bedroom surrounded by colourful peanut pillows and foam from here to kingdom come, the stuff was everywhere. Grahame made me stay in the bedroom while he vacuumed me and the entire room to get all the fluff and bits of foam. I guess you just had to be there, but it was so funny.

Feeling proud of myself I was off to Janice’s Chemist shop, a car full of my peanut pillows with dreams of making a few extra dollars. They looked great in the shop and this was back in the days when Chemist shops didn’t really carry gift lines like they do today, in those days the shops were pretty standard medical supplies and a bit of makeup.

Well I waited and waited, months later still no sales. I think it was a year later when Janice was upgrading her store and the peanut pillows came home. So every family and friend birthday and Christmas gift was of course a peanut pillow. Maybe I was just a bit before my time as in later years I did see some in Chemist shops although they were skinny under fed peanut pillows not plump and inviting like mine.

One of them was given to a friend who found a great use for it, she had a new baby and used to put the baby on the pillow for feeding, she said the shape was good and the baby fitted perfectly in the peanut shape. I have a blue dolphin one in the car, you never know when you need a head rest, they are great to sit behind your head while traveling

Last week DJ my nephew asked if I would make him a peanut pillow for his Scout bus trip and of course Poppy wanted one as well. So I downed tools and made the two requested pillows for Poppy and DJ. (Poppy is Gary’s dad who is raising the kids).

They loved them and of course the other two boys want one too.

The next day while working away doing my customer clothing orders all I could think about was peanut pillows. My creative energy was tuned in and I downed tools again and like a woman possessed off I went in a creative frenzy but in the back of mind was a reminder of the last attempt to become rich making peanut pillows!!

So I made a few and satisfied my creative lust and here they are. At least with modern technology we now have better filling so no one had to vacuum me.

I hope you enjoyed my story.

Love & Light emerald-fairy

your on-line sewing fairy ~ Where I weave magic into fabric so you can feel the magic too

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