After suffering all weekend with a sore tooth, I finally made it to the dentist to find out, YES, I need a root canal! Phooey! Of course the first available appointment is June 11! It’s going to be a long three weeks!
With a swollen gland, a sore tooth and puffy face I was reaching for a cold damp washcloth just to ease the discomfort. I decided it was time to find a different solution. I had seen many versions of a small pillow stuffed with various things, from popcorn to rice to flax seeds with lavender buds mixed in. Some of those things work well in the freezer but not so much in the microwave (like popcorn!).
I had a bag of flax seeds ready for just such a project and I had ordered some fresh dried lavender buds recently, so I thought I’d give it a try.
Materials:
1 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup lavender buds (optional)
1 piece of cotton fabric…9 1/2″ by 5 1/2″
2 layers of cotton flannel…9 1/2″ by 5 1/2″. Treat as one piece of fabric.
Instructions:
Make a pouch by sewing the fabric and flannel pieces wrong sides together, leaving a 3″ space to turn right-side out. Trim the corners.
When turning the pouch right-side out use a stuffing stick or pencil to poke the corners out completely.
Top stitch on three sides to reinforce the seams…don’t want those flax seeds to poke through the seam. Top stitch the top edge after stuffing.
Put 1 cup of flax seeds in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of dried lavender buds and mix them up. If you don’t care for the smell of lavender, use less or skip them and use a drop or two of your favorite essential oil directly on the fabric bag. No scent at all is fine too.
Use a funnel poked into the opening of the bag and scoop the seed/lavender mixture into the bag (oops…no picture of the funnel).
Stitch the bag closed with two rows of stitching just for reinforcement.
That’s it! The bag is only about half full so it’s flexible and easily molded to my eyes (for sinus pressure) or in my current case, my jaw!
I’ll put this into a zip bag and put it in the refrigerator (or freezer). I’ll enjoy it later this evening!
If I decide I need it warm instead, I’ll let it warm up naturally and then pop it in the microwave…maybe 10 seconds at a time at first. Flax seeds are supposed to hold the warmth quite a while. On the other hand, I may have to make a second one just for the warm version!
I’ve always said most of my projects are inspired by a need. I certainly had a need today! Enjoy!
Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.