Thursday, September 6, 2012

Pillow Talk


In a bid to be creative, I sewed something yesterday. Unable to finish a quilt (due to my inability to think ahead) I opted to make a pillow as a preview to a Christmas present. I love it.


I’ve been having issues coming up with a pattern for the quilt so I have been fiddling with that instead of, well, quilting. Of course, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to these things. I plan and plan and plan and end up doing something spontaneous that doesn’t involve a plan most of the time. So I decided to make a pillow yesterday afternoon using the same fabrics I picked out for the quilt. This would accomplish two things: First, it would gauge whether the colors would actually work together; and Second, it would allow me to present to the birthday girl a little taste of what her Christmas present will be. If she hates it, I’m back to square one.


The pillow was made almost entirely of five inch squares, or charms, with a four-patch in the center surrounded by wonky half-square triangles to create an eight point star. The half-square triangles I used the solids I’d picked out from my stash, while using Kate Spain’s Fandango from Moda for the four-patch. Honestly, after making the pillow, I might just use that pattern for the quilt because it looks fantastic!


I quilted the pillow front to cotton batting using a free-motion amoeba-like technique. Why? Because I love how it looks after washing it. It gets a crinkly and instantly looks cozy. It originally was a little too big for the sixteen inch pillow form I had lying around from a previous project that never saw the light of day, as in three inches too big, but after quilting, washing and drying the cover, it fits the pillow form perfectly! For the back I used a tea stained muslin and sewed it in two sections with a flap in the center for easy removal and washing. I have to say, I love how it turned out and can’t wait to make the quilt now.


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