In the Blue

Today I'm sharing a project I finished nearly two months ago - I've been enjoying it selfishly so it is time to share the love...

It is the 'Garden District' pillow/cushion from 'Pillow Pop' by Heather Bostic.  This pattern is by Casey Yoder ('Little Miss Shabby') and it is a stunner of a design.

I used a variety of blues for the curves and a linen blend as the background.  The design is cleverly pieced and almost appears like a double wedding ring block.  I'm so impressed with it that I think I might make a DWR in similar colours for our bed.  The squares were quilted in the ditch and then hand quilted using variegated perle cotton in curves.

The back using a strip of 'Madrona Road' and the same linen.  The edges have been bound.  I had never done this for a cushion before but it was exactly like binding a quilt.

This is my third project from 'Pillow Pop' and I have plans to work through the book with the sew-along on 'ThreadBias'.  Two of my other projects are here and here.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for 'Finish it up Friday' again - see you there!

French Chevrons

I've been working my way through the 'Pillow Pop' challenge on Threadbias and have now finished my February cushion/pillow - a day late - but done.

'Chevron' by Brooke Biette.

I used a mixture of French General fabrics.  I've liked these for a long time and have quite a stash of them, but now find myself drawn to brighter colours when fabric shopping.  However Kaari Meng's fabrics really blend well with our home.  I love her reds and tans... so timeless!

I was inspired to use this colour range when looking at the 'Pillow Pop' group pictures and am really pleased with it.  I actually like it more than the original in the pattern.

I used some red Essex linen on the back and because of the extra weight I didn't quilt the back.  The handwriting fabric is from 'Fa-la-la-la-la' by French General.

 It's quite different than my first 'Pillow Pop' cushion but I'm very happy with both!

Linking up with 'Finish it up Friday' at Crazy Mom Quilts.  :-)

Have a good weekend everybody!

Some Simple Finishes

Two small projects finished and ready to share...

My cushion cover for the 'Pillow Pop' challenge hosted on Threadbias.  I made the 'Gumdrop' cover by Heather Bostic.

The fabric is 'Road 15' by Sweetwater.

I free-motion quilted it in a loopy design, starting from a flower shape in the centre.  I spent a lot of time thinking of a quilting design - the fabric itself hinted towards many very different patterns - and I chose one that is represented in the white-on-white print.  It was a fun quilting technique and I'm really pleased I used it.

The backing is a lovely soft-but-heavy linen that had been in my stash for many years.  The zipper is covered by an assortment of 'Road 15' fabric scraps.  I'll link this up to the 'Pillow Pop Sew Along'.  I might see you there?

In my last post I started a trial block of a patchwork Granny Square.  I finished this up today by adding a 'snow' border then binding it in a matching green.

I quilted it in an orange-peel style design - very easy and quick as free-motion.  When I make this block up as a large quilt I will probably use the same quilting design as it was actually fun to do!

My K will love using this as a dolly quilt, until I borrow it back to hang on the wall. 

I'm linking up to 'Finish it up Friday' at Crazy Mom Quilts again.

Before I go I'll mention that this is my 100th post on this blog!  I'm quite impressed that I've made it.  :-)  I wondered about what to do to celebrate but decided that the new computer that we purchased this week is already making blogging (and MANY other things) so much faster and easier.  Every day is a celebration anyway. 

Big smiles.

Cushions for Two

I had started making both my mother and my father-in-law cushions (pillows) for Christmas.  For both I had found a block that I really liked - and from that decided to make them into cushions.

Despite good progress I did not get either of them completely finished in time for Christmas - but they are now...

I made the tractor cushion for my father-in-law because he has a vintage Farmall Cub from the 1950s tucked away.  It doesn't come out very much but I know he treasures it.  I saw this tractor block tutorial by Lori Holt of 'Bee in my Bonnet' - but it was made in green - so I had to play around with colour placement to get it to match the Farmall (as well as our Case/Internationals).  Lori gives great instructions... I must try another one some day!

The cushion measures approx 22" by 18".  I did get the whole outer finished in time for Christmas (it has a grey cotton duck backing with my favourite zip technique) and all I had to do today was make an inner.

As a cushion it was hard to photograph - it kept appearing to have flat tyre - it looks much better in real life!

The second cushion was made for my mum because she loves her chooks too.  The block is one I have adapted from other hen blocks I have seen on the web.  I used leftover fabric from this quilt I made for her last year using French General's 'Petite Odile' range.  I had managed to only get the top of this finished done for Christmas so my mum will be pleased to see it backed and filled - ready to lounge on her bed!

I quilted the front using a grey thread in an attempt to make it look like chicken wire - but am not that pleased with the effect that it created.  I quilted the back using more of the same French General fabric - so it is a very cuddly cushion.

I'm linking up with 'Finish it up Friday' on Crazy Mom Quilts.  See you there!

A Pillow to Call Home

Another cushion I made as a Christmas present for a different sister...

I used the same linen-style fabric as the backing of this cushion.  The lettering is a floral print from 'Madeira' by Blackbird Designs for Moda.  I'm sure it is at least two years old - but I really like the colours in it and it looks great against the background.

The mini rose behind is 'The Fairy' - one of my favourites.

I cut the cushion (pillow) out as a 18 1/2 inch square.  I wrote the letters in a document using wordart, reversed them, then traced over the printed versions with steam-a-seam.  I later used my 'fake' buttonhole stitch on my Bernette to applique the letters.  The letters don't line up perfectly as the 'M' wants to be big, but I'm very happy with how they turned out.

I've attempted to link up my master copy of the lettering so please let me know if this does or doesn't work (I think you have to be able to access Google Docs):
Click here to download a pdf for the HOME letters.

I love this cushion as well and think I'll have to make another one or two...

Another Cushion

This is the second cushion I have finished this week - and again in my favourite blues.

I started with a mini charm pack of 'Indigo Crossing' by Minick and Simpson.  I made these into half square triangles paired with Kona 'Snow' (my favourite - though I do have some Kona 'PFD White' to try - it seems very similar).  I didn't have quite enough squares - I had 84 and needed 100 so I used two shades of Kona cotton - 'Cadet' and 'Windsor' to make some extra squares.  I also used these colours on the back.

Again, I am really thrilled with the quilted back I made - and I especially like the way the vertical and horizontal lines look so tidy.  It goes without saying how easy they were.  I'm thinking of making a new valance for my bed - and would try this quilted pattern on it.  Wouldn't using one of the 240+ shades of Kona cotton be great for getting an exact match! 

New Cushion

I have a few projects that just need some finishing up - and a sunny day to take reasonable photos.
Here is the first - a cushion made with gorgeous blues, greys and yellows.

I cannot claim that I assembled the colours - the fabrics were all in a scrap pack of strips.  Most strips were about 1" wide and WOF long.  I started with a large square, 24" (I think) as a foundation block and pieced all the strips onto that starting from a diagonal centre line, working out to the corners on both sides.  When this was finished I trimmed it to 22" square and then cut it into 16 smaller squares.  These were carefully reorganised to get the finished quilt top.

My quilting on the front was not as good as it should have been - but I am pleased with the back.  After using one layer of fabric for the backing of my last cushion like this I stepped up and made a quilted backing this time - and am so pleased I did.  It looks and feels so much better.  Yes, it is a lot of work, but worth it.
Again I used the fantastic tutorial from 'Sew Mama Sew' to add the zipper.  I used the same fabric for the zipper cover.

I am super pleased with this project... and just have a few threads to finish on a similar one.

I have been stalled in my sewing projects as my precious Bernina 930 has stopped working and has gone to a local Bernina shop to be fixed  (very sad face here).  I miss it already - but have been able to continue sewing as I have a back-up machine - a Bernette 65.  But it is a bit like driving a mini after getting used to a volvo.  Just not the same power.  Luckily piecing is ok and simple work like sewing cushion inners.  I might get some cutting out done and maybe (if the weather improves) some gardening.  Yes mum - the house is tidy (cheesy grin here).

Kiwi Gifts

A cousin of mine got married a few weeks ago in Canada and although we were kindly invited to the wedding we never made it... another time??
After my earlier wedding gift my mother requested a set of two cushion covers to send over for the married couple.  These were made two months ago - and now I can finally post pictures.

 

As with my previous cushion I patched strips of co-ordinating fabrics together then used steam-a-steam and raw-edge applique to attach them to the wool-poly backing.

I must get around to making myself a set!