#SLMQG May '14 Mini Quilt Swap

I missed out on our guild meeting last night, but I was able to virtually participate in our mini quilt swap via Instagram (thanks for posting, ladies!). Here's the mini I made (and that Barbie took to the meeting for me).

I had an orphan English paper pieced block (star blossom) sitting around that I just didn't know what to do with. I initially was planning on turning this into a pillow or bag,

but then I had this leftover block from a quilt I'm working on using my quick curve ruler that matched the color scheme and fabrics. I added a border from one-inch scraps and a section of patchwork below it.

Then I joined them together.

I've really been enjoying a fluid approach to quilting lately. I haven't been planning out quilting designs and instead have just been quilting a quilt however I want. If I change my mind during the process, I let my quilting change. This mini is no exception. I started hand quilting the black background half. I quilted a few Xs and just kind of went with it.

I quilted three rows around the star and then went willy nilly around other sections.

Since most of the fabrics on the front are from Denyse Schmidt, for the backing I used a piece from her Chicopee line, which I think goes really well with the fabrics on the front.

I used two blue/green solids for the binding, which I machine stitched to the front of the quilt and then hand-stitched to the back. I usually do my binding all by machine, but I wanted to sit in front of the TV instead of in front of my sewing machine to finish this one. And I'm happy to report that my hand-binding is getting better!

I don't know the exact measurements of this one. I think it's around 16"x22" or thereabouts.

The "Holy crap!!! Do you know what this means?!" Pillow

The Monday before Halloween was pretty much the best Monday I've ever had. I woke up in a good mood, ready to start the week. (That never happens.) I even caught myself humming when I walked into the office. I don't remember anything about the work day being stellar, but I guess that'd be too much to hope for.

Rewind a couple weeks earlier to Sewing Summit. I met Kelly from KelbySews the first day. She's adorable and funny, by the way, and I absolutely love her little accent. Anyway, some time during the weekend, she boasted to me that she knew who my partner was in the Pillow Talk Swap. The little tease wouldn't give me any hints, but the fact that she said that stuck in my head.

So, back to the Monday before Halloween. I was perusing Flickr and Instagram and doing a little blog reading during my lunch break. My most favorite pillow posted in the Flickr group for the swap had been shipped out and the blogger mentioned that it would arrive at her partner's house that day. Then, on Instagram, I noticed that Kelly had posted comments a lot on this same blogger's Instagram pics. My wheels started spinning and I was hoping hoping hoping that the pillow I really wanted would actually arrive at my house. I was trying not to get my hopes up all the way though because I'm not usually a lucky person when it comes to this kind of thing and I didn't want to be all let down if the pillow went to someone else's house.

I finished out my work day and headed home. The mister got off work before I did and grabbed the mail before I had a chance to. When I walked into the house, I saw a package on the counter, but I had ordered some fabric and thought that was probably it. When I looked at the sender though, this is what I saw:



I immediately took a picture and posted it to Instagram with the caption: "Holy crap!!! Do you know what this means?! #bestpillowtalkswappackageever !!!"



I'm sure you all know who Angela Pingel from Cut to Pieces is. She's amazing and I've been a huge fan of hers since I started quilting. Her work is absolutely wonderful and I am so blessed to have something she made in my home.



If you haven't already, head on over to her blog and read what she wrote about making things for swaps and the inspirations she has. Reading what she wrote about making this pillow JUST FOR ME really made the pillow I received that much more special.



Thank you, Angela, from the bottom of my heart! The pillow you made is already getting tons of love and will continue to get a lot more!

Finished Pillow for Pillow Talk Swap Round 9

As Christmas is quickly approaching, I've been working like a mad woman to get things done. I managed to finish my partner's pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap on Tuesday night. Thankfully, I took pictures yesterday when it was still warm out because this morning's been very wet with rain and snow.

The finished pillow cover fits a 20" pillow form. I made this one a titch bigger than I usually do. I prefer a stuffed look for my own pillows, but thought I'd make it a little bit roomier for my partner. The finished cover measures about 19" square.



I used black DMC embroidery floss to hand quilt in the negative space (Kona ash). I really like the added pop it gives the pillow as well as helps showcase the prints I used in the kaleidoscopes.

I'm not sure I can name all the fabrics on the front, but I used various Konas (charcoal, some blue-greens leftover from a Poseidon FQ bundle, and ash), Washi, Metro Living Circles, Summersville, Chicopee, Vintage Modern, and Little Apples.



For the backing I used Aneela Hoey's Sweater Check in Aqua from her Little Apples line and Lu Summer's Summersville Weave in Bus for the strip that covers the zipper.



I hadn't tried this technique before, but it was so easy! It's sure to become a new favorite pillow enclosure method for me.



I used Kona white and a black sketch print from Timeless Treasures to add a border to the pillow front. I really really love that sketch print and want to buy yards more to add to my stash.



I'm planning on shipping this pillow off tomorrow with a few extra goodies for my partner.

If you're interested in how I made this pillow, I'm in the process of putting together a tutorial for it, so stay tuned!