And Now For Something Completely Different...

This pillow top has been sitting on a chair in the sewing room for a couple of months now and I thought I'd share it with you so that you can have a break from Danuta's Garden and nine-patch blocks for a bit.

In need of a colour fix, I made it right after I finished with the subtle tones of Sea Glass, digging into a pile of fabrics that I've been setting aside for a Fruit Salad quilt, and this was the result.

Pillows can be quite cathartic for the frenetic side of my quilting personality - you know, the side of you that wants to make everything that they see and do it now. I like seeing the mini quilts that others make but the practical side of me wants something more functional when all is said and done, and a pillow fits the bill.











It's a great you to play with fabrics that you've been looking at out of the corner of your eye, or trying a new technique, and (in theory) you have a finished project much faster than it takes to finish a quilt.













Of course the fact that this pillow top has been sitting unfinished for a few months sort of blows that last piece of logic to bits, but finishing them quickly can be done :). I got stuck at what to use for backing, but if I really set my mind to it I'm thinking that there is something in my stash that will work. Ya think?!

It's very simply machine quilted, and I stitched the top directly to the batting. Every time I do this I'm convinced that the batting will totally gum up the bobbin casing of my machine, but it's a low pile batt and worked beautifully.

At 20" square it's nice and large - but I think I'm going to have to do a little surgery on the corners because, once again, the filling doesn't fill them. Who's in charge of quality control anyway?...M

Back To The Cutting Board

Progress on the Danuta's Garden nine-patch blocks continues with lots of different floral combinations now coming into play.

But it looks like maybe I need a counting tutorial because I'm short one square for this block.

I'm trying to have each combination different from the rest, and if there are duplicates I'm switching up which fabric there are five squares of and which there are four.

There's some second guessing going on about a few of the colour combinations but I'm going to sew them all as planned and then see if there are any that really don't work. They all worked nicely together when the fabrics were pulled so I'm thinking it will still come together.

Including the one that still needs one more square, I've made seven in fairly short order.

I'm tempted to say that I'm rolling right along with this one, but that's usually the kiss of death after which things grind to a screeching halt, so I'll just keep that to myself. :) ....M

A Five-Star Week

There's been lots of gardening and yard chores on the schedule this week but I still find myself with a small collection of finished star blocks for my border. This print came from mom's stash and is really beautiful - blue geraniums, orchids and hydrangea. I've never seen it in a shop but have always loved it and it is nice having a memento of mom in the mix.

Being able to pick them up whenever there's a spare minute helps move things along, even just a little bit. It also helps to sit and work out some of those kinks from weeding and pruning and planting :).

I think that this is the only Liberty print that I have used, but I just love it.

If you look closely you'll see that I had to stitch the centre block to make it large enough, but that's what I love about quilting. With so many pre-packaged kits it's always fun to find those 'make do' blocks when I look at a quilt. For me it's all about using it up!

The variety is starting to build nicely.

I might switch to making a few 9-patches just to change things up. Or maybe something completely different. My hands and head are getting itchy for a change of scenery; such a short attention span.

One more close-up of this one, just because I love the print....M

A Day of Rest

We seem to have been busier than usual lately, running all week long, including a golf tournament yesterday, so we're happy that today is Sunday, a day of rest. It's going to be a lazy day to catch our breath and get ready for the coming week. Much of it (for me anyway) will be spent sewing on the deck enjoying the garden and hand stitching blocks for Danuta's Garden.

My peonies are just starting to bloom and there are going to be tons of them. The plants are finally established and I am thrilled. Most of them were planted in 2011 so 'til now we've only had a few blossoms each year from the younger plants. This is the year that changes everything.

I've made one new star block and a 9-patch block this week, but that's it. There was a little cutting done - the yellow for the stars - but no time for much else.

Enjoy your Sunday, and I hope that you get to put your feet up and relax too....M