piper - a finished quilt and my first pillow

So, this quilt has been done for a while. For some mysterious reason, it has been ridiculously hard to get decent photos of it. You can read more about the top here. (I'm really hoping that when we move in the fall, there will be more options for photo taking.)

For quilting, I used an all over loop pattern and pale pink thread. And I learned to make sure you have enough thread for a project, BEFORE you start the quilting.

I backed it in this pink and mushroom Walk in the Woods fabric. It's just so pink - my daughter loves it.

For binding, I was able to find a bit of yardage of my favorite red and white stripe from the same line.

I've wanting to try my hand at pillow and pillow form making. I had a few extra blocks from the quilt top, so I made a pillow front and quilted it with a straight -line pattern. I followed the lovely tutorials from here for how to make the envelope back and here for how to make a pillow form. In my case, I had to jerry-rig the back of the pillow as I wanted to use all the leftover edges of the quilt backing. I added four panels of white, also from the scrap bins, and it all worked out.

And finally here it is, all washed and dried and crinkled and loved.

Thanks for stopping by! Today I'm linking up with Amanda Jean for finish it up Friday.

Jade

piper - a quilt for my daughter

I make a lot of quilts. Many, most actually, end up being gifts for someone outside my immediate family. Last year, I realized that my daughter didn't have a regular-sized quilt... she's been tagging around the tiny, faded quilt I made for her when I was pregnant.

A Walk in the Woods, by Aneela Hoey seemed like the perfect fabric for her. It's pretty, and feminine and whimsical. At a local craft fair, I scooped up a jelly roll and charm pack, and was hoping this was enough to make a creative quilt top.

The pattern I selected is called "Four Squared", by Aunt Polly, and can be found in the Moda Bake Shop.
The original pattern makes a mid-size quilt, a couple pillows and a bed runner. I found the directions could have used a bit more clarity in describing how much to cut for each element. Otherwise, it was straight-forward.

I've altered the pattern layout to use up all the blocks you could possibly make, less four and make it a large quilt. I used 8 blocks across by 10 blocks down. The last four are going to be used for a throw pillow. (She is a huge fan of throw pillows.) This brings the quilt measurements to 64" by 80".

This is a surprise quilt. She has no idea I'm making it and it's been tucked away in a box for months, as I plugged away at it. School is out in a couple weeks and I wanted it done before that so I spent a day and powered through to finish it. Miles and miles of chain piecing later, we have a quilt top.

Now, it's back in the box while we wait for the backing and binding arrive, and while I plan the quilting. Secret sewing is the best. I can't wait to give it to her!

Linking up with Amanda Jean for finish it up Friday, and for Needle and Thread Thursday.