Potluck Squares Christmas Pillow

Crazy Mom Quilts posted a really cute pillow last week.  As luck would have it, I had picked up a charm pack of that line a few weeks ago at the LQS and had to try making my own version right away!

At first I tried to include black in the red & green color scheme, but I had a hard time with the layout and decided to omit the black.

I wasn’t feelin’ the love with the scrappy layout either.

So I ended up going with diagonals of the same fabric alternating red & green.  (I had a charm pack of Pezzy Prints I included too.)

I quilted the front of the pillow with straight lines about 3/8” apart with white Aurifil thread.  The binding I copied from my friend Svetlana’s Autumn Penny Patch Quilt.  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? 

The back is envelope style with 3 buttons to hold the closure in place.  I didn’t think through the buttons though, and need to add room for the bulk of the cushion insert next time by placing the buttonholes closer to the edge of the flap.  The back is just solid Kona ash.

I think it’s a nice addition to our growing pillow collection on our family room couch.  Can you tell a quilter lives here?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Seeing Straight

Have you ever heard someone say, “If you can sew a straight seam, you can make a quilt”?  I can make a quilt, but I can’t seem to sew straight lines very well!

I attempted to quilt this with parallel vertical lines.  I followed the edge of my walking foot to try to make all the lines evenly spaced, but they are neither perfectly straight or evenly spaced!

My favorite block is this butter yellow version with the bird in the middle.  Every single piece of every single block was made from scraps only, which I’m kind of proud of.  I almost cracked on the last green block and used some fabric from my stash, but then I pulled myself together and looked through my scraps one more time to find two strips long enough for the last two sides.  Victory!

The binding is this great Loulouthi stripe I had in my stash.  And the backing is a SSI yellow swirly fabric I bought in my early sewing days.  It’s not something I’d probably buy today, but I’m glad to finally have a use for it! 

The finished quilt is made of 42 9 1/2 inch blocks and measures 54” x 63”.  It will be gifted at Christmas to relatives visiting my great aunt.  She asked me to make a quilt for them.  Hope they like it!

Linking up to Ellison Lane Quilt’s Scrappy Stash QAL.  Thanks, Jennifer, for putting together such a fun project!

Baby Elephant Dance Reprise

I had so much fun making the boy version of my elephant quilt that I just had to make it in girl colors.

I used pink and green and then added some orange because I am really digging orange lately.

The elephant print is also Kharma Baby in the girl colorway.  The other fabrics are mostly Riley Blake and DS Quilts fabric with Kona white sashing.  Of course I went with striped binding!

Don’t they look so cute together?  If only I knew someone who was having girl/boy twins!!!  Now I just need to sew labels to the backs of them. 

I’ve got some blocks made for my newest project with Summerlove that I can’t wait to share put together.  I am using linen for the sashing this time!

 

Linking this up to WIP Wednesday.

Two finishes

I finished up two quilts this past week.  The first is this flannel WIP from a few years back.  After a run through the washer and dryer, it looks almost as good as new.

I think it might be my favorite quilt I’ve made, even though while I was making it I wasn’t sure how I felt about the funky fabrics and bright solids.

The purple backing and striped binding really make me love it even more.

The final quilt measures 63 x 78 inches.  It is made from Joann’s flannel and doesn’t have any batting.  It’s a good weight without being too heavy.  In this photo of the binding you can see how I machine attached it with a zig-zag stitch.  I highly recommend this method.

I’ve got another finish from last weekend.  Here is a sneak peak and I’ll be posting about it later this week.

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday and Quilting by the River.