It's Friday, I'm back in the US, and I've actually had time to make something! It's time for us to get our whoop whoop on - I hope you're ready too!
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A while back, my daughter brought me a piece of needlework
in a hoop that she had made for Emmy, and asked me to make it into a pillow for her room.
I had been ruminating on what to do with it for several weeks,
and while I was in China, I came up with a great idea.
And so, when I got home, none of the projects that I should have been working on appealed - but this one was calling my name...
You may remember this quilt that I made for Emmy earlier this year using Etched fabrics from Hawthorne Threads...
When I saw the color of the stitching on my daughter's piece, I realized that it was the same as the blue green in the Etched line, so I dragged out my scraps from the quilt. I had more than enough of several of the blue green prints to cut the necessary squares, and added in a few of the coral squares just to break up the design.
You may remember this blog post where I discussed making blocks using fusible web and a grid to put the pieces together quickly.
I decided that would be the most efficient way to make this pillow top, so I grabbed my lightweight fusible webbing, laid it on my gridded cutting board, and started laying out pieces. Note - you need a piece larger than your finished pillow top - something I forgot the first time I cut it out! And on another note, in my experience, this technique gives you perfectly matched seams every time - so much easier than traditional piecing!
You can read more about the process of sewing the patchwork on the earlier blogpost (referenced above) but when I finished sewing all the seams, I put a piece of backing material (muslin) on the top, drew a circle in the center the size of the opening I needed, and sewed around it. Cut out the center, turned the muslin to the back, and pressed it well.
I made a quilt sandwich of more muslin and batting, and centered the needlework under the circle. Basting spray holds all the layers together. On my Singer, I used a blanket stitch to secure the edge of the circle through all the layers.
Then I switched over to the Juki and did some cross-hatch straight line quilting.
I really like all the texture the cross-hatch quilting gives it, and I think Emmy will love it, don't you? This joint venture with my daughter, up-cycling a wall hanging into a different purpose, has been a lot of fun!
So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?
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And now it's your turn!
What's making you whoop it up?
What's got you dancing the happy dance this week?
Share - we want to dance right along with you -
And it's always more fun to dance with friends!
The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.
Hope to see you there!
Hugs!
Sarah
