February fun

 I had a fun time making some Super Bowl mementos to give to my guests at our Super Bowl party.  These little birdies are pincushions, or just a cute little birdies.  Lots of flag waving going on during the game.  The last few moments of the game were the most exciting.  Good fellowship, and lots of  fun for everyone.

We had a good group at quilting today... there were not many of us, but quantity does not determine quality.  Two ladies finished their pillows today, adding to the two in the back that  I had previously finished as samples.

There are a couple more still in the works, but everyone is moving in a forward direction.

For those who are interested in joining us for the woven mat demo on Monday the 9th, I have the supply list repeated here.

Fabric strips for a 20" by 30" mat:
   2 1/2" strips 16 - 30" long and 24 - 20" long  
   Backing fabric - this fabric will not show when mat is complete
   Non-slip liner 20" x 30"
   Additional 2 1/2" strips for the binding

If you would like additional information about this mat, scroll down to my January 20th post.

Finished pillow

We have had lots of fun with our pillows at quilting on Monday.  I am one of two completed pillows so far.  Of course I needed to get mine finished first to be able to show the other ladies, but I wanted to let them get closer to completing their pillows before I showed the last step.

This was a more structured layout of the pillow... I used 2" strips to give it a uniform look.  It really does not matter what size the center starting square is, or even if it is square... but on this pillow I started with a 2 1/2" square.

The back is mainly two pieces that are approximately 10 x 16.  I used a contrasting strip to face the edge of the opening, but if you have enough fabric and don't want a contrast you could make those two pieces 13 x 16 and fold over 3" to form the facing.  On this particular pillow, I used fabric from another project that had two finished edges, so it was not as wide as I needed it to be, but wide enough that if I offset the overlap, it worked just fine.  So the overlap can be whatever you choose.  The facing strips are top-stitched on both the opening edge and the edge of the facing that has been pressed under about 1/4".

I pinned the back two panels in place, then I put the pillow front on top and cut the back to the same size as the front.  I did not want my corners pointed, so I cut them rounded, which makes turning easier.  You can draw a line using something circular (thread spool) that gives you the curve you want... I just eyed it as I was cutting.  Pin as you feel comfortable, then start stitching in the middle of one edge that does not have the facing.  This is so that your ending stitches are not where they will be pulled apart when you are putting your pillow form inside.  The outside seam is continuous.  I did not backstitch because I over-stitched about 1" when I came back to the start.

The first pillow I did using a 14" pillow form, I trimmed the top to 14 1/2".  I thought it was a little snug.  This pillow I trimmed the top to 15" which was a better fit. You could also choose to add a Velcro closure, but I did not use one here.

 I don't have pictures of other pillows, and the one issue I saw more than once, was when the strips are being added around the center, even though it appears that they are squarely around that center... as you get close to the edge several ladies found that their square was twisted a bit and they were running out of backing/batting on one or two sides.  If this should happen... not to fear, fold your batting out of the way and add a strip to the backing.  It does not matter if it matches as it is inside the pillow.  It is also not necessary to press that seam open.  Next, fold the backing out of the way and butt up a piece of batting to the batting... you do not want to overlap here.  With the butt edges as your center line, zig-zag the two together.  You can now go back to adding strips on the front.  At the start of your project, because this is easy to happen, it is a good idea to make your backing and batting a good 3 or 4" wider than your finished size.  Lots of reasons why it appears your batting suddenly has a mind of its own and runs out on you.

Maybe I can get a group picture of all of the pillows when everyone has their pillow completed .

Does this look like a happy kitty?  He really likes this new mat... it fits almost perfect.

The right size pillow form

 Yesterday I decided to make a pillow that was featured on ModaBakeshop.  I used fabric I had on hand... I even had some linen and the fusible fleece, right down to the buttons and rick rack.  I think it turned out pretty nice, but I ran into a problem when I tried to find the correct size pillow form.  I thought it would be a normal size, but I was mistaken.  Most pillow forms that I found were square sizes or rectangles nowhere near what I needed.  My husband was with me and he suggested that I buy stuffing and create a pillow the correct size.  I remembered that I had bought a couple pillows at IKEA when I was there a few months ago.  They have all the air squeezed out so they store pretty small.  I needed a pillow form that was 12" by 20" and this IKEA pillow was 20" by 26".  I sewed a double seam down the middle and cut between the lines of stitching, then I pushed the seam inside itself to make it like a French seam.  When it was done I had a perfect 12" by 20" pillow form.  Stash isn't just fabric, it is also stuff to go with the fabric.

This is a closer picture of the end of the pillow and the back.  It is a really pretty pillow.  One that would be pretty on your bed or on your sofa as an accent.  I also made a quilted binder cover, again from fabric I had on hand.  I really would have saved soooo much time picking out the fabric if I had bought a jelly roll or honey bun from Moda, but these were practice pieces.

 

I tried the new technique I learned from an episode on TheQuiltShow where Ricky Tims demonstrated a Binding Miter Tool.  The binding goes on pretty slick using this technique.  Of course I had watched it a few weeks ago, not thinking I would need it right away, then when I wanted to add a binding, I couldn't remember which episode, so I had to request assistance from the Forum on TheQuiltShow.  They came to my rescue and I found it on the Series #3 DVD, espisode #310.  It is a little ruler/tool and you can find it at Animas Quilts.

Last week I thought I would do something different because I only took one picture at the restaurant that we ate at, and I thought it was pretty unique to that restaurant.  Having people guess turned out not to be a good idea.  The restaurant last week was Red Robin.  I am quite sure that I saw a carousel horse at the one I went to up in Ohio.  The Red Robin is no longer in Columbus, Ohio so I can't go back there to check.  This week we didn't go to a new place, but it is one of the ones we enjoy going back to because we have a favorite pick on the menu.

  

Chilis is close and the food is good.  It even has quilt inspiration built right into the tabletop.  I am not sure that I will tackle a quilt with these blocks anytime soon, but they would sure make a neat quilt. 

I'm really enjoying my new Juki F600.  The machine sews beautifully and I can control the speed down to one stitch at a time.  I have put it through quite a spurt of production in its first week at my house, and it is scoring high on my list of expectations.

Have a nice weekend.