tutorial tuesday. grandma's flower garden pillow.

Grandma's flower garden is one of my favorite quilt patterns, so when Lori Holt shared her fun half hexie rulers with me, I knew exactly what I was wanting to make.  I chose a smaller project to get a better hang of piecing half hexies.  I found a favorite fluffy pillow and made a cover for it, while using Lori's tutorial here for cutting and piecing instructions.

To start, I had drawn out my plan ahead of time, then collected the fabrics needed (see below).  My pattern calls for the 5" half hexie ruler.  My pillow finishes at 20.5" by 30.5".  You will need to determine the size of pillow you have and what your top needs to finish at.  My pattern calls for : 28 white 5" squares, 23 pink 5" squares, and 4 yellow 5" squares.

Here is the layout before sewing.

I was a little over zealous with the ironing so some of my points did not match up.  Which is a bit of a stinker!  Lesson learned!  Just remember to be careful.  wink.

I handquilted the top with batting and a sheet as the backing.  I have an old white sheet that I keep on hand to cut from, for just this purpose.  The backing is inside of the pillow case, so it serves more as something to quilt with, rather than for appearance.  Here is a snippet of my handwork in process.  It was a relaxing project to have - handquilting is always so enjoyable to me.

After the quilting was finished, I created an envelope type backing and bound the pillow as I would a quilt. 

taa - daa

a soft and snuggly pillow

If you decide to make a grandma's flower garden pillow - be sure to let me know!  I would love to see it!  wink.

fabrics used :

backing is Daisy Cottage Main on yellow by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs 

solids are Daisy Solid for Riley Blake, Hot Pink Solid for Riley Blake, and Bella Solids in Bleach White for Moda

gingham is Gypsy Girl by Lily Ashbury for Moda

 linking to:  

Fresh Squeezed Fabrics Show and Tell Tuesday

and

monday.

Happy Monday to you!  I hope you had a nice weekend.  I am still trying to figure out where mine went - wink!  Friday and Saturday I spent sewing and Sunday was a day to just relax and enjoy the lovely weather we are having.  

 

A chilly day in May seems a bit odd down here in the south, so I am taking full advantage of every single sweet breeze that blows my way.  Pretty soon the heat will kick in and the a/c will be on. 

My friend Jocelyn (hi Jocelyn!) and I are creating Happy Go Lucky Suburbs together, across the miles.  I have been aching to get started but one thing has led to another preventing me from doing so.  I am really hoping to squirrel away some time this week to get my cutting started.  This is going to be so much fun!  We are each choosing 2 houses to make exactly the same (hers and mine) and then we will keep the rest a secret until we finish.  Isn't that so much fun?!  I'm so excited!

My little zipper pouch sold quickly *yay* so I decided to list another one.  I absolutely love making these!  I was thinking about making sets that would include a matching tissue cover and zipper pouch.

What do you think??  

overcoming.

It is sort of silly the things I fear.  Not like boogy man fear, but more personal fear.  You know, like making that apron that looks super hard and you wonder if it will turn out like the one in the picture - so the pattern sits - you know - like forever, or sewing a zipper (I know.  Right?  It's just a freakin zipper!), or the fear of sounding like a big dork because I shared from the heart on my blog.  Trust me, I have hit "copy all, delete" on more posts than I care to admit!

But today I will start by posting about, yes, a fear (I am not allowing my fingers close proximity to the delete button!).  And even though I faced it head on, I can say with all honesty, the fear is still there.  But at least I am walking toward the fire and not away from it - this time around.  That counts for something, right?!  wink.

Remember my scattered quilt post?  There's something I left out.  I have wrestled about listing it in my little etsy shop.  And because I hyper analyze life as I know it, to death, it just sat.  I love this quilt, I loved making it, I loved hand quilting it, I loved binding it, I loved washing and drying it, I even loved photographing it like a favorite child!  But I was really wanting to list it for sale.

I believe in my work, I know the care and time it takes to create something like this, and so that is not what I feared.  I guess it is the vulnerability of the idea, placing something "I made" for sale.  That has never come easy for me, again not for lack of quality, but more because it is a part of me that I am hoping others would like, and well, what if they don't?  I have opened and closed my little etsy shop a few times now, mainly for that reason.  I know ... silly right?  Why can't I be normal and fear stuff like : spiders, the dark, flying in airplanes?!

So all that to say this - I listed it! Granted I have hovered of it like a mama bear protecting her cub, hitting refresh every 5 minutes to see if anyone has looked at or  favorited it.  See ... hyper analyze!  wink.

So, we will see what happens.  Fear faced, beloved quilt listed, growing through the process.  wink.

scattered is finished.

quilt stats :

pattern is scattered by Allison Harris (Cluck Cluck Sew)

measures 61" x 73" and is machine pieced

fabric top made with :

Bleached White Moda Bella and Summer House 
by Lily Ashbury for Moda  

backing :

100% Kona Cotton

binding  :

Gypsy Girl by Lily Ashbury for Moda

sewn on by machine turned and hand stitched 

to back of quilt for a clean finished look 

batting :

100% cotton warm and natural 

handquilting :

by me - over 20 hours  

using DMC perle 8 cotton thread

Washed once for that warm crinkly goodness!

Thanks so much for visiting. 
Have a nice weekend.
xoxo   
(listed in my little etsy shop) 
 

tutorial tuesday. lined zipper pouch.

 

I can't stop making these zippered pouches!  They are so much fun and make wonderful gifts.  Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, birthday, etc.  You name it!

Oh!  And especially when you fill them with a treat!

                   (images used with permission from Anna - thanks Anna!)

Truth be told, I was terrified of zippers.  I know, you would think I would be afraid of spiders or something harmful like that.  But nope.  Zippers did it for me.  

That is until I ran across Anna's fabulous tutorial for her Zakka inspired pencil pouch.  Each step is laid out with wonderful pictures and easy to understand instructions.  for my above pouch I used the same method, only adjusted it to the size of pouch I was making.

Another nice thing, is I have been able to use Anna's method for installing a zipper in other things as well.  The back of my charm square pillow has a zipper.  The pillow cover is lined and can easily be removed to wash when needed.

No more fear of zippers!  Thanks Anna for your tutorial! 

w.i.p. wednesday

Do you ever find the last stages of completing a quilt are bittersweet?  I love love love to sew binding onto my finished quilts.  I also love the feel of a warm and crinkly quilt fresh from the dryer, but being at the end, well, means being at the end.  
I have really enjoyed making Allison's scattered pattern.

I have also been doing a little pattern testing and can't wait to show the finished quilt.  When I do, there will be a nice little giveaway, so be sure and stay tuned.

row eleven and hand quilting.

I had so much fun sewing together the spools for row number eleven.  As you can probably tell, I am skipping around a little bit, since I am a ways behind.  I am like a child in a candy store having to choose which of my favorite candy to buy first.

Before stepping out this morning for an orthodontist appointment, I managed to get a little cutting done for my next row to sew together ... tulips!  Lori's tulips are so stinking cute, I can't wait to finish this row.  Which happens to be row thirteen.

 

Over the weekend (and nestled in my car at the orthodontist this morning), I managed to get some of the hand quilting done on my scattered quilt.  

I love the nubby feel of perle 8 thread.  It is my absolute favorite!  I enjoy the back just as much as the front.

On a side note, I made this for dinner last night.  Oh my goodness was it good!  Don't you just love pinterest?! 

Have a lovely week and thanks so much for cheering me on as I play catch up on Lori's adorable row along!!  

a few christmas touches.

This time of the year makes me giddy.  I just love all the Christmas music (classics and whimsical), favorite Christmas movies, white twinkle lights, hanging stockings, gift giving, wrapping presents and hiding them.

I have also enjoyed pulling out a few Christmas quilts and table runners.  I learned to quilt only a couple of years ago, so my selection is small, but I have truly enjoyed adding a little something each year.

This is a special table runner, making some of my first saw tooth stars.  I remember being so nervous trying such a tough project.  Flying geese and I still have not become close friends, but with patience and determination, I have made many since.

This tiny topper really was a first.  I bought the kit from Jodi's etsy shop.  I loved sewing each square together and was so excited to have my corners match up!  I even did a machine cross hatch.  

I wish I could still find those adorable little prints!!  Not sure what they are, but I smile each time I see them.  

I have been saving this yard of Christmas fabric for a while.  I thought it would be so fun to make a cute topper for my kitchen window.

 These mittens are a favorite. 

Thanks so much for dropping by.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

xoxo

progress.

 

What a joy it has been to create Clara's Spin Cycle quilt top.  The fabrics play so sweetly together.  And you all know how much I love this pattern.  Would you like to see the next quilt top I will be making?

I will be making another one of Allison's patterns.  It is called July Stars.  Clara sent this gorgeous stack of Bar Harbor fat quarters for the top.

(I made my own last April.  You can see the post here.) 

Valerie's Christmas quilt is finished.  I washed it once to bring out that crinkly goodness and wash the erasable pen marks that I used for hand quilting.

 Here is the backing.

Wrapped up and ready to ship with other goodies.

Do you remember my Moda Bake Shop tutorial for making a charm square scarf? 

I absolutely love when other's share their creations using my little tutorials.  Pam created a charm square scarf and shared about it on her blog.  If you make a charm square scarf, I would love to see yours too!

Thanks for dropping by and visiting.

I hope you have a fantastic week!