Pillow Talk: Gifting Quilted Pillows – Quilting Daily
My adult children and I still exchange gifts at the holidays. This past year, I really wanted to make each of them something special but I really did not leave myself enough time to make each of them a quilt. What else might they like and use? Think, think, think
Then I remembered Shayne Dicksons Bubble Up pillow from Modern Patchwork Winter 2017. Shaynes pillow was a field of fused circles carefully arranged in a geometric pattern on a pillow top with gridded machine quilting all over. And the pillow was giant28 square!which made it fun and unexpected. Her design was clean and minimalist (perfect for my daughter) yet whimsical (perfect for my son).
I chose fabric and got to work. Immediately after returning home from the fabric store, however, I realized I didnt buy enough fabric for four pillowstwo pairand had to return. Another trip to the fabric store, though, is never too much of a burden!
I used one time-saving tool that Shayne did notinstead of tracing circles on the fusible release paper and cutting them out, I fused the fabrics and then used a die cutter to cut the 300+ circles I needed.And because the circle die I used was larger than Shaynes circle template, I used fewer circles overall than her pattern called for.The die cutter precisely cut, and cut quickly, several layers at a time. I even had a few friends over one evening and they volunteered to help peel off the release paper while we sat and chatted! That helped, too.
Did I mention that I really didnt leave myself enough time for a sewing project? But, perhaps, theres never really enough time to do the things you love. You just have to jump in and do it! Over the course of two weekendsand a tiny bit of sewing on the morning of Christmas EveI successfully made four pillows that were wrapped and ready to go for Christmas. They were a big hit!
I loved Shaynes design and plan to make more pillows down the line. They will be great on a bed or as a floor pillow. There are several other projects in Modern PatchworkWinter 2017 that I hope to makemaybe a quilt for each child that will match their pillows. Hmm, I may have enough time for Christmas 2017 if I start now!
Kristine
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