Nested Churn Dash

One of my favorite traditional blocks is the churn dash, and though it is on my bucket list to make a full-size quilt someday, I stopped at one block as part of the Nested Churn Dash sew along with quilt jane.

You may remember I made my own version of a triple churn dash last year. After all that craziness, I chose to make this one a little more traditional, with much more contrast in value. All the fabrics in the top other than the solid gray are from Alison Glass - a mix from her Sunprint and new Field Day collections.

I was indecisive about quilting. In fact, I started and removed stitching twice before settling on what some call a serpentine stitch - on my machine it's a specialty "tape-attaching" stitch stretched as long and wide as it could go. Using Aurifil 50wt #2600 (light gray), the quilting tied all the components together in a subtle way while adding some welcome texture.

Another decision in question was whether to make this block into a mini quilt or a pillow! In fact ... I had backed it with the last piece of my favorite teal feathers before I started quilting, basically intending on going with the mini quilt option. But after both a dear friend and mom voted emphatically pillow! ... I went ahead and went that way instead.

Since I had recently purchased a stash of regular zippers, I chose to do a lapped zipper and a bound edge to finish.

At 24", the finished pillow is the largest I've made and it'll definitely will be a fun focal point in our living room . . .

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday.