Gift Wrapped

No lie. The moment I saw Rachel/wooden spoon/Wooden Spoon Quilts post her fabric pull for The Great Pillow Fight, I hoped against hope that it was for me.

As her project progressed, my feelings didn't waver one iota. There were definitely other pillows that I really liked and totally would have been happy to receive, but Rachel's was right-on per my request for something that coordinated with 2 pillows I made earlier in the year.

Beside that fact that Rachel's fabric choices fit to a T, there was also the little detail that I had made my "Christmas Snowflake" pillows using Rachel's own tutorial! Get that little connection there? {smile}

I'm not one to venture out shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, so I've yet to get a pillow form, but I swapped one out from the green pillow so you can see how nicely they go together. The new pillow cover is the same 20" big, too - perfect!

I absolutely love Rachel's "Gift Wrapped" block design {here's her tutorial} and fabric choices, right down to the Cotton + Steel binding. The natural colored fabric is Lecien yarn dyed melange, a fabric I wasn't familiar with but sure do like! (It is 100% cotton, a cross-weave fabrics that gives the look of linen with a very soft texture.)

To make a great thing even better, I also received some delightful swap goodies, including the most precious patchwork bag that Rachel made using s.o.t.a.k handmade's tutorial, the patchwork being her own special touch. wow.

So yeah. I'm pleased and then some. SO fun.

Pillow Fight!

Whenever I join  a swap like The Great Pillow Fight Holiday Edition, I can't help but be a little nervous. Even with clues, it's hard to know if what you come up with will suit your partner. For me, there's always alot of hemming and hawing, but eventually one just has to jump in and start making.

With a request for cherry reds, lime/chartreuse greens with pops of aqua or ice blue, here was my first stash pull.

Of course, once I came to a decision on the pattern, some of the prints had to go, and a holiday text and stripe were pulled in.

The pattern chosen, Ice/Fire Star by Sew What Sherlock? was a big (24") paper-pieced beauty, and I won't lie, it challenged me. Let's just say, my trusty seam ripper kept me company throughout, but the more I pieced, the more I liked it.

For quilting, I went with a simple grid using Aurifil 50wt #2021 (Natural White). I like the calm texture it gave the busy design.

For the back of pillow, I went out on a limb based on my partner's comment, "I love yetis." Honest truth, I had to ask daughter dear what a yeti was! And then when I discovered Betty The Yeti Patch Green by Robert Kaufman Flannel on Etsy, I couldn't resist using it for the back.

I hadn't sewn with much flannel, but I did know prewashing it was important. After a quick Instagram poll, I opted for an invisible zipper, and the tutorial by Sew Katie Did made it pretty matter of fact.

Wanting to add a fun little extra to my swap package, I couldn't resist a soft and silly yeti mug rug.

My partner, Whitney/whitney (the peacock tree) received my package today - yay! And I can breathe a sigh of relief that my part's done, while I wait to see what comes my way . . .

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Good Times

Whew! What a great weekend at the SMQG retreat! Being as bold as I was to post a totally unreasonable number of projects to take with me, I'll confess right up front that I didn't touch half of them. I'll report on the ones I did work on throughout the week, but the biggest and most satisfying progress was on my project for The Great Pillow Fight swap. I started with the block below, an HST block from Blossom Heart Quilts. 

It's a great block, and I like it well enough, but it didn't really ring true for my swap partner, so I took another tack. I knew this one would be really challenging for me, but I did it anyway.

The pattern is the 24" Ice/Fire block from Sew What Sherlock? It allowed me to use a larger variety of fabrics, and really show off the "Dear Santa" text print I found for the background. No lie, I used my seam ripper plenty, but lived to tell about it, and am really pleased with the results. So now to decide on a quilting plan and get started on that this week. 

Anyway, the retreat itself was great fun, and besides sewing incessantly, it was terrific to get to know some of my guild-mates better, plus meet some new ones. Inspiration was everywhere, of course. And I thoroughly enjoyed my sewing table group - my roommate, Louise/I'm Feelin' Crafty (@imfeelincrafty on Ig), Sue (@suesewcrafty) and Noel (@bellaandjake). Good times indeed.

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.