Fall/Winter Bed Pillow

Still on my quest for bed pillows to complement the fall/winter mood of the quilts on our bed, I went to work piecing a new pillow cover to reflect that fall mood. As mentioned in the last post, I got the pillow cases done in quick order, so a day devoted to piecing and quilting this pillow cover was my next agenda item.

Below is what the bed looked like when I decided that new pillows were needed. The mixture of fall quilts with spring/summer pillows just didn't please me at all. There was never a doubt that I'd make a change. The fact that I did it so quickly surprises me, however. I generally ponder such decisions much longer.

 

With the pillow cases in back finished, the throw pillow in front became my focus. It's 22 inches square and I have just one pattern for a quilt that size. I've made it twice before for this pillow form, and will likely use it for as long as this pillow form lasts, which may just be forever, since it only serves as decoration on our bed.

This is a super simple table topper design by Joanne Figuroa from about 10 years ago. It was a free down load from an online source, and I've looked repeatedly for a link to share, but none exists (too old!). I wrote about the pattern in this earlier blog post. My earlier two pillows using this pattern are also featured there.

I am still altering this pattern to suit me, as I figure I will continue using it. The original calls for all that neutral space to be made with 2.5-inch squares. I see no need for that, so I am going to mark my pattern with instructions with larger neutral cuts for a faster finish. Ah, but I digress...

The new fall-into-winter look on our bed pleases me immensely. There's just enough scrappiness yet cohesiveness to make it all work well, in my eyes, anyway.

A new look for the bedroom, and Gracie approves. *wink* And as a bonus, it's a new look that did not require hopping on Amazon to shop for new stuff, but rather, a dig through the fabric bins to make it myself. And I did it just as fast as Amazon. The pillow cases were just a couple of hours on Wednesday evening; the pillow cover took several hours on Thursday. By suppertime Thursday, all was done and pictures were snapped. 

Now, I have one more post to write regarding this little project - coming Monday or Tuesday - so come on back! And, I will be back to work on those blue Kaffe Fassett stars, too. *excited!*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Front Room Pillow

 Last month I made a total of four pillows for the family room. Now I have begun doing the same for the front room. One done; three soon to follow. 

The sofa is showing its age, but we are not in the mood for replacing it at the time. An easy sprucing up can be accomplished by adding some fresh new pillows. Alongside this initial counted cross-stitch pillow, one can forget the old sofa.

The pillow looks pretty good in a chair across the room, too. 

One big difference with this pillow is that I have made it reversible. Double duty! It will take me a lot longer to make these pillows with the extra quilting, but I definitely think it will be worth it.

We shall see how quickly I can finish the other three. No rush. I will make more as I have time. I will try to make myself stay on it; I am prone to procrastination, you know, and I frequently allow myself to be distracted with starting more stuff!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Second Pillow

 Bit by bit, I will get all my pillows made. I now have a second one finished, fresh off the sewing machine last evening.

In this post from awhile ago, I shared my goal of refreshing some of my decor around here. Pillows offer a lot of pizzazz easily and economically.

Yes, you correctly noticed that this pillow is not an exact mate of the first. My error in thinking that my additional fabric on the first pillow was enough for a second. It was not. Durnnit! This meant I had to get creative and find equally pleasing fabric to coordinate with the first. It pays to have a sizeable fabric stash; digging commenced and have a look at what I unearthed!

Similar enough to work together, don't you think? By using the same vertical quilting, and blues that are really close in shade/hue, I believe I have sufficiently pulled them together. I DO have enough of the multi-floral print to make another pillow, so that will be next. Then I will consider using the bits left over in a simple pieced top. Hopefully that will complete a "look".

The first pillow is made with fabric by Timeless Treasure; additional information unavailable. The second pillow is made with AGF fabric by Maureen Cracknell called Flower Child.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Decor Refresh

After awhile, things just get a bit tired, don't they? I have noticed that my pillows and cushions have quite a sad look about them. I intend to fix that in the coming week or two. Below is the first of several pillows I intend to make in my effort to spruce things up around here.

Family room sofa

After having such satisfying success with refreshing the pillows on our bed, I have decided that I need to follow through on the downstairs portion of the house - front room and family room, specifically. To begin I will make 4 pillows, and will likely add more later.

For now, I have just the one finished. Instead of the envelop back, I used a zipper in the bottom. I prefer the zipper, I believe. Crisper look when finished, in my opinion.

Here's another look at it from the front room. I have enough fabric to make one more to match, and then I will need to dig out other fabrics - or piece some quilt blocks - for more.

 I ordered a set of 4 18" inserts through Amazon, and this size will look good. Prior pillows I've made were all 16" which didn't look substantial enough, somehow.

Quickly before signing off I want to share a picture of how gorgeous our front yard looks at 6:30am. For some reason I was awake and looked out to see the sun just ready to come up over the trees. I hurried downstairs to greet the morning on the front porch. What a peaceful time of day!

Happy Quilting, Friends!