Rainbow Peel-iscious

And that is a wrap for this gorgeous pillow... I decided to go with a little rainbow piping. From each of the Lecien L's Modern Basic charms used in the pillow plus a couple others to fill in the gaps, I cut a 1 5/8 inch strip and connected them on the straight grain. Normally you would use a biased piping, but I had to work with what I had. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had much fabric to work with if both sides were cut off diagonally. That purple corner was a little tricky, because I actually started sewing after that corner instead of before the corner, but I managed to get it together.

Working with Robert Kaufman's Yarn Dyed Essex Linen is a dream. I first used it when I designed and made the "Countdown to Christmas" Advent Calender last year for the Fat Quarterly. I am not sure this E-Zine publication is still available due to a conflict of interest of international trading zones.

I do have one word of advice about it though. Do not iron it too much or at a high temperature. IT WILL SHRINK!

As far as the back of the pillowcase, I wanted to make a hidden zipper but thought about an interesting element of having the zipper stand out. I used a little red fabric leftover from the front of the pillow for a zipper end on both sides. I used the fake Sashiko stitching from the from and top stitched the zipper on both sides. It doesn't look as good as the front and I had to figure out why. I used a very thin polyester bobbin thread when appliqueing the orange peels on the front. When top stitching the back, I used 100% cotton for both the top and bottom threads. This diminishes the effect.

Because we have had such nice summer weather this year, I wanted to get out and take some pretty location photos. These are my favorites.

Sitting in a Windowsill

Hiding in the Pumpkin Patch

This pillow was really fun to make. I brushed up on my applique skills again which I need to do every now and again. I like the radiation of color from the center outwards too. I will not be keeping this one, although I really want to make a pillow for me or for my family. (I have an idea.) This is a very special "angel" pillow for someone who did not receive one in the summer round of Pillow Swap Four Seasons. I regret to say, it seems that every round something happens to one of the pillows or one of  the participants. I really hope the new "owner" will like it. : )

Thank you for dropping by!

pillow swap four seasons - summer edition

Hello everyone! I was looking forward to a nice, quiet morning of sewing on my advanced sampler when I was reminded by my co-host, Sandra aka Hohenbrunnerquilterin, from Pillow Swap Four Seasons that sign-ups for the summer edition have opened! Yahoo!! Are you ready to join in the fun? Let's party on for summer!

I created a new blinkie size 240 x 240 pixels in gif format to paste on your blog or website to show your support. It will decrease to 150 x 150 pixels. Please use the html tag listed below to copy and paste onto your page:

<div align="center"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/2730349@N24/" title="Pillow Swap Four Seasons"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioaBd_UREW0e4w4tDyJ0PE5jjcE3Af4hvQmJzdArDxvKlj4mNzOa-xKsL8o0H0o8FVLbceTsuuzCL8kTTjw79ix3zHu-5OA7ZhqfxdFNcE04Fu_4K98URWsHQMiOhJd5s2LLXQyIsH5Vyy/s1600/pillowswap_blinkie_240.gif" alt="Pillow Swap Four Seasons" width="150" height="150" border="0" /></a></div>

What's the group about? We are an international group of patchworkers and sewists who love to make pillows according to the seasons. Our swap is "secret" so you don't know who your partner is - the person who sews for you. You, on the other hand, make a mosaic of pillows, colors, ideas that you like about summer. This will help your secret partner tailor to your expectations wishes!! Does it sound interesting?

For the complete "skivey" on information you can click on the Pillow Swap Four Seasons tab in the tab bar or go to the Flickr Group. Because this is solely a Flickr experience, we would like you to participate whole heartily with comments, opinions, ideas, questions....general support of each other. Please don't commit unless you are fully committed!! That way, you really receive a pillow according to your tastes, but still secretly! It is really loads of fun!

Please check out all of the wonderful pillows made by our participants! I honestly cannot pick ONE as a favorite, because they are all unique! There are some pillows that were extensively hand sewn with hexagons, Oma Tam, I am talking about you! and then there are others that are beautifully paper pieced with two totally differently designs on the front and back, greatbrittan66 - I mean you!! All of the pillows are GORGEOUS! AND I MEAN ALL OF THEM! I have yet to receive MY pillow, and I am sure that will be the most gorgeous of all!! There is such a high level of quality and creativity in the group, you must stop by!

And to show you what my interests for the summer swap are, here is my mosaic!

My Pillow Swap Four Seasons - Summer Inspiration - www.flickr.com/groups/2730349@N24/

1. Rollin' Along, 2. dqs7 quilt, 3. strawberries, 4. Pure Color, 5. Summer Cocktail for Tamiko, 6. Mermaid Pillow, 7. Quilted waves, 8. splash, 9. 'Vespa Scooter v.2' PP pattern (1), 10. Ice Cream Man Pillow, 11. Last Strawberry, 12. Beach, 13. Watermelons


Does are swap look intriguing to you? I hope it does!! I also hope you sign up for the next round. Registration started yesterday, March 2nd and runs through March March 12, 2015! Please take the time to read the rules and general guidelines before you register! ;-) Then, follow the link that will take you to a formula on Sandra's blog. Simply fill out the form! Then start looking for inspiration or ideas for your mosaic, create and upload to the group!!

I look forward to seeing all my old friends as well as lots of new faces! ;-)

spring fling

We are in the final stages of our Pillow Swap Four Seasons (PS4S) found on flickr. It is a fantastic group of international ladies, avid sewers, and creative geniuses! I am so happy and proud to be a part of this group! We have great support, great feedback, loads of pictures of our progress and our creative process. If you are thinking about joining a pillow swap, or a swap in general, feel free to drop by, get inspired and see how a flickr swap works. We would love to have you come join us to in the next round - Summer 2015. Signs-up start March 2nd and last until the 12th, 2015. Partners will be assigned the following Monday. You can find out more information here.

I am still not allowed to say who my partner is, nor what her dislikes/likes color preferences are, but I am allowed to show you the finished pillow case. ;-)

This was a little challenging for me, because I didn't know what she would want as a final design and left some options open. I first made kites and sewed white fabric to the sides.

After I decided on the final design of kaleidoscopes or stars, I finished the nine blocks. The trouble started when I tried to sew the middle blocks together. The points weren't matching up! I ripped the seams about four times in the center to get things right, but the points still were matching up the way I wanted them too. And what do you do, when your points don't match up? Put a button over them! It's just a pillow right?? Those buttons are ACCENT BUTTONS! ;-) I did very simple outline quilting. I didn't want to over do it. I wanted the "roundness" of the octagon center to come out but not disturb the other blocks.

And if my partner doesn't like the front, she can always turn it over and look at the backside for a while.  I made the braid using my MINI Hex N More ruler!! YAY!! Can you find the zipper? I strategically placed it behind the insert.

And of course I had some extra time, so I made a few goodies using the same fabric. I bought just one charm pack from the series Bluebird Park from Kate & Birdie for Moda Fabrics. I bought extra yardage of the "linen look" and separately, the turquoise bird in trees as well as a panel.

And to be honest, I didn't know if my swap partner was going to be happy with the pattern I picked. So, I made a second pillow in different dimensions this time. I decided on the 16 x 24 inch travel pillow size. I made some cute little butterflies from the charms, worked on a general design, picked up my fabric panel, sliced it in half and came up with this:

So, I am very confident that my partner is going to like her little "care package" if only she likes the fabric!? I used up most of all the fabric that I bought for this project including the charm pack. I was really surprised how far it went. 

Now who could be the lucky recipient of this spring pillow swap? I don't know, but they should receive their package the beginning of March!

I really had so much fun with this pillow swap!! I can't wait until the next one for summer. Oh, the possibilities! Please stop by and check out ALL OF THE BEAUTIFUL CREATIONS in the Pillow Swap Four Seasons flickr pool. And don't forget to sign up if your sewing schedule is free!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen, Swap Mama