Quilty Pillow Goodness

Yes, I said pillow. . . if you read my last couple of posts, you are thinking "Wait a minute, shouldn't you be showing us a finished quilt??" Yes, that is true. Here's the deal. It's too big for me to get a good picture of it by myself. So that post will happen tomorrow. . . or Sunday ;) But I have something really, really, really good for you today!

Remember # 2 on my  Q3 FAL goals? Done, done and done! I made two pillow cases AND the butterfly pillow (cushion) cover! This post is picture heavy and I'm not going to apologize. I'll be linking up this post with the linky party over at On the Windy Side at the end of the quarter. YAY :D

OK, pillow cases. Umm, have you ever made pillow cases? I had not. They are super easy! I used this pattern over at All People Quilt as recommended by Sandra. Thank you! I had to read this pattern several times before I could wrap my head around it. . . might have been too early in the morning . . . BUT, once I did - it was quick and it finishes beautifully with not one exposed raw edge! Yes my friends, they have french seams :)

I used that special text fabric in gray, the quilt is bound in this fabric. I also used the purple fabric that is used for the border in the quilt. :) The pink is the same print as the purple fabric. Cally wanted pink and purple - how perfect is this? :)

Best part? That butterfly fabric has been in my stash since right after I started quilting. They were wide quilt backs and I had a lot left over. I'm happy to report that there are only very small pieces of each of them left! YAY for using up stash that ends up being perfect!! :)

As kind of an after thought. . . I decided to add the pillow to the list of goals. . . How hard could it be? Famous last words! I used the butterfly piecing pattern by Tartan Kiwi (check out her other paper piecing patterns, they are OMG awesome! Umm, Sandra - ZEBRA!!) available here. Those of you who have been around for any length of time know, I am not an experience paper piecer. . . not.even.close. This one tested me. Big time. So many pieces. So many angles. So much thinking! The first dilemma was what fabric??? This did not take as long as I thought. And I am happy to say that all of it came from my stash! OK, I'm rethinking this whole stash making me nervous thing! I love being able to make a project beginning to end with NO shopping trips involved :) Here are the fabrics I settled on:

I wish I could tell you what this batik piece is or where it came from - I want more. . . A LOT more!

This is a fat quarter from a bundle I bought on Massdrop. . . Modern Muse

Also from the Modern Muse bundle.

I spent a LOT of time trying to figure out what colors to use for the middle four pieces of each of the wings. I found the piece of batik and decided it had enough variance in color that I could easily make the four pieces be different enough but still look great together AND it coordinated beautifully with the Modern Muse pieces.

Commence the piecing. . .

When I got to this point, I decided I was not making two pillows :)

I wasn't sure about the batik. . . but I think it was exactly the right choice :)

After 7 hours, the bottom half was complete. . . I told you I was not an experience PPer ;)

And after 12 hours, I had this! SO in love with this!

My butterfly finished at 11.5". . . a full inch smaller. That's OK. Border will be bigger and I'll have more room to play with quilting ;) Check it out, the perfect border turned out to be a piece of fabric I had left over from Shock Waves. SO glad I kept the 'scraps' from that project! I added a 4.5 inch border and then. . . the quilting commenced!

I used one of my stencils to do the feather wreath. Love!

I used YLI nylon thread for the scribble quilting on the background fabric. I knew I wanted it mashed down but I also knew I did NOT want the quilting to interfere with the birds on the white fabric. It worked well! This is a new to me thread. I learned about this thread in the class I went to with Gina Perkes (I know! I need to share about that too!!). She uses it to SITD - I used it for that on this piece - I am sold!! 

Pebbles to mash down the fabric outside the feather wreath :) I was going to do pebbles for the background of the butterfly. I could NOT see what I was doing! Scribble works well in those situations ;)

OK, don't faint. . . Yes, I hand embroidered those antennae on with 12 wt Aurifil thread. I didn't even break out in a rash! :)

I used the pillow tutorial over at Crazy Mom Quilts. I'm starting to really understand her obsession with making pillows!! I decided however to bind mine with the same batik spot fabric. And here it is all finished :)

And one more picture.

Cally is excited to get these in her hands :)

The pillow really tested my skills. But it was fun! :) I might need a little recovery period before tackling another butterfly. . . maybe paper piecing in general! ;) Next up is doing some ripping and requilting on the Family Tree quilt. I'm going to say this shouldn't take long. . . but there are a LOT of stitches in those leaves and adding a name so it looks like it was always there is going to be. . . tricky. Very tricky. I am up for the challenge! Oh, and don't forget to come back in a day or two and see Cally's finished quilt!! :D

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Up Friday. If you are here from there, welcome!! If you haven't been over there yet, check out what others have finished this week :)

Until next time, keep on quilting!

2015 Q3 FAL

Yes, I am going to join the Q3 FAL hosted by Adrienne over at On The Windy Side. I have never joined before but have watched many of my blogging buddies over the past year and a half joining in and getting the kick in the pants motivation to finish up projects :) The last couple of weeks have been crazy. Some quilting getting done but mostly life stuff that popped up as it tends to do around here. . . I'm kind of thinking about changing my last name. . . maybe then Murphy's law will not be quite so prevalent! Shortly after my last post I was in a car accident. Fortunately, no one was hurt. I wasn't even a little sore the next day. Unfortunately, both vehicles were totaled. The last several weeks have been filled with what a lot of people would consider the fun of getting a new vehicle. This process has been anything but fun. I'll spare you all of the details but the short of where it stands right at this moment is that the vehicle we bought is in the shop (three blog posts could be written about that) and I will be driving a loaner for another week and a half. . . SO, Hugs and Butterfly Kisses is not finished (so close though) and  I am feeling the need to document what I need to finish over the next three months to keep me on task :) My list feels long. I've never felt the need to make a list before as I would start and finish a project and move to the next. . . Things have gone a little awry with that plan :) Without further ado, here's the list:

1. Number one priority is to finish my daughter's quilt, Hugs and Butterfly Kisses. Maybe by the end of this weekend?? Done!

SO in love with this quilt. . . But not as in love as my daughter is! YAY :D

2. I've decided along with the quilt, Cally needs a butterfly pillow (made from the paper piecing pattern by Tartan Kiwi available at Payhip) and pillow cases with that special fabric on the cuff. I did find the name of the fabric and was able to source it. Thank you to Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics for quickly providing me with the name (Chalk Line Inspirations) and to Val for finding even more options available for purchase at Fabrics and Quilts.

3. Finish quilting Nod to Gees Bend. This got pushed to the side when I got the news that Cally would be moving. Once 1 and 2 are finished, 3 needs to be under the needle and finished. I have no other reason other than it is driving me crazy having a quilt that is partially quilted staring at me . . . I have changed directions in quilting this one so many times I have lost track. I have a complete plan now, I just need to DO IT! I finished this top the beginning of April - for me, that is a very long time! And it is finished!

Can you hear it mocking me?? I can, loud and clear! :)

4. Remember the Family Tree quilt? Well. . . I need to add a name. . . and I need to add some quilting... ;) My mom said she was going to give the quilt to someone else to add the name. As you might imagine, I almost had a freakin' heart attack. I now have the quilt in my possession (did any of you gasp when I said she was going to hand it over to someone else to do? I still get heart palpitations just thinking about it!!) and need to get it finished and back to mom to hang in their living room :) Done!

I am going to add quilting around the tree, I always thought it needed something and now that I have it back - it definitely does ;)

5. Rose Linen quilt. . . I don't know that this one will be finished, but I need to make some progress. This is going to definitely be a long term project - there is a LOT of quilting left to do. . .

You might think, "A lot of quilting? Where?" Trust me, there's a lot of quilting left to do ;)

6. I have a quilt to make for my nephew's stepson. He's a wonderful young man who is currently living with my brother. I have made quilts for all of my brother's children, and Jason's little sister Kimber. Obviously, Jason needs a Judy Quilt :) Yes, I have a plan! I am going to use the fat quarter bundle of Doe to make Cheryl's (Meadow Mist Designs) Plus Plus pattern. I have everything I need to make the quilt. I think it is a totally doable goal to get this finished by the end of the quarter. Done! Although I did use a different pattern :)

7. OK, this is a stretch goal ;) Start and finish Sparkle Punch a free pattern by Oh Fransson . . LOVE this quilt. I have been obsessed with making this quilt since May. . . I even bought a very cool Voile for the backing recently. I now have everything I need to start and finish this quilt. It's gonna happen ;) Done!!

I'm going to stop here. . . I have a feeling know there will other things pop up. . . I'm thinking of one right now that I know I want to finish before the end of the quarter. But for now, this is my list and I'm sticking to it!! :D Have you linked up with the FAL? Has it helped you stay focused? My fingers are crossed. I need some focus! HA! And now it is time for me to get to the sewing machine to quilt!! :)

Until next time, keep on quilting!