Squirrel! Another Pillow Finish :)

,I have another pillow finish for you today :) I showed the beginnings of this pillow in my last post. The wonk in the piece was pretty evident in those photos and it only got worse! By the time I had finished quilting laying down yards and yards of thread, it didn't look like I was ever going to get this baby to lay flat enough to even square it up. Ahhh, but never underestimate the power of the water bottle!! I started pinning the piece to my design wall and spritzing dousing it with water. I just kept pinning and spraying until the entire quilt was tacked up on the wall. And it turned out pretty darn flat in the end!! Wanna see some pictures? ;)

I used a piece of Kaffe Fasset fabric for the binding. Yeah, I broke into the KF.... I hope he knows how special he is ;) LOL

I took this close up so you can see the 12 wt Wonderful thread. Like laying cable!! FMQing is totally doable with 12 wt thread - just go slow!! :)

There is still a good amount of distortion in the face. That will likely bother me to no end. . . but as you can see - I was not about to rip it out and redo!!

The back. I used flannel again :)

One more. My husband thinks it's too nice to use. . . We had a talk. It will be used ;)

I used a stencil for the motif which you can find here. I have had this stencil for awhile and was quite excited when my husband decided it was perfect for his pillow and it was the perfect size! As I was quilting this, I kept thinking of alternative ways it could have been quilted. So many options!!

The finished cushion cover is 17"x 22". I used all Aurifil threads (including Aurifil Poly... have I mentioned how much I love this stuff????) except for the copper one the sun face (Isocord) and the light blue on the inside of the rays (Wonderfil). OK, have you ever seen Wonderfils line of threads???? My local LQS recently started carrying the line and OH.MY!! It was difficult to show some restraint. . . one of everything please!! ;) AND I am happy to say that Rosanne likes it! :D

Speaking of Rosanne. . . last time we talked, she was in having a spa treatment. I got a call from the repair guy Friday night (I was supposed to pick her up on Friday...) saying that he somehow had gotten the wrong board. . . wha wha whut??? It took three weeks for that board to come into the shop!! NOOOOO!!!! He said he would do some checking and see if they had another 8900 laying around that he could steal take the board from so he could get me back up and running. But it wasn't looking promising. . . The next morning I got another call, he had pulled out the wiring schematics, took another look and the new board was in and working fabulously!!! WOOT WOOT!! I picked her up at 10:30 and immediately set her up to start FMQing. She is purring like brand new again!! Amazing how a good cleaning, a little oil and a new computer board can just transform a machine to its original awesomeness. Makes me smile! I am pretty meticulous when it comes to cleaning my machine, and he still found a glob inside by the motor - a spot that is not reachable unless the machine is taken apart. I'm meticulous but not crazy (well, that's debatable now isn't it?? LOL) and I have no intention of ever taking her apart to clean her. I might just have to resort to taking her in every six months instead of yearly. I don't mind, she's worth it! ;)

What am I working on now? Number 4 on my Q4 list, mini quilt for Renee! I have it started. I have to tell you, making something for someone who has the talents Renee has (if you haven't seen her work, go check it out and prepare to be amazed!!) is a little intimidating. . . I spent all morning staring at it and second guessing everything I thought I had worked out in terms of design. OK, I spent all morning and part of the afternoon ;) Finally I just sat down and started quilting. Sometimes you just have to put your big girl panties on and just do it! Once I started, it seemed to fall together. Funny how that happens isn't it? Want a sneak peek? Just a little one of the back, I want this to be a surprise so won't be showing much until Renee has it :) Now that I have it started, it will be finished soon! As a matter of fact, I'm going to get off the computer now and go quilt! :D

Happy to report I have done more on this since writing the post earlier this morning. I am definitely over that staring phase!! EEEK!! LOVE :D

Linking up with Lorna for Let's Bee Social and Amanda Jean for Finish It Up Friday. I have had finishes for the last several Fridays. . . another for next week? Only if I am able to finish this mini and get it to Renee prior to next  Friday. . . might happen! ;)

Until next time, keep on quilting!!