Houndstooth

At the end of 2010 I suddenly had a massive fondness for houndstooth.  Houndstooth anything, but preferably oversized and used in unexpected ways.  Since then I’ve been eyeing the traditional pattern, thinking that it really wouldn’t be too hard to make a houndstooth quilt.

I did a little searching and found a few patterns available on etsy.  Then this baby quilt pattern came out.  Still,  I couldn’t bear to spend money on a pattern when I’d sort of figured it out in my mind already.


I got up early Saturday morning to experiment.  I think it turned out great.  This piece is around 24 inches square.  I have a fun plan for it.

It was more tedious to piece than I anticipated, making me wonder if I really want to make a quilt.  Seeing the pattern emerge as I pieced the rows together was fun, however.

Either way, it’s nice to know that I can do it.  Hooray for learning new things!

And just so you know, it’s killing me that the Spring Quilt Market will be held in Salt Lake City, just 45 minutes from my house in May, but I can’t go.  It’s a trade show only, not open to the public.  What a bummer.  I can’t tell you how much I would love to walk through it and see all the new fabric collections being introduced.

HH

It’s a Party! Pillow



When I finished this pillow I was giddy with excitement.

I actually had an idea that I’ve never seen before, executed it, and it turned out as cute as I pictured!

I can’t remember the last time that happened.


I made a bunch of miniature bunting flags, turned them right side out, and arranged them on my current favorite Kona solid:  ash.


White rick rack finishes it all off.  I love the way the colors look against the gray, and I can’t stop looking at how all the little flags hang on the pillow.  So cute.


The inspiration for this pillow came from this project .  With three little girls sharing the room, I’m trying to make some pillows that reflect each girl’s age, tastes, and how I feel about them.  This pillow is for my three year old.  She’s just a precious little thing, and at such a perfect age, she makes me want to celebrate every day.  I am so happy to be her mom,  so she gets a party pillow.


I was thinking what a cute pillow this would be for a nursery.  You could embroider the baby’s name and birth statistics in the top right corner of the pillow.  It would be a really cute gift.

As usual, I made this pillow with a zipper for easy washing and easy changing.


Like I said, I’m giddy about how cute it is.  And it looks great next to the other pillow I made, also.


Two down, lots more ideas to come.  We’ll see how much time I can find to experiment.  Meanwhile, we’ve got a happy three year old!

Jennifer Pillow submitted here .

Candy Swirl Pillow

I’ve been promising myself time to sew for weeks, but have deferred it over and over again for housework.  After a frustrating experience last night I went to my sewing table not caring a whole lot about what the house looked like.

And this is what I made.


I’m calling it the candy swirl pillow because it reminds me a little of a huge lollipop, all wrapped up with bright colors.


This was a great scrap project.  I used lots of little strips of fabric from my scrap bin.  They’re sewn in a spiral on a natural linen pillow top.  The swirl finishes at just over 1/4 inch wide.


For the backing I used a piece of my favorite print from Pillow & Maxfield’s Whimsy collection.  I fell in love with this collection when I was making this baby quilt and later with this one.
I think it works well with the whimsical spiral on the front and with the general color scheme as well.


As usual, I inserted a zipper in the bottom seam because I hate to store pillows.  A few years ago I invested in some high quality down pillow forms so I simply unzip and change them whenever I want.


I love the texture in this pillow; the linen top with cotton back.  When I sewed the thin strip on to make the swirl I sewed only down one edge, so there’s a little lip there that also adds dimension.


The only problem is where to put it!  It looks great in every place I’ve tried.  I’m super-pleased with the outcome.  It really wasn’t difficult to make, although the ironing and pinning to some time.  If you’d like a tutorial, shout it out and I’ll post one.


Do you see the cute little gray number in back?  I made that, too.  It’s up next .

Hopeful Homemaker

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