Wednesday, October 16, 2013

A Lush Pillow Gift

Lush Uptown pillow cover

A few weeks ago I made this quilted pillow cover for my good friend Julie's birthday. She's actually my boss at Sewn and she's pretty awesome and she's the sort of person who probably hates that I'm even mentioning such things, but I'm doing it anyway. I always like to make her something for her birthday because she doesn't get to sew for herself very much. She is usually too busy teaching the whole city of Cincinnati to sew. Last year I made her this pouch to celebrate our shared love of Arrested Development, and the year before I made her a pretty sewing machine cover



Lush Uptown pillow cover

The piecing here is simple, just a great print with a couple borders. The deer and the woodgrain are from the line Lush Uptown by Erin Michaels, which I ordered from Pink Castle Fabrics. (I always feel like I need to use fabrics that Julie couldn't just pull off the shelves at Sewn herself to make something with. Foreign ingredients I guess.) The first border is just a Bella solid that I thought made the prints pop, but I don't remember the name of it.

The quilting is my current favorite as you've seen here and here- spiral quilting! Especially easy and satisfying on something only 20" square. I kind of just randomly chose the middle of the tree to begin the spiral, and it wasn't until I got done that I realized it was a good thing I didn't start on the deer. Julie's not really a big hunter.


Lush Uptown pillow cover
THE BACK. 



Lush Uptown pillow cover

I was scurrying to take a few pictures on my phone before rushing out to her birthday lunch and I didn't even have the time to put it on a pillow form. But the good news is that it looks great as a pillow and she liked it a lot.


Julie, I think it's safe to say you are the only person who has ever gotten handmade birthday gifts from me three years in a row. Including my kids. I don't know what that means... 





5 comments:

  1. SO great. I love this print. My couch needs one of these. Or any pillows, really. This girl is still scared of sewing pillows.

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  2. This is one of my favorite quilty-thingies ever (aside from the mini you made me of course!). Amazing job, perfect fabric selectsh.

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  3. I thought... would've been neat to start it on the deer.

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  4. Ah, I always wondered how people who work with fabric could make something "special". I get the foreign ingredients thing. Nice touch not targeting the deer, that would be a novice quilter's pitfall right there! Lovely pillow.

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  5. I love this print and the way you used it is brilliant! What a fabulous gift!

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