I'm going to do the
Moda Pillow Talk blog hop in two postings. I know it isn't my day....my day for the blog hop is tomorrow, Feb. 2nd....but with the quilt info. I want to post, I need to get part of this done now. I'm never able to follow the rules correctly. I accept my personality disorder and hope you will too.
The mission was to make a pillow that reflected us. The above pillow was the one I made. It was made from a block I discarded while making the theme quilt for the book
Garden Club. (The pattern for this block is in the book. I just changed my mind about background fabrics for the quilt.) So, I began this task by cheating.
I used the block because it was already done. I just didn't want to discard the block. Think of it like giving a UFO another life.
I made up for using this block by adding layers of texture that were interesting to me.
I thought it would be fun to quilt the piece with embroidery stitches. Using a cream pearl cotton I stitched the chain stitch and herringbone stitch around all of the shapes. I hand quilted a running stitch along the printed stripe with the same fiber.
Instead of using poly-fil to stuff the pillow, I decided to use feathers. I love the drape of a feather pillow. They look natural instead of stiff. (If you do this, please make sure you line the pillow! My feathers are still popping out of the back as I didn't line it.)
A small ruffle finished this. Just enough to add a bit of color to frame the applique. This really went pretty fast. I didn't go for perfect stitches. I went for speed! I did note after stitching a couple of stems, my technique got better.
Here are the questions we were to answer.....you can skip this part if you want to!
What is a little known fact about yourself?I enjoy playing the piano. I’m not very good, but I'm ok with that. As I learn a piece of music I feel a sense of accomplishment though. I'm thinking about learning how to play the accordion or
squeezebox. I almost purchased one recently in an antique shop. It just looks like a joyful musical instrument to play.
How do you relax?Reading is always relaxing for me. My favorite genre has always been science fiction. The stories literally transport me out of this world. Now I’m reading mysteries. People are always seem to be killing each other or loosing things! (Maybe I should go back to science fiction!)
What do you sleep in - PJ’s or Nightgown?I’m a t-shirt and shorts kind of gal. I don’t like nightgowns. You get all tangled up when tossing and turning in bed.
What kind of pillow do you like, Hard or soft, foam or feather? And why?I really like a couple of feather pillows. But really, it doesn’t matter what kind of pillow. When my head hits the pillow, I’m gone.
When you were young did you sleep with a stuffed animal? If so what?I don’t remember sleeping with a stuffed animal. My second son had a polar bear called “Huggy Baby” and it was a crisis if we couldn’t find him at bedtime. Maybe that’s why my parents didn’t encourage me to have one.
Do you sew in bed? Read? Watch TV? eat?I read in bed and drink a cup of tea.
How many nights have you or your spouse spent on the couch?None...we did have a young man wander into our house one Thanksgiving and spent the night on our sofa. We were very surprised to find him there the next day! We had to call the police and have him removed. After that, no one wanted to sleep on the sofa.
Nighttime toddy?Just hot tea.
Early to bed or all-nighter?Early to bed and early to rise......
Who would you most like to have a pillow fight with?Heath Ledger....although he’s gone and was much, much, much too young for me. I loved watching him on-screen. Just wish he were still around to act in movies. If he were smacked by a pillow, I imagine he would have a very cute grin.
Tomorrow a contest and quilt instructions. My friend
Jan Patek is up for Feb. 3. Click on her name to go to her site.
Until tomorrow dear friends! It's snowing up a storm here. Hope you are all warm and cosy!
Alma
Vintage Sandy said...
