Final Seams

The pillow to go with Lizard's final quilt took only two or three hours to finish, but it took me a lot longer than that to just sit down and do the project. The donors have been so patient, for which I am so appreciative.

I finally got the squares lined up in a layout I thought Lizard might have liked. and then sewed them. I was then utterly amazed at the size difference before and after stitching. I had thought this was going to be a giant pillow! I used scrap leftovers to stuff it, so it has a heavy feel. Kind of cool, in my opinion. But it does make it take longer to dry after washing. Ugh!

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Under My Head

(affiliate links to my fabric designs)

Someone left a sweet little snowflake pillow on my porch right before Christmas. I used the snowflake designs on that tiny little pillow as crochet inspiration, and I shared the patterns each week via my Snowflake Mondays. I thought it would be fun to celebrate our sixth annual Make a Snowflake Day by recreating the little pillow with my crocheted snowflake interpretations on a Spoonflower fabric panel. I ordered the fabric on January 11. It didn't arrive in time for our Snowflake Ball on February 6, but it still became a fabulous pillow!

Here are my crocheted snowflake interpretations from the little pillow.

I photographed the white flakes on a piece of blue batik, then worked a little Photoshop magic to create the Spoonflower fabric panel. I had four repeats printed on yard of fleece. I chose fleece because I thought that would make the pillow really soft. Oh, was I right! I had ordered Spoonflower fleece once before, but I think they've upgraded because this batch is every bit as wonderful as the fleece I might buy in a fabric store.

I picked one of my Colorado 14er designs for the pillow backing, hoping the colors might go okay with the pillow front. Oh, am I ever pleased with the actual fabric!

I looked up down stuffing, and the price was so far out of my range, I decided I could use up some otherwise unusable quilt scraps inside the pillow. I decided to use up some of my batting remnants to line the pillow to pad the leftovers and make the pillow not quite so stiff. However, I didn't have enough large batting leftovers to make two linings. I have four big pieces, but I didn't want to cut into them because they are the perfect size for baby quilts. Oh, and I just learned I need to have another baby quilt finished by the end of March...

Last year when quilt batting was nowhere to be found, I bought an entire bolt of my favorite brand because I found one. I didn't even really scrutinize the price. I thought the bolt might be enough to finish all my WIPs, so I justified the expense. I truly did expect to finish seven or eight more quilts than I actually did last year! Yesterday I looked up how much a full bolt of batting would cost now, and it's $90 more than what I paid, so I consider this expense even more of a bargain now. I actually consider myself very lucky!!!

I had not cut into the stash yet. I measured and cut off a strip big enough to make three pillow linings. I didn't know if my cheap little sewing machine could handle two layers of fleece and six layers of batting, but I was about to find out.

The machine seaming wasn't the easiest I've ever completed, but it wasn't the most difficult, either. The thread broke only twice. It took longer to stuff the pillow than it did to sew all the way around it, except for the eight inch opening for stuffing.

I dug out all my quilt clippings from the past six or so years. I separated out some of the batting scraps because I can use that to stuff amigurumi.

And this is what I had left for pillow stuffing! Each of the sandwich-sized bags contains the clippings from two or three quilts! The big freezer bags have leftovers from T-shirt quilts and handcloth baby bibs.

I thought I might have enough clippings to finish a second pillow, too. But alas, all that's leftover now that the pillow is stuffed are the big bags. Just like that, all the little bags are gone! I really cleared out a bunch of storage space!!!

After stuffing, the pillow opening was hand-stiched closed with an upholstery needle in about 25 minutes. Now I lean on my newest pillow while I watch a movie, or I can lift it as a great arm workout. I can't believe how heavy it is! I guess I should weigh it to give that statement some proof...

Okay, so the pillow officially weighs 7 pounds. Not as heavy as it felt, but it is still a heavy pillow!

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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Pillow Talk

One of my friends lost her father earlier this year. Actually, a lot of my friends have lost a parent this year. This has been a hard year all the way around. That's one of the reasons it's so important to be kind, to spread smiles, to make the world a better place.

My friend asked how much I would charge to make pillow coverings from some of her dad's old shirts for pillows she would supply. She wants to give the pillows to her daughters for Christmas.

I did not know going into this project the shirts were T-shirts, but I told her I would do it as a Christmas present to her.

Not only did she leave on my doorstep some of the coolest pillow forms I've ever seen, but she also left a box of chocolates!!! I kind of like being paid in chocolate!

These pillow forms are pretty darned thin in their original wraps. Once you open them, they inflate!



I have no T-shirt stabilizer, and as slow as mail is going these days, I didn't want to order any. I also worried I might not have enough fabric to match the shirts once I saw how big the pillow forms inflated (22x22). I never got to meet my friend's dad, so I didn't know he was a big boy. I have plenty of T-shirt fabric to cover the fronts and backs of each pillow!




I cut a pattern from an old flannel sheet by tracing around one of the inflated pillows with a Sharpie then adding seam allowance and girth on all four sides. I had planned to make big hems on both back pieces of each of the pillow coverings for overlapping openings. As I was cutting the back from the first T-shirt, I realized I could use the shirt's hem for one back side, and then I'd need to put a hem in only one back piece instead of two.

Once I got the pattern figured out, the pillows went pretty quickly. I'm very happy to be done and ready to start working on a WIP quilt now! I hadn't touched my sewing machine in weeks, and oh, am I ready to roll now!















Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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Owl Dye and Go to Heaven

(affiliate links to my fabric designs)

I simply cannot believe it was last May when I embarked upon the quest to make an owl with every single color of hand-dyed thread I've dyed in the last two years, and I'm just now finishing the ultimate goal! But it's done! A throw and three pillows!


When I first began this project, I had 75 colors of hand-dyed thread. Most were solar-dyed. I let the colors set in recycled ice cream containers in the sun on my porch for up to a week.






Yes, I'm addicted to both dyeing and crocheting, but part of my quest was to create gradients, which are awesome when used for snowflakes.






Of course, gradients are fun for owls, too...






Next came the serious Photoshopping segment of the project. I photographed every single owl (trying to achieve the same light for each portrait) to combine in a quilt panel for Spoonflower. I actually came up with a couple of different designs, and I even made one into a greeting card and wrapping paper.


And then later, I made a tote and a throw on Zazzle.

Rhyming Owl Be There Tote

by Snowcatcher

Rhyming Owl Be There Fleece Lap Throw

Perhaps they are laughing because the throw is upside down...

My favorite project of the bunch, however, is my Spoonflower panel and the matching pillow blocks.


Spoonflower printed the panel for me in June, and I finished the quilt back on July 4 (because I had the day off!). I didn't finish the pillows, which were SO much easier and faster, until the week before Christmas (because I took a day off in the middle of the week). I'd been putting in tons of overtime almost every single day, and combined with all the other obligations, my work schedule left no time for sewing for nearly three whole months. Torture!


I used scrap batiks in my stash for the border and binding, and I used an old (clean) microfiber gray sheet for the backing. I was excited to have enough of the sheet remaining to back the pillows as well. So even the backing matches... ha ha!






Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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