FAMILY Pillow – Free Pattern

October 2, 20172 Comments

Need a gift for the upcoming holidays or other special occasion? You can make this quilted pillow to share your love of family with those around you!

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I wanted this pillow to look modern and sophisticated. I think the Navy on White Damask by Riley Blake Designs helped me to achieve this look.

Kona White and Kona Navy for the letters and background helped to bring all three fabrics together for an outstanding FAMILY…ha! Pun intended!

While testing and double testing the pattern, I made 5 pillows! One of the pillows I made used Garden Girl Damask Pink by Zoe Pearn of Riley Blake Designs. This pillow got some extra pizzazz with black pom pom trim. How cute is this?!

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If you decide you like the pom pom trim (or some other decorative trim), be sure to purchase 3 1/2 yards. This will give you a bit of extra trim to match where the pom poms start and stop or to match other trim designs. Since I had never used pom pom trim before, I found a great tutorial for adding pom poms to a pillow. You can link to the tutorial here.

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I will be adding this FAMILY pillow pattern to our favorite pattern website, FAVE Quilts. In addition to finding inspirational FREE quilt patterns, FAVE Quilts posts tips and tutorials on the latest quilting techniques. Sandy and I subscribe to their free e-newsletter, Piecing It Together. This newsletter keeps us up to date on the latest quilting trends! You can subscribe to Piecing It Together by clicking here.

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This pattern provides you with all the information you need to make your own, unique FAMILY pillow with an envelope back. It’s a great weekend project!

To get started on your pillow, download the pattern by clicking the link below:

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Be sure to share pics of your FAMILY with us!

Free Pattern: Christmas Joy Pillow

July 25, 201711 Comments

While Sandy was visiting, we went to the Red Rooster Quilt Store in Dublin, Ohio. They have a great selection of 2017 Christmas fabrics in stock!

Jingle Toss by Maywood Studio caught my eye because it has a colorful mix of Christmas words and graphics. I bought 2 fat quarters, a few coordinating fabrics and designed a pillow cover. Here is the result!

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I designed the pillow cover to fit a 16 x 16 inch pillow form. It’s the perfect size for my couch…not to big and not too small!

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I used three pairs of ties at the top of the pillow to finish the closure. To make these ties, I used extra wide, double fold bias tape. I think the red bias tape ties in nicely (oops…pun intended!) with the red “JOY”. Here is a closer look at the ties, they are knotted at the ends for extra texture.

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If you are a beginning quilter, this step by step pattern can guide you through this easy weekend project.

You can download the pattern using this link: Christmas Joy Pillow 07 25 17

I will also post this pattern on the FaveQuilts website. If you haven’t visited the FaveQuilts website, be sure to take a look! You will find hundreds of FREE quilt patterns and amazing inspiration. FaveQuilts hosts a wide variety of quilting tutorials, eBooks, techniques and videos for quilters of all skill levels. Stop by and take a look at all the seasonal quilt patterns they offer and did I mention they are FREE?

I hope this pillow brings you (or someone you love) Christmas JOY for many years to come!

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Pillow Talk!

March 9, 201711 Comments

Wandering through the fabric aisles, wistfully looking at spring fabrics, I happened upon two bright prints that quickly became mine! I was craving a fast, easy project and decided to make two pillow covers, quilted of course!

I outlined the paisleys with my machine. It was good practice for curves!

After quilting, I wanted a nice straight edge around the pillow. I used a furniture floor guide as a seam marker. The bottom is sticky and stays in place and it is just the right thickness to manage the layers of fabric easily.

Here is the finished pillow, LUV!

Next, I moved on to my modern feathers fabric. I drew a grid using light pencil lines spaced 2 inches apart and worked my way around the entire pillow in no time!

Here’s the finished pillow.

I made envelope backs for the pillows. Can we say “fast and easy”?!

Misc. Monday

April 4, 2016April 4, 20161 Comment

Two years ago, I made this quilt for my friend, Brenda, who was being treated for breast cancer. I wanted her to wrap herself in love while she went through those long days and nights that follow chemo treatments. She has since recovered and is doing very well.

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Another friend of mine, Jo, gave me a pillow with the phrase in the photo below. Looking at this pillow always makes me smile and reminds me that I have such good friends. We love and support each other in good times and bad.

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With some of the leftover fabric from Brenda’s quilt, I remade my “Jo Pillow” to fit a new color scheme in my sewing room. This line from Red Rooster Fabrics has lovely shades of red, pink, tan and cream. I lightly quilted the top and made an envelope style closure for the back.

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