Happy Friday! My most recent finish is this little pillow that I made as a gift for a friend. It is about 12"x18".
Each of the six blocks is a different textured design: pleats, ruffles and tucks in purple and turquoise. I used this free tutorial from Teresa Down Under. The specific blocks are:
- 3. Double controlled pleats
- 5. Centered tucks with bow ties
- 6. Gathered strip
- 8. Undulating tucks
- 17. Pleated peakaboo
- 18. Gathered double edge ruffles
I also tried to make #4, "Double controlled pleats with ripple," but it turned out more like "Outta control pleats with cursing." That block is currently in timeout in my crumb bin. That'll teach it!
The quilting is stitch in the ditch around each block with a few extra stitches to hold down some of the more adventurous pleats. I also added prairie points (or as DH calls them, Stegasaurus points) to the outer edge. My first prairies! They're kinda fun. The backing is a simple envelope enclosure in a tonal black.
My friend has Parkinson's disease, and I made this as a sort of "fidget pillow" for her. Fidget pillows and quilts give a person with dementia something to do with their hands. Many of them have zippers and buttons and such. I thought all the different textures would be interesting to touch. Plus, she lives far away and I miss her! So I hope this makes her happy and reminds her of me from time to time.
Your friend will absolutely LOVE this pillow. Sometimes a quilt is not something that everyone needs but who doesn't like a pretty pillow? This fidget pillow will bring her joy every time she sees it & I think she will appreciate the textures of each block. Shame on block #4 in the crumb bin. :)
ReplyDeleteI accidentally posted as anonymous above.....sorry for that!
ReplyDeleteNicki
I absolutely love that pillow and the generosity behind it. Great textures, colors and design! I have a book entitled “Manipulating Fabric” that details many of those techniques, and I took an heirloom sewing class once and learned some there, too. But right now I’m focused on quantity (large stash and charity sewing) vs quality, so I’ll content myself with drooling (figuratively) over your beautiful creation!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet gift! I'm going to check out that tutorial, I really like prairie points. Lol on the block in timeout! :D
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely thoughtful gift … and beautiful as well.....
ReplyDeleteHugz
I was thinking that it looked real nice on your deck chair but I see you had a better purpose for it. That was a good idea to put all that texture on the pillow. Very thoughtful. I am sure she will appreciate it. I had trouble with some of those designs too when I made them. I did just enough to know I don't think I want to do them again! LOL They really did serve your purpose though.
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoughtful gift, Louise! Your friend is sure to love it. Thanks for the link to the tutorial, too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun pillow! I love making pillows. This one is so special too. You can get them done fast and have fun making them unless a square needs a time out, LOL. Love the cute prairie points.
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoughtful gift for your friend Louise. Thanks for the link. This is something I did years ago but had forgotten about and it will be fun to look at it again. (Maybe an art group project.)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others, Louise, this is such a thoughtful gift for your friend. You had me giggling at the "outta control pleats with cursing" along with the Stegasaurus points. I may never call them prairie points again! Haha!
ReplyDeleteWonderful gift for your friend, Louise! And the steg points really had me chuckling!!!
ReplyDeleteYou might have just started a whole new trend with your pillow idea. So pretty but still functional as a fidget pillow.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a fun project to try and made for a sweet purpose, too! Great idea to pass on the one that caused cussing - I love trying new things, but not to the point of frustration! :)
ReplyDeleteOh Louise - those colours!!!! Both of them would feature more in my stash but sometimes it's hard to get these two shades.
ReplyDeleteLove all the different textured designs, your friend is going to be over the moon with this.