Monday 3 February 2014

Purple? Me?

Saturday, the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild had its first Sew In.  I was only able to attend for a few hours, but I had lots of fun and I am happy with my day of work.
 
First off, my Canadians Quilt {bee} block.  I made a couple extras for me... I just could not stop after one.  Not quite sure which one I will send to my bee mate - likely the red or the orange because she asked for bright "plus" and the middle one is a bit on the light side.
 

Other project... a pillow.   Are you surprised?

Now, before I show you the result, I have to say that I am pretty indifferent to this whole Pantone Colour of the Year thing.  I just don't know what the fuss is all about.  Pantone says Radiant Orchid is in, and we are all supposed to start quilting in purple? 

Coincidentally, I was going to make another birthday cushion, for my favourite 12 year old.  When asked about her favourite colours and patterns/themes, she said "purple" and "zebra".

I did not have much purple in my stash (and definitely no zebra), so a little trip to my local quilt shop was in order.  (I may have broken my Fabric Fast resolution just a tad, but it was for a good cause!).  I did not find an actual zebra print, but I found these instead:


So, purple lovers out there... how did I do?

My normal size for cushions is 14" or 16", but this girl deserved a bigger pillow, so I used a 20" form.  My original plan was for 5 columns of 10 rectangle 2" x 4" (minus the larger rectangle for the name).  However, I forgot the number one rule of sewing stripes:  make the stripes slightly wider than desired, trim after they are sewn together.   I did not do that, and my strips ended up too small, hence the vertical purple strip in the middle.  As for the horizontal lilac stripe on the bottom, well I guess it's a seam allowance issue.  We'll call those design elements...


For the back, I did a zipper closure.  Oh and I used a piece of the funky zebra-type print, just for fun.  I am loving this back!


One side of the zipper is close to perfection.  The other one, not so much.  I decided I could live with that...


I quilted "straight" lines about 3/4 inches apart.  They are definitely "organic" lines (aka not so straight).


Another unintentional "design element": I ran out of one colour thread and had to move on to another...


I never get tired of these pillows.  So satisfying!  I bet my husband is happy I am actually making them for other people, and not to dress up our couches!
 
 
Now this purple thing is starting to grow on me...  What about you?
 
 
Linking up to
Let's Bee Social
 



11 comments:

  1. This is so cute and totally an acceptable reason to break your fast :) Just get back on the horse!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! You really got to work on that pillow! Looks great. It was so nice to have a day of actual sewing together after talking about sewing together for so long! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You did fabulous! Love all the fabrics together.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, what a great cushion. I have always loved the colour purple but strangely I have never particularly liked it in quilts. Your cushion is changing my mind. I may have to go shopping to expand my stash (didn't take much coercing did it??)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here from Bee Social! Love the purple pillow. Love the personalization.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is such a lovely purple, you have done so well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. i really like your bee blocks, the colours are wonderful. You did great on the pillow and I like all the design decisions you made! I'm a bit of a fan of purple anyway so I'm hoping Radiant Orchid being the "colour of the year" means more manufacturers will bring out purple prints!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a fabulous pillow! You did find some gorgeous fabrics to work with! Your daughter will be thrilled!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not my daughter, but the 12 year old in question will be thrilled just the same! Thanks Lorna!

      Delete
  9. The blocks you made are really great! You did a lovely job on the pillow--those fabrics are so great together!! I'm sure she will love it!

    -Lindsey

    Fort Worth Fabric Studio Blog

    Inspiring Creations Blog

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your pillow turned out fabulous! I think the purple is great!

    ReplyDelete

Yay! Comments! I love reading all the comments and do my best to respond, (though sometimes, life gets in the way).