Pillow Talk 4 Excitement!!!

Y'all have heard of me talk about the Pillow Talk Swap over on Flickr, yes?  You also know of that saying that goes, "good things come to those who wait"? 

{{sorry I need a break to go jump up and down and squeal again.........brb}}

...

Ok....sorry about that. Trying to contain my excitement enough to write this post!! Wanna know why??!! 

Ok, lemme tell ya since you've gone and twisted my arm all up ... hee hee!

Let me introduce you to Ryan of Ryan Walsh Quilts. He is an uber cool dude and he quilts and stuff! Click over there on his name and spend some time {{hours}} over on his blog looking at all the fun stuff he has made! He has some really great projects and tutorials too! But before you go.....

LOOKIE WHAT HE SENT ME FOR PILLOW TALK 4!!!!! {{breathes in a bag....}}

My son came toodling in after school with a big ole box in his hands. I saw the return address and snatched the box very nicely from my kid! I knew...I knew what was in it because just a few days ago Ryan posted this on his blog....

I felt like a kid in a candy store!!  

This is what I pulled out of the box... {{squeals!}}

 

 

First a yummy chocolate bar!!! Mmmmm!!! 

Then look at this adorable turtle puppet!! Hahahhaah!!! Totally cute and I was so giggling!

Oh...and THEN he included some stationary in the Hope Valley line print!! {{swoon!}}

Oh...and then....oh be still my heart....look at all those hexies and that pebble quilting!!!! He even cut out a turtle from the fabric and stitched it down!! O. M. G!!!! In NEPTUNE none the less!!! {{faints.....}}

Ryan you are one amazing dude and quilter!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE, did I say LOVE my pillow!!??!! Well just in case you still question it...I LOVE IT!!!! { No Julie, you can't have it, sorry love! ;) }

You hit the nail on the head with me and I will cherish this pillow forevah and evah! Someday I'll give you a big ole hug for it in person!! Thank you doesn't seem like it's enough to say, but thank you, from the bottom of my heart! <3

Much Love!!!

Pillow Talk Swap 4 Tutorial

Hello!! 

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! It's been super snowy and blowy here this weekend. Yuk! Double Yuk! I need to live somewhere warm like Florida or California. 

One good thing about it being nasty outdoors is that I get a lot of sewing done, including my Pillow Talk Swap 4 pillow. Woo Hoo!

As promised, a tutorial to go along with it. :) 

Here is the pillow all complete and ready to ship out...

Start out by choosing some of your favourite fabrics. Here was my layout...

I am using 11 fabrics here. You can choose more or less. It's totally a personal preference.

I am using Darlene Zimmerman's Dresden Plate ruler. This is important. You could probably use any dresden ruler. The process will be the same. 

For this tutorial I am using the 6.5" mark on the ruler.

From each of your fabrics, cut a strip that is 6.5" wide.  I double up my fabric to make this process go faster!

Lay out your strip of fabric and lay your ruler so that the edge is along the 6.5" mark on the ruler.

Cut along each edge of the ruler.

Now flip your ruler 90 degrees and lay it down right along the edge you just cut.

Then cut along the edge of the ruler.

You now have two "plates". Or 4 plates if you doubled your fabric.

I cut 4 plates from each of my fabrics but you will only need 39 "plates" to make this pillow.

You will need to sew three rows of 13 plates.

Begin by laying out your plates in a pleasing order, alternating each plate.

I show 10 plates wide here, you need 13.

Start with the first row.

Take plate #1 and plate #2. Flip plate #2 right sides together with plate #1 making sure that a bit of fabric overhangs. (see photo)

Sew a 1/4" seam.

Press.

Add plate #3 in the same manner...

The overhang will be at the bottom this time.

Keep sewing the pieces together for each of the three rows. Press each row.

Sew rows together matching seams.

Next we have to trim off the edges. I trimmed mine to 18" square.

The cutting mat I have is 18" wide so it was perfect for this step. If you have a larger mat, just use the 18" marks.

Lay out your pillow and center it in the 18" space on your cutting mat so that when you trim, both sides will be equal. Once you have it set, trim sides.

Turn your pillow 90 degrees and do the same step to trim the other side.

You should have a nicely squared pillow top now.

You can stop here if you want, but I wanted a larger pillow so I added borders. I added strips that measured 1 3/4" (before sewing).

My pillow now measures 20" square.

At this point, you need to quilt it. I recommend this as it gives your pillow some stability and added depth. For the backing I usually use muslin. It's fairly cheap and you won't see the back anyway. For the batting, I use the same stuff I put in my quilts, Warm and White.

Layer it: muslin, batting, and pillow right side up.

Quilt as desired. I quilted mine in a cross hatch design with stitches about 3/4" apart.

Now comes the back. I like envelope style backs so that is what I will show you here. However, you can also find out how to do others like using a zipper.

Cut two pieces. One measuring 20" x 16". One measuring 20" by 13". (If your pillow is smaller or larger, use your measurements)

On the 20" side of each piece, fold over the edge 1/2" and press. Fold that same edge over again, and press. Then stitch about 1/8" from edge. (see photos)

Get your quilted pillow top and lay it right sides up. Notice I haven't trimmed off the sides yet. I do this step last.

Lay down your larger back piece first, right sides together. Make sure the edge that you folded over is facing the center of your pillow top.

Lay down your second piece, again the folded edge towards the center. Pin all around the pillow to hold this in place.

Sew around the edges. I use a 1/4" seam but in the corners and along the spots where the folded edges of the back lay, I back stitch. Then I sew forward and back stitch again to reinforce the spots that will have the most stress.

After you have it all stitched down, trim off the excess batting and backing and turn your pillow right sides out! Stuff it with a 20" pillow form and ...

Voila!

You may be wondering why a 20" pillow form when my pillow actually measures 19.5"? I like to make my pillows 1/2" smaller than the form for a nice snug fit. I don't like floppy pillows. :)

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and, as always, if you make one, please put it in the Flickr Pool so I can ooohhh and ahhhhh over it. :)

Much Love!!!

I Hear A Pillow Talkin'

There is this girl...a quite amazing girl, if I do say so myself, who co-hosts the most AMAZING pillow swap on Flickr with Kerri. Her name is Heather and she blogs over at {House} of Al A Mode. I highly urge you to go check out her blog if you never have. She is a creative genius and her personality is like no other! It's a good thing, don't worry. :) She's a hoot!

Right now she is probably busy matching up partners for the Pillow Talk Swap for round FOUR! I'm really excited about this swap, even though it's only my second time playing and I can't wait to see who I get to sew for! It's always fun to sew for your self, but it's even more fun to sew for someone else. At least it is once you get past the nervous hair pulling out stage trying to convince yourself that they will love your pillow. ;)

We are asked to do a mosaic for our partner so here is mine, dear partner. I would like one of each please. Hahhaha! Just kidding. Kind of. ;)

I pretty much give my partner free range with the swaps I am in. I don't want to limit their creativity. I know that if I'm asked to make something I really don't like, I'm not going to enjoy it as much so I want them to make something that they love and I know I will love it too! So don't stress over anything partner. I love it already. :D 

Anyone else here partaking in the Pillow Talk Swap #4? I can't wait to see what everyone makes this round! 

Much Love!!!