Any of you who have been with me for a while will be aware of my love of all things patchwork. I have been doing a ton of projects lately that involve
enjoyable ways to use up some of my fabric scrap stash, and this week I've completed two projects that I am so pleased with!
I have always loved playing around with a modified log cabin pattern, and I put that motif to good use in making a beautiful quilted pillow cover. The backstory of this unassuming pillow is a turbulent one... it belongs to a set of three comfortable feather pillows that came with our big 4-piece sectional sofa two years ago. Sadly, the aesthetic of the pillow coverings just didn't match their comfort factor, and I kept hiding them away in a closet never to come out unless we absolutely needed them.
Here it is, the before:
See, I told you! The ugliest pillow covering ever made. It doesn't even deserve photo embellishment.
So finally, after two years of procrastination and trying to decide how I wanted to cover those sad pillows, I pulled out my fabric scrap stash and went to work. (Totally off-topic, but I've been eating a lot of oatmeal lately, I chalk up my sudden burst of creative energy to that.)
The pillow is 27" x 17" and I used 2" fabric strips and made a random pattern. I confess that I ran out of scraps that were long enough to finish the last few rows of the patchwork, so I broke down and bought a couple of quarter yards to finish it off.
It'll be our secret.
I used polyester batting and a plain cotton backing and machine-quilted (stitch-in-the-ditch style) the pattern. I had some natural cotton twill kicking around, so I used that as the pillow cover's reverse side. It's very durable and will wear nicely.
I am ridiculously happy with the end result--even though our household aesthetic is neither shabby nor cottagey, I snuck in my own little bit of rustic charm and it makes me smile every time I glance over at it... which I have been doing a lot since I finished it several days ago.
Am I the only crafter who does that? Glances lovingly at their creations... leaves them out in a conspicuous spot just to be able to catch sight of them...?
I think not :-)
Happy mid-week-day everyone!