Feelin' Fruity

Spring is here!  The garden in our new house is showing it's hand and we've just tasted our first, ripe mangos for the season.

Mangos are not cheap this time of the year in Perth.  I measure most expenses in FQ's these days ... and the mangos I bought were about two FQ's worth ... but seeing the glee on the girl's faces when eating them was so worth it.

For now though (and until the mangos come down in price) we'll stick to strawberries and pineapples.

The new house calls for new soft furnishings in the girl's bedrooms ... and as they can't quite make up their minds on what quilts they would like, I started by making them some new cushions.

Miss 5 (note she's a whole hand old now!) wanted a strawberry cushion ...

and Miss 4 (who thinks she's five) requested a pineapple cushion ...

I used some low volume scraps to bulk out to the required size and straight line quilting approximately 1/2" apart.

They are fully lined with a zipper on the bottom for robustness ... I'm sure they'll be engaged in some pillow fighting at some point of their existence!

The cushions also have a pocket on the back, the perfect spot for a bedtime story book.

Our girls have a story every night at bedtime and they put the book they would like read to them in the pockets ... Although these days my Pre-Primary girl is starting to read to me ... how exciting is that?!

Miss 4 aka Happy Customer

We'll be onto War and Peace in no time ...

Sx

About:
The cushions finish at approx 18" square
Strawberry paper pieced pattern found here
Pineapple pattern found here

Linking up to TGIFF and Crazy Mom Quilts

This Too Shall Pass ...

A dear friend of mine is going through a really shitty (there I said it) patch of bad health.  It's not fun being that ill when you have two little ones, a hubby and a life (no less) to love and enjoy ... 

I was 'put to bed' myself just over a year ago and my friend gave me a little card with this message on it ...

"This Too Shall Pass"

... I decided it was time to return the favour in the only way I know how.

This was my first time making a Dresden Plate and I really enjoyed it ... I hope that some of that joy mojo is felt in the pillow and that it makes my friend smile when she sees it ... especially on those really bad days.

I managed another zip!  Popped it on the bottom as I still haven't quite mastered the hidden zip yet ...

... and popped some of those lovely sunny dots (same as the dots used for the Liberty Pouches) to cheer her up even on a washing day when she has to strip the pillow.

There are a few wrinkles and crinkles in the pillow after I ironed it with steam (will I never learn?!) but other than that I think it was a great first attempt.  It helps when you have a fantastic tutorial to follow though!  The only thing I did differently was to use the circle template as if I was English Paper Piecing.  

I cut my fabric about a 1/4" larger than the template provided then used my glue pen to create the circle.  I then removed the paper template and pressed the seam allowance down.  I then placed the fabric in the middle of the Dresden plate wedge circle and top stitched it down as per the Dresden wedges.

Pillow Stats:
Size: 20" x 20" (with a 22" pillow form in it)
Fabric:  Hanky Linen in Silver for the background and Art Gallery Fabrics "Drift" by Angela Waters for the Wedges
Tutorial/Pattern was found on Sew Mama Sew here
Embroidery Pattern is my own design

If you would like to embroider the same message for a special someone then I've attached the pattern here for you for free.   ... well at least I hope I've attached it correctly!  First time user of Google Drive at work here :)

Serena xx

I'll be linking up with TGIFF and Finish it Up Friday

Digger Pillow/Cushion

Pillow? ... Cushion? ... depends upon what part of the world you come from, but I'm pretty sure that most little boys around the world love diggers!

When my eldest unmarried was invited to a little friend's birthday I jumped at the chance to make him a present.  

I started with Kristy's lovely digger paper pieced pattern (had some fun with fussy cutting) then added some chevron tracks down each side to pad the design out to the size I needed.

For the very first time, I added some quilting to the pillow (I usually skip this step for pillows).

I used a bright yellow thread and echo stitched around the digger block and also the grey track chevrons.  I used a stitch length of 4 ... they are bulky and boyish.

It has my usual envelope backing (one day I'll do a zipped one ... pinky promise) which I stitched with the same bright yellow cotton.

I love making boys stuff ... the Tomboy within is strong!

Cushion/Pillow Stats:
Size: 20" Sq
Feature Block: Digger Paper Pieced Pattern by Quiet Play
Fabric:  Fussy cut fabric in Digger block by Belle & Boo, all other fabric purchased from Spotlight

Sx

Linking up with:
Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts
Fabric Tuesday at Quiltstory