Swimming Along

We're in the lazy days of summer just swimming along with no set schedule.  We've spent a lot of time in Maine (with more to come) which means lots of progress on my La Passacaglia but we had a brief interlude of bad weather which sent us home early.  After 10 days with no TV the kids were ready to catch up on some screen time so I snuck off to my studio for some sewing.

My plan was to piece together the back for my Mendocino chevron but that seemed like too much work so I decided to just make a pillow with one of the leftover fussy cut mermaid blocks.  A square in square layout seemed obvious but I added a band of apricot to make the center block pop.  I thought it would be "fun" to challenge myself so I mitered the corners.

Pillows are great for picking thread colors and practicing quilting designs.  I love the way the turquoise thread pops against the orange.

I kept the quilting simple just outlining the pieces but did added a wavy pattern (Bernina stitch #4) in the Apricot.

Now that we're back at the lake I got a perfect morning to tack the binding and finish this one up.

I bought a truckload of zippers before Quilter's Way closed so I used my go to zipper closure tutorial by to S.O.T.A.K. Handmade for the back.

Swimming along with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Pillow Stats:
Finished pillow is 14" x 14"
Fabrics: Mendocino by Heather Ross.  Michael Miller Cotton Couture Apricot
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in  Light Turquoise (2805).

Wave Your Flag...

Our summer is off to a blazing start so I've had very little time in my studio and what time I did have I didn't feel like basting the stack of flimsys I've got growing.  Unless you've been quilting under a rock you've seen Camille Roskelley's Stars and Stripes quilt lighting up the internet.  I've been meaning to make a July 4th quilt forever and I fell in love with this one, especially when I saw the beautiful one done by my friend Wife of Erp.  With the clock ticking a quilt seemed like a bit of a stretch but a single block pillow was definitely doable.

This reminded me a bit of my British Invasion quilt so I dug thru my Flower Sugar stash for some red and blue.  The block is super easy and whips up in no time.  The directions are written for FQs but since I was using yardage I wish I had just made a red/white/red strip set and then cut it to the lengths I needed.

I wanted to keep it simple with wavy quilting to mimic a flag rippling in the breeze.  I did the first row free hand roughly in the center and then just kept following the line back and forth using the edge of my walking foot as a guide.  I love the effect but I wish I'd exaggerated the waves a bit more on my first row.

I was short of fabric for the back so I decided an invisible zipper would be the most efficient.  There are tons of great invisible zipper tutorials out there but I used this one by Stop Staring and Start Sewing.  I like using a glue stick to hold everything together rather than pinning.

It's not quite invisible but I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt.

Celebrating with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.  Hope you have a fabulous 4th!!!

Pillow Stats:
Finished pillow is 13" x 17"
Pattern: Stars and Stripes by Camille Roskelley
Fabrics: Flower Sugar by Lecien, Kona Snow, Spot On by Robert Kaufman.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Cotton Request.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in  Natural White (2021).