Set of Two Swoon Pillows Completed

The set of two 20" Swoon pillows are now completed. Simple, yet effective, straight line quilting performed as on all the other pillows I have done with this pattern.

For the first time I have made a zipper closure on the back of the pillows, from the tutorial from made by ChrissieD. 

The pillow set looks quite stylish now! Then it is off piecing the quilt back for the Optical Illusion quilt.

Quilt Doodle BOM 2015 - June's Block

Just a couple of days left of June, but I managed to complete this month's task and made the cute appliqué of Wilson! He was wiggling his tail so much that he distorted the yellow button, sorry about that!

Now I am half way through this BOM, and I enjoy the process of appliqué so much, I have to do more of that!

June ALYoF Goal Completed!

MyALYoF Goal for June was to piece two Swoon pillow fronts and to quilt the same.

I finished piecing the second Swoon block last Sunday, and on Monday and Tuesday after work I quilted them.

Here are the finished pillow fronts, quilted, but still untrimmed. I used the walking foot and quilted straight lines, which works perfectly for this block design. Double click on the photos to see more details. In my previous post I stated that I would use a Teal Aurifil quilting thread, but that is not correct; Aurifil #2815 is actually called Surf, and it gives a wonderful color addition to my fabrics.

These fronts will be made into two 20" pillows, nice and big to fit in the sofa of the happy couple!

This completes my ALYoF goal for June! I really enjoy working on these monthly deadlines, it really helps me to focus and get projects finished.

I have also started on the backing of my Blurred Vision quilt. The backing fabric is not wide enough, so I have decided to piece a border to make the back of the quilt more interesting. Since the quilt is a wedding gift, together with the Swoon pillows, I decided to personalize the backing and add some more color to the quilt.

This is the first part of the pieced border; the initials of the bride and groom (in navy color), with a cute two-colored pink  heart in between. The instructions for the letters are from Spell it With Fabrics by Moda, and the heart is from a tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew,  

I will figure out how to piece the rest of the border, hopefully during the weekend. I think this will be an interesting quilt back!

July will be dedicated to finishing the quilt, since the wedding is in the beginning of August!

Linked up to June's Finishes Party over at Sew BitterSweet Designs, and Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation.

Both Swoon Blocks Pieced

After a long break of sewing I am back home from vacation and finally had some time piecing together my second Swoon pillow. Here they both are on my lawn in the evening sun. This is the longest day of the summer, and the sun sets at 11:30 PM, and rises at 3 AM(!)

On my porch in the shade...

Both pillow fronts are now basted, and the quilting will start tomorrow if all goes according to plan. This is my ALYoF goal for June, so I better get to it!

I am planning to quilt them both with Aurifil #2815 (teal), that will "bind" them together.

One Swoon Block Done

The first Swoon block for the pillow set is done. It will be a matching set that will go together with the Blurred Vision quilt  as a wedding gift. It is the same colors, except that the pillows have some extra white in addition to a print in teal and white in the center star.

The pillow cover will fit a pillow form of 20" square. I think it will go well together with the quilt on the happy couple's dark grey sofa.

Now it is on to cutting the pieces of the next pillow, and then I will start quilting in a week or two.

Linked up to Blossom Heart Quilts.

Blurred Vision Top Done!

My Blurred Vision quilt top is done, and here it is flying in the wind, only held firmly down by DS2. I like the dramatic effect of this picture with the never-ending (seems like) hot wind outside in the yard.

The quilt is designed by Penny Layman, and is from the book Optical Illusions by Kansas City Star Quilts.

Here is the top spread out over the sewing room floor. The wind in the previous picture is to be blamed for the wrinkles in the quilt top.

 I didn't actually measure the top at this stage, but it is supposed to be 64" x 80" finished. It will be perfect for a wedding gift in August.

Here is a picture of the assembly process; basically two different rows that were put together in sections. The little offset between the rows creates an interesting effect.

This is my first two-colored quilt, and I chose to use a solid teal and a light aqua as the two fabrics. It is a modern quilt, for sure, and the quilting will add an interesting touch to it. But I won't be able to do it until later this summer when I return home from my vacation.

I plan to use Britten Nummer from Ikea for most of the backing, with some interesting details in addition. I just hope that I have enough of that fabric in my stash, because I heard rumors that Ikea is stopping to make that one! I checked my local Ikea on the web, and they seem to have it, still. Fingers crossed!

I just felt that there was just too few colors in this blog post, so I had to include some beautiful flowers from my garden.

Linked up to Let's Bee Social, Needle and Thread Thursday and WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

An Itty, Bitty Owl

My tiny, little cross stitch owl is now finished. I won the kit in a blog hop over at Theresa from BumbleberryStitches. The 14 count Aida fabric is 4" x 4", so the little bird is about 2" x 2". That's an itty, bitty owl, indeed!

When I return back home it will decorate a zippered pouch, I have the perfect fabric for a bird that needs to be out among the trees. In the mean time it will just have to enjoy the beautiful, warm summer weather here with me. After thunderstorms and lots of rain, the weather is finally heating up.

Now it's back to assembling my Optical Illusion quilt!

Linked to Super Mom - No Cape! and Freemotion by the River.

ALYoF 2015 Goal for June

My goal for ALYoF in June is to make two quilted pillow tops out of these fabrics. The design will be big Swoon blocks. I am attending a wedding in August, and the two gorgeous pillows will be a a part of the wedding gift for the happy couple.

Two years ago I also made a set of Swoon pillows, in different colorways, and you can see them here. 

Linked up to the June Goal Setting Party at Sew Bitter Sweet Designs.