Light as a Feather Pillow Cover

So I did this paper pieced gem a while ago.....maybe November???

I added borders in the same grey which apparently I did not take a picture of...I'm such a slacker!

A member of my MMQG is at the wheel of a very thoughtful venture. She is collecting pillows for a long term care facility in Halifax. So she has been collecting (and making) pillow covers for each of the residents at the facility. 87! That is the goal. I think the last count was somewhere around 50. I'm not sure what the current count is but she can add one more to the pile :)

This is my first finished piece using the Paisley FMQ motif. Again it was another gem from Angela Walter's Book.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this book?!

I wanted to take a picture with an insert but unfortunately I can't find any locally. Maybe I can find one next week when I head to Halifax to start my trip to Glamp Stitchalot! Getting excited!

Here's a look at the process ;)

I always start my FMQ with drawings. I seen this on a Free Motion Quilting class that I purchased and now I religiously draw (sometimes lots of pages!) before I start sewing...

And then after all this drawing which happened over days....I grabbed a scrap piece of a past quilt sandwich edge and practiced!

One very good lesson I learned was to make sure the batting and backing is at least a couple of inches on each side....I had already cut my backing to fit the top...oops. It makes it so much easier to FMQ smoothly when you have those extra inches!

And more practice....then came the time to jump in!

I don't have any pictures while quilting...secretly I didn't want to stop until I was finished...didn't want to lose my groove! I started in the bottom left hand corner and went in sections until I made it over to the bottom right hand corner. I'm pretty happy with the overall effect. Sure there's lots of mistakes but overall I think it looks great!

Here's a close-up of the quilting. I'm sure these are not the official Paisley shape (most of the time) but I still think it looks ok. And practice makes perfect. The next project may have even better defined Paisley quilting. 

I used this print for the backing...I know it came in a Sew Sisters Bargain bundle at some point.

 

I'm hoping whoever receives this pillow cover will enjoy it as much as I loved making it :)

Well I must get to packing for Glamp next week! EEKKK! 

What quilty plans do you have this weekend?

Mystery Block #12

Well it has been a while since I wrote up a blog post. I sort of took an extended break from blogging. There are just some weeks where you have to take a step back and breathe. I still accomplished a lot of sewing on my "break". I worked on and finished my FQS Mystery Quilt Block #12.

So many tiny pieces....

I still miss this club. It was so great to receive a surprise BOM in the mail. I still need to complete the quilt. I'm hoping in the months to come that I can complete the top and then I'll have to decide if I want to send it to a long arm quilter or quilt it myself. I put a LOT of hours in making all these blocks and it will be staying here so I want the quilting to be great.

Other things I did this month was to cut out all the squares for the Birthday Bonus Club. There are seven birthday Queens this month. I managed to get mine out earlier this month since I was home. Unlike last month where I was gone for the first two weeks of March!

All those mini charms....reminds me of pretty candy....

I've also been getting prepared to go to Glamp Stitchalot in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I can't believe it's less than two weeks before I get on the plane!

There are six instructors that each created a unique row for this quilt. I have all my pieces cut for three of the classes. The other three are paper pieced which is difficult for me to prep for. So I'm going to just decide on fabrics and take that with me. I know I will not complete the quilt top while I'm there. I just want to learn the most I can from the instructors and have a good time with friends.

I am planning on taking my camera with me so hopefully I'll have a blog post or two to share with you all when I return :)