From K - Finished: Star Crush Pillows

This past weekend we hosted a couple of great friends who came through town. Lucky for them the stars aligned and they had the pleasure of enjoying the last stay in our current guest room before 'Project Craft Room' (as i know lovingly call it) initiates tomorrow. In the meantime I'm pleased to say that the stars aligned for me this weekend too, that is, in the form of finding the time to complete both of my star pillows. Punny I know, but all joked aside I'm pretty pleased with how these pillows turned out.

I can't seem to get enough of Anna Marie Horner's Innocent Crush line, so I have incorporated a couple of my favorite prints from it in these pillows. My previous post provides a full listing of materials used in these pillow tops.

When I needed to decide on a binding I was torn but in the end I'm really glad I incorporated more of this red/pink print.

When hand binding I always like to use office binder clips to hold binding about a foot down from where I'm working (in this photo I am working left to right). These clips were bought at a local dollar store and they have revolutionized hand binding for me.

For the pillow backings, I used a traditional linen and I love the contrast in materials. The tops give these pillows a polished appearance while the backings ensure they still maintain a relaxed style.

I quilted within the star profiles of each pillow to emphasize their shape using straight line quilting. On the border I added extra texture by using a dense stipple meander. Unfortunately the cream thread I used doesn't show up prominantly against the Michael Miller Antiquity Old Script print but trust me, it's lovely.

I just got home from picking up paint for my new craft room and I can't wait to start painting it later this week. I have no doubt these pillows are going to look great in there once it's complete.

From K - Paper piecing to my heart's content

Sneaking away to the mountains last week was the perfect way to kick off summer. Warm days made for plenty of outdoor time, and cool rainy evenings gave me some quiet time to sew. Shopping my stash before I left home, I came well prepared with some of my favorite prints.

[from left to right - 1: Robert Kaufman (Metro Living), 2: old remnant from my stash, 3+4: Anna Marie Horner (Innocent Crush), 5: Sharon Evans Yenter (Julianna), 6: Michael Miller (Antiquity Old Script)].

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I want to make some custom pillows for my new sewing room. Inspired by the Solstice Star Series by Fresh Lemon Quilts, I thought this small project would be the perfect time to experiment more with foundation piecing/paper piecing.

I spent a fair bit of time planning out my fabric placement and then began cutting out all of my pieces. Having had only limited experience with paper piecing in the past, I found Faith's tutorials to be extremely helpful.

Altogether I am pretty thrilled with how these pillow tops have come together. Later this week I plan to quilt them up, and add backing and a zipper to each.

Overall I would say this was a pretty productive sewing weekend away. Now if only I could make it longer...