Sketch Stitch Tree Pillow : :

Yes, today I have yet another pillow to show you! My second Sketch Stitch Tree Pillow -- you can see the first one here, if you'd like. This one is a little funkier, a bit bigger, and much more colorful. Are you calling me the pillow lady yet? B'cuz I've been wondering.

The thing about me making so many pillows is simply this -- it's how I learn. I have only been sewing for 1 year now, and just like I found making my dollhouses and dolls my niche with knitting, I'm trying to find that with my sewing as well. I've learned that quilting isn't it. Well, not yet anyways. I'm thinking these "sketch stitch" pillows I am making now, might just be "it."

It's fun for me. I get the same feeling I used to get when I would draw something, a good feeling. And, the possibilities are endless. Anything I can draw, simplified, can become the applique. I will admit I have the habit of overworking the things I've made in every medium, be it drawings, paintings, knitting, felting, and sewing. Taking my ideas too far has been a criticism I've had of my own work for as long as I can remember. With this, I am allowing the length of the bobbin thread to tell me when to stop. I like to try to keep as much of a single continuous stitch as possible, always staying aware of that dwindling line of thread.   

Is there anything better than red and white polka-dot fabric? Really, I just love it!

This little check fabric is also becoming a favorite of mine. It's actually a holiday print by Michael Miller, but it's so very versatile. I'm patting myself on the back for buying up three yards after Christmas when it was marked down to a great sale price. I just found a little here, but that's it!
This is also the first time I framed an applique on felt with quilting cotton fabric. I wasn't sure if the thickness of the felt would keep it from laying properly. It stitched up, ironed up, and lays like a dream! I will definitely be doing this often!

I still have two more pillows to share from last weeks sewing adventures. But for now I am off to the sewing room to make more birthday crowns with the balcony door and window open!

Hope you have a lovely day!   ~   Maureen