A Pair of Pillows : :

I really want to spend more time sewing with Haila this Summer! Since she received her very own Janome back in December we've only had a few sewing sessions where she's made two quilted pillows and a strand of wool felt heart garland, with my help. For us, making pillows has been the perfect simple project! It's a wonderful way to get acquainted with a sewing machine, to learn basic construction, seam allowance, both the straight and zigzag stitch, straight-line quilting, the double-fold hem, etc. To keep things extra easy the first two pillow projects were both whole cloth. I simply asked Haila to choose a fat quarter from my stash in a print that she would love to see turned into a pillow. Watching her sew up that first one was magical for the both of us!

Sara Lawson Sew Sweetness blogger and new Limited Addition designer for Art Gallery Fabrics, recently reached out to me and asked if I'd like to choose some fabrics from her first collection Jungle Ave to use in a sewing project and to share here on my blog. At first look I thought I'd finally stitch up the quick tote bag I've been meaning to make for weeks now. But when the fabrics arrived the bright colors & fun prints I had selected caught Haila's eye and she's been asking if we could share them!

So, on my birthday I reserved just a couple of hours in the late morning for her and I to turn these Jungle Ave. prints into a new pair of pillows!



For mine, I wanted something super quilty! Just as I do in my Herringbone QAYG, I added strips on the diagonal to a cut piece of batting. This time I measured out each fabric strip needed to create my 12"x16" pillow front, creating a balanced pattern that I thought would really pop!



For the back I quilted my favorite Jungle Ave print, Floral Asphalt, to more batting scraps, finishing one raw edge with some left over quilt binding. I love finishing my pillows with a little binding!



For Haila's pillow, rather than beginning to work on piecing, I decided to teach her the same quilt as you go as I used to create my most recent quilt finish, my Endless Summer quilt. Using more batting scraps she simply worked her way down the narrow pieces, sewing down one fairly large piece of pretty fabric after the other until done. She did great!





She finished her pillow with just a few quilt stitches on the pillow front and an easy envelope closer for the back!





After this project, I think she's definitely ready to make those doll quilts on our list!



How about you, do you have any project suggestions for us to add to our Summer sewing list?

♥ Maureen