An Hourglass Quilted Pillow {Tutorial} & News!

Hiya friends,

Today my intention was to simply share this new tutorial with you all, as I've finally been back to sewing for about a week now after badly injuring my knee and then my finger, but unfortunately now I'm dealing with more troubles. On Saturday evening around 7pm I was scrolling through my personal Facebook feed when I received a pop-up that read, "session has timed out." I immediately  tried to log back in and it said that my account had been disabled. I then panicked and went to my Instagram app and I was logged out of there, as well, and my login info was coming up "no user." While I restarted my phone, I opened my laptop and tried to login with no luck still, so I checked my email and at 6:46pm I had received a Login Alert Facebook email that showed a suspicious login from "near Elk Grove Village, IL" and I live in Pennsylvania. I read and followed all of the proper dispute claims for being hacked and/or mistakenly disabled through both social media platforms and I finally heard back yesterday morning that both accounts were permanently disabled. What??!! I attempted to respond to that email and I received one final email saying that "your account has been permanently disabled for not following the community standards. Unfortunately, we won't be able to reactivate it for any reason. This will be our last email regarding your account." Now if you read through what one would have to do to have their account permanently disabled, please believe that in NO WAY have I ever or would I ever do anything harmful to anyone on social media! I have simply used it as a way to stay connected to family & friends and now all those videos and photos of my growing three children are gone. I used as a way to build community through a shared love of fabric and sewing and now all 131,000+ Maureen Cracknell Handmade Facebook Page followers are gone. I used it to post pretty pictures and to share news, new fabric & projects of my own work and the work of so many wonderful makers and now all 30,200+ Maureen Cracknell Instagram followers are gone. Years of memories, friendships and hard work. Gone. It's heartbreaking to say the least. I'm trying to hold onto hope that somehow it will all be restored, but I've also decided to move forward with a new Instagram @MaureenCracknellHandmade and I hope you'll find me there! Please, please everyone add two-step verification to your social media accounts. I was not cautious and I have lost everything I've shared for the past ten years!

I don't know that I will attempt to rebuild on Facebook for several reasons, but my making and sharing will continue and it does feel pretty perfect that I just so happened to have a brand new tutorial prepared to share today!



My dear friend and fellow AGF fabric designer, Sharon Holland, has a stunning new collection just hitting stores with a LookBook due out later today for, Everlasting! I'm so happy to have been back to sewing just in time to make this set of pillows to contribute and I hope you love them as much as I do!



What you'll need:

• 8  - 6" charms of fabrics of your choosing, four blue/navy and four red/peach/cream
• 2 - 11.5" X 15" cuts for the pillow backing fabric
•  Hobbs Tuscany Cotton Batting for pillow front and back pieces
• 1/4 yd of binding for finishing the pillow 
• 1 - 14" pillow insert
• Coordinating Thread
• Rotary Cutter/Mat/Ruler

Steps: 

1. Cut eight 6" charm squares from the fabrics you've chosen for the pillow front





2. With right sides facing, pin and sew together two blue prints using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Repeat with the two remaining blue squares, pressing all seams open as you go



3. Sew the two sets of two blue squares together, with rights sides facing to create a four patch block. Repeat this for the second set of four red/peach/cream 6" charm squares. When finished you'll have two, four patch blocks



4. With right sides facing, place the two four patch blocks together, pin and sew around all four edges sewing a 1/4" from the very out edge



5. Use a ruler and place it across the middle of the sewn square. Be sure to position the ruler to ensure the cutting will pass through the point where the stitches meet at each opposing corner. Once the ruler is in place, make the cut using a rotary cutter. Repeat across the other direction to create four triangles





6. Press with seams open, trim away any exposed seam allowances, and square up each block to make four nice and neat 8" hourglass blocks



7. Arrange the four blocks in a layout keeping the blue/navy prints at the center and the red/peach/cream on the outside or visa versa. With right sides facing, pin and sew using a 1/4″ seam allowance two blocks together using a straight stitch. Repeat with the two remaining blocks, pressing all seams open as you go



8. Sew the two sets of two blocks together, with rights sides facing to create the patchwork pillow front and place the pieced pillow front onto a piece of batting so the wrong side of the pillow front is facing the right side of the batting. Baste using your preference with spray or pins



9. With stitches space a 1/2" a part, quilt the pillow front to the batting. Trim away excess batting to finish a pillow top that measures a 15" square



10.  To prepare back pieces, using one of the pillow back fabrics measuring 11.5" x 15", baste to a piece of cotton batting measuring the same size and fold over one of the sides measuring 15" a 1/4", press, fold over again a 1/4", press. Sew along inner folded edge and along the outer edge, staying close to the fold. This will create the double seam finish. Repeat this step with the other pillow back fabric



11. Place the pillow backing fabrics onto the wrong side of the quilted pillow front. Sew a basting stitch all the way around the very outer edge of the pillow layers to attach them. Finish the pillow using the 1/4 yd of binding just as you would adding binding to a quilt



Insert your pillow form and now you have a very cute Hourglass Quilted Pillow!





I hope you love these hourglass quilted pillows as much as I do, but honestly with Sharon's Everlasting fabrics it's impossible not to create something you'll love! My Everlasting sewing didn't stop with this pretty pair of pillows, I'll have another project in the LookBook that I'll be back to share this week! If you give this tutorial a try and you post on your social media, don't forget to share with me on my new Instagram @MaureenCracknellHandmade!

xo, Maureen

Floor Pillow Love!

Happy Monday! Last week was full of wonderfully productive sewing days and I have lots of good stuff to share this week as a result. First up is this Love Story & Indie Folk Skinny Braids floor pillow!



This super scrappy version of my new Quick Quilt As You Go design, Friendship Braids, is made up of 1"-2.5" strips of these pretty prints to make a big 26" square floor pillow. I have a tutorial in the works for my Friendship Braids quilt block using wider strips, and once you learn you'll see that the variations are endless. It's similar to the herringbone qayg that I teach in my Craftsy class & so often use in that it's just as fast and fun, but the pattern is very different in comparison. It feels new to me, so I'm really enjoying this new qayg pattern!



For this pillow I started with two 14" x 27" cuts of cotton batting that I covered edge to edge with skinny strips of fabrics before trimming them up and sewing the blocks together to finish as a pillow top.



As I stitched on new strips, I used a dark navy Aurifil 50wt from my Bohemian Gardens thread collection to add more quilting. I love the visible thread against these saturated colors. So pretty!



I love using heavy weight denims to back my pillows. For this floor pillow that will surely get lots of rough handling from the kids and pets, a denim or canvas was a perfect choice. Rather than using the right side of this AGF Crosshatch Denim in Rainy Night, I used the wrong side because I like the look of it just as much!



I bought a two-pack of down alternative Euro Pillows and I think for the second floor pillow I'll do this same skinny braids pattern using my stash of AGF denims. I have several new finishes to share this week so be sure to stop back!



xo Maureen

From Scraps : :

Immediately after finishing Haila's pretty drawstring bag, I collected the odd Fleet & Flourish, Tapestry fabric, and AGF Denim scraps scattered throughout my sewing room floor and turned them into a sweet matching pillow. I carried on sewing with the same herringbone pattern and added lace embellishments that I have loved using so much lately!



It's a cute little pillow, barely fitting the 14" pillow insert that's stuffed in there so tightly, but I'm sure over time, after a little use, it will look just perfect! I always make my pillow covers a little smaller than the size of the pillow insert I plan to use. They always settle a little and I love them to stay looking nice and full!



Nothing went to waste in the making of this quick project - even the pillow back is finished with more scraps and a little linen.



For the binding I used the very last of that BIG role of Hello, Bear Summit in Twilight binding I made a few months back. I love the combination of each fabric & trim that makes up this pillow, pretty, pretty!



I especially love it paired with the Fleet & Flourish pillow I made for last year's Fall Quilt Market to showcase my Miniments and Lace in Bloom prints. Doesn't in make a lovely set?





I think they look so beautiful together, tossed on the Anthropologie Victoriana Silk Throw blanket that I received for Christmas last year!



I've been working, slowly, on building up my handmade inventory in the hopes of having a local pop-up shop around the holidays or possibly here online, and both of these pillows have been added to the pile!

♡ Maureen  

A Pleated Pillow : :

Continuing on with my AGF Denim obsession, yesterday I stitched up a new pillow combining a variety of denim solids & prints, fabric strips from my Fleet & Flourish Gentle Mantle in Land stripe, and cotton/linen Soft Sand Canvas. Inspired by a pillow I purchased from Anthropologie several years ago, I decided to experiment with a fun technique of layering and pleating narrow strips of fabrics to create a beautiful design!







I simply used the satin stitch on my Janome set at a slightly larger than standard width, with an Aurifil 50wt in Navy from my Bohemian Garden Thread Box, where you see the fabric strips folded in and gathered together to reveal the pretty pattern. I love the added texture and structure!



For the pillow backing and binding I used even more denim, of course!



I truly can't tell you how much I love sewing with this new denim! It's so easy to work with and perhaps I love it most because it's inspiring me to attempt so many new things -- my first quilt as you go tote bag, this new pillow, and I even turned the short strip scraps I had laying around into a little pouch last night before bed. I'll share that soon!

If you have any questions about sewing with Art Gallery Fabrics denim, feel free to ask! I think it's about time I start a new quilt using it, don't you think?



♡ Maureen

A Dragonfly Stitched Pillow : :

In addition to the Aurifil Stitched Owl pillow I made for next month's Quilt Market show where I'll present my newest fabric collection, Nightfall, I stitched up a second pillow, this time to illustrate my Nox Iridescence dragonfly print!



Just as I created the owl, I used my new Bohemian Garden Aurifil Thread set, choosing colors similar to those in the Moonset colorway of my dragonflies print, Nox Iridescence in Dim.

I actually sewed this pillow top together a few weeks back, before I had even received my strike offs. I used my Quick Quilt As You Go Craftsy class technique to make the pillow top, using a combination of Pure Element solids in Cabernet, Patina Green, and Nocturnal, Solid Smooth Denims in Frosted Sage and Infused Hydrangea, & Soft Sand Linen. For a little extra decoration I added some of the beautiful lace trims I had leftover from my Fall Quilt Market sample making and I top-stitched a few twists of recycled sari silk I had purchased years ago from Anthropologie that have been laying around the sewing room. I love the soft & tattered tassel look!



My plan was to use it to feature my Moon Stories ~ bunny & moon main print in some way, but last week when I decided to "sketch stitch" my Nightfall dragonfly, there my pillow top was hanging & waiting, looking too perfect not to use!



I started by stitching out a large version of the basic dragonfly sketch I created for my Nox Iridecence print, using a dark navy 50wt Aurifil. Once the dragonfly outline was all stitched out, I simple added in layers of additional stitching, changing thread colors and playing with a combination of straight, satin, and decorative machine stitches. It's a lot of fun, just like coloring with Aurifil thread & my Janome sewing machine!

To finish my pillow I used more AGF denim ~ Soft Smooth Wicked Sky for the binding and a large striping of Solid Textured heavy weight in Scarlet Brick & Evergreen Slate for an extra sturdy pillow back!



This 14" x 28" pillow size has become my absolute favorite! There's an ever-growing stack in my sewing room that I hope to offer in a pillow & quilt sale sometime soon!



Hoping to be back with a new photographed quilt to share soon! Unit then... ♡ Maureen

A Moonrise Herringbone Pillow : :

During the holiday and Spring Break vacation I didn't find much time to sew, besides whipping up Etsy orders of course, so yesterday when I found a stretch of sewing time to turn last week's fabric bundle of love into a pillow to share here today, it felt great!



This fabric pull full of moody blues and soft peach was inspired by the Moonrise colorway of my new collection Nightfall, minus the mustard yellow which I now wish I would have added in just a little. This is my favorite Nightfall colorway of the two -- minty aqua, peachy pink, smoky blues, and slate gray, I love it all!



Because sewing time was limited, I cut just a couple narrow strips from each fabric in the bundle and made a Quick Quilt As You Go Herringbone pillow for a quick, satisfying finish!



For some fun, added texture I decided to leave the frayed denim edge exposed!



This denim is from Art Gallery Fabrics new line, The Denim Studio by AGF, and it really is so beautiful! I incorporated my favorite colors into this pillow -- Indigo Shadow, Cool Foliage, Frosted Sage, and Nectarine Sunrise. These solid denims play so well with my Nightfall collection, you'll be seeing lots more of these denims combines with my prints in the weeks ahead once I start preparing for Spring Quilt Market!



For the pillow backing, I used a heavier, more sturdy denim, Evergreen in Slate. Again, letting the frayed salvage edge show. I love the look of it and it made for a super fast finish!



I used more of the Hello, Bear Summit in Twilight print for my binding. The colors perfectly matched those within my pillow!





I plan to add this pillow, along with a few more new items & scrap bags to my Etsy shop soon. If you're interested you can always email me at maureencracknell@hotmail.com anytime! I'm planning to phase out making the Birthday Crowns this next month, so if you've ever wanted one - be sure to get your order in soon!

XO Maureen