Pillowcase Project

I had a request to make four 36" x  pillowcases in beige. Well let me tell you, it sounds easier than it was! It wasn't the actual making of the pillowcases that was hard, it was the search for enough of the same shade of fabric to make 4. The large odd size was complicated by the 44" standard width of fabric for cotton fabrics. It meant purchasing more fabric than necessary since outside of the cuff on top you really can't piece a pillowcase. So finding over 7 yards of a nice beige fabric on a bolt wasn't easy. Most beiges, tans, ecrus, etc. get used as backgrounds so most people buy larger cuts of those fabrics which meant finding a bolt with 7 plus yards left became a mission.

Since I work in a quilt shop luckily some beiges came in by UPS on a day I was working. I entered the bolts into our computer system and quickly purchased the amount I needed before the fabric could hit the shelves. I felt lucky to be in the right place at the right time. So I quickly made all four pillowcases and got them delivered just a few days before my knee replacement surgery. It felt good to get that off my list of things to do before I'm out of commission for a while. 

American Beauty Quilt

I am in charge of a Spring Conference for my American Legion Auxiliary District and I wanted to donate a quilt to use as a raffle prize at the meeting.

I've been collecting fat quarters of a nice line of fabric by Riley Blake called American Beauty that is both patriotic and pretty. The florals are so sweet and the blenders that go with the line compliment the florals so very nicely.  All I needed to do was find a pattern that would show off the fabrics.

I decided to look for something with simple, large blocks so I don't have to cut up all these beauties. I wanted the focus to be on the fabrics, not on the blocks. 

I started going through all my Villa Rosa pattern cards, I have tons of them. The patterns have easy to follow instructions that make many of their projects a breeze. And since this was to be donated it's nice if I don't have to put tons of time into them. This may be a labor of love, but sometimes I just don't want the time spent on a project to take up too much time. 

So I chose the Villa Rosa pattern called Staccato. It will really make the fabrics stand out on their own. 

I cut my pieces in just a few hours then spent an entire afternoon lining them up in the order I wanted them to appear in the quilt. Color placement is so important and I struggled with making sure that different colors were next to each other and large prints were mixed up with small blender prints. 

I shouldn't really call it a struggle because I do find it to be a lot of fun...a little like putting puzzle pieces together. I did enjoy laying it all out. 

I longarmed the quilt with a pretty flourish pattern that really complimented the fabrics.

The flowing swirls in the pattern was a nice contrast to the sharp rectangles that make the blocks.

The quilt turned out beautifully and I'm so happy to get it done in time for my conference.

I hope we can sell enough raffle tickets to make some extra money for our veterans and I hope the winner enjoys using it.