Just before heading off for her freshman year of college in August, my daughter asked me to make her a pillowcase. Of course I agreed, and figured it would be pretty simple -- but it soon became clear that what she wanted was a pillow sham instead of a pillowcase.
I had used
this tutorial before, so it seemed a good choice this time. I made a couple of modifications, re-sizing it to fit a standard pillow, and quilting the front panel. Using a quilted front makes a few of the steps trickier, but otherwise it worked out OK.
I quilted the front by following the printed design, then filling in the background with pebbles.
The quilting doesn't show very well in the front photo, so here's a shot from the back (inside?):
And here is the actual back of the sham:
Getting good miters was difficult with the thickness of the batting getting in the way. The corners are not perfect, but they are not bad either:
Her roommate had bought matching bedspreads for their dorm; the only color reference I had was an online photo from the store. When I delivered the sham, I could see that the colors in these Amy Butler 'Bright Heart' fabrics are actually pretty close to the bedspread in hue, but noticeably brighter. Still, it looks good in her room.
I made her a regular pillowcase too, using Dotties Cousin from Cotton+Steel and a Medium Pearlized Spot from Robert Kaufma, along with a bit of Bright Heart trim.
I enjoyed working with the bright Amy Butler fabrics. I think someone should try out a mash-up of Bright Heart with Anna Maria Horner's Loominous, and maybe even throw in a few fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli's Caravelle Arcade (but not me -- I've got enough projects in the queue!).
I also completed another
wall hanging based on our church logo. This time I used prints, and quilted with straight lines, which gives it quite a different look:
Both gifts have been delivered to their recipients. Yay!
I'm linking up with
crazy mom quilts for Finish It Up Friday.
