Pillows from Simplify

Plugging along here with my challenge to finish the Simplify. I finally put together the pillows from the middle of the book. All four are super fast and easy to make, you can use extra blocks, if you made any, or scraps from the quilts.

I used scraps from my Arcadia Square one quilt, my Freebird Coming Home table topper for the first two. The Happy Go Lucky pillow is scraps from the last quilt, Dream Big, I have it pinned and ready to quilt-there is only one in the book that I haven't started yet, just waiting to decided what to use. And the Spot On pillow is different Bonnie and Camille scraps I had on hand. 

The smaller two pillows measure at 14 inches each. One was to be 13 1/2, but I made the border slightly bigger. 

 The larger pillows are 16 inches. I used straight line quilting on three of the four. Chrysanthemums on the Happy Go Lucky pillow. 

 I backed the Happy Go Lucky with some left over fabric from the quilt border I used on Dream Big. I backed the Arcadia pillow with some orange corduroy. It's a wide wale and pretty soft.

 For the little pillows I used a cream corduroy and a white minkey stripe. Bot the are super soft.

The kids have already started using them in forts and fights. I had to snag these pictures before they look well loved.  Pillows are such satisfying things to make if you're trying to have a quick, completed project. And really you can never have too many. There is always a shortage is seems around here.

Spot on

I have been sewing-just not blogging it seems.  I finished up this quilt a long while ago, I just didn't bind it right away. Then with the holidays and Nate's birthday, I  kept putting it aside. I even took it up to Quiltbliss with me thinking I may sit and bind there, but I didn't. Funny how that goes. I realized if I didn't focus and get it done I would set it aside until next Christmas.

This quilt is from Simplify by Camille Roskelly, continuing along with sewing though the book.  I am still using stash fabric for all these quilts. This is fabric is called Figgy Pudding by Basic Grey for Moda. It came out a few years ago and I bought a bunch of it intending to make a churn dash quilt. Clearly, that never happened, so it ended up here in this quilt.

I quilted this with stipples in the white around the spots and in the setting triangles. I added a soft zigzag in the sashing and the outer border. I did a diagonal stripe in the outermost border. The quilting took quite a long time on this one, just because it's more detailed. But I love how it turned out!

I toyed around with the idea of quilting some snowflakes in the spots, but I really love how they stand out with all that's going on around them.  It's a nice 3-D effect I think.

I'm going to leave this quilt out for a bit rather than pack it away with the other holiday stuff, I am still plugging along with my Simplify book goals. I actually have all but one of the quilt pieced. And all the others are pinned and ready to be quilted.  I finally purchased pillow forms for the pillows, all four are finished.

I am still making everything from stash, it's been good, a feel like I am making a small dent! I can't believe how much fabric I have for backing-it's a bit crazy. I also have made three quilts from the Simply Retro book that are in various stages. I'm trying to focus on finishing over the next few weeks. I went to a quilt retreat, Quiltbliss in Heber a few weeks ago and am inspired to begin a few new projects. A lot of them are scrap projects, which is much needed around here. Even though I have been working from my stash, I haven't been using scraps really. So I have an abundance and they are multiplying on their own it seems.  So maybe after I finish the Simplify projects I will begin on the year of the scrap.