Perfection in posies

After returning from our vacation, most of August has been an insane whirlwind for me in terms of work commitments so the sewing time has been at a premium. Isn't that always the way?

I was so happy this past weekend to get a chance to sit down and MAKE. I turned my nose up at my Modern Medallion quilt in a bid for something fresh and new to start and finish in time for my Mom's birthday (which was Monday). My summer so far has been mostly devoted to projects from handstitched class, so I picked one of the projects I missed out on during the weeks I was on vacation - the Meadow Pillow. This was my absolute favorite project from this class, hands down. I have really enjoyed seeing everyone's renditions coming through the flickr group, and was very excited to start my own. (fair warning -- lots of pictures ahead!)

For as long as I can remember, my Mom's favorite color has been purple. I had collected a lot of purple fabrics years ago in preparation to make a quilt from the cover of a magazine Dave's mom got me. That hasn't happened, I've been a couple fabrics short. It's really hard to find just the right shade of purple! So instead I decided to cut into some of those lovely (stashed!) fabrics, add some complementary yellow, and make a fabulous pillow instead.

This project was really fun for me because it combined all different types of applique techniques. I learned a lot in the process, and no step in particular was really all that time consuming. Just the type of project I was craving. Even the binding didn't take all that long!

I normally hate this part. Pinning and binding ... ugh. 

Here is the pillow cover is all finished up! I just love that I had all these fabrics waiting around for me to see them in a new way. The yellow and gray print and the yellow binding were fabrics I had bought for another project, but changed my mind about. I'm so happy I had these hanging around, they really worked perfectly.

There are three different handstitching techniques used here: blind stitch, running stitch, and stem stich. 

The back of the pillow cover is an envelope closure, and I made it out of this lovely flannel print. I think this will make it a cozy alternative to snoozing on the front side. 

I was thinking of purchasing a pillow form and modifying the pattern to fit it, as at least one other person in the class did, but I found a big 32 oz bag of fiberfil in the closet and decided I had enough large cuts of fabric worthy of a pillow form to just make my own like Rachel suggested in the pattern. 

Here is the finished pillow in all it's glory. I love it. Love love love love love. It's the perfect gift to give my mom precisely because I enjoyed making it so much and am so perfectly pleased with the finished product. Happy birthday Mom!!