Awesome swaps, take 1

Last week was a great mail week- I received packages from two fantastic private swaps with friends!  First up was from my friend Svetlana.  She makes the most amazing pillows, which is something always on my to-do list but never seems to make it to the top.  So I swindled her into making one for my offering up some knitting in return.  I am sneaky like that :)

I have this huge chocolate brown leather sectional that has been in want of pillows for ages, but I wasn't sure how to start.  I told Svetlana some of my favorite colors and she came up with the perfect pillow.  Or, should I say PILLOWS!  That's right, she sent not one, but TWO beautiful pillows my way!

They look just stunning together on my couch :)

And they have been very well received by my family :) Last But Not Least especially loved the fabric on the back of the smaller pillow with the texty penguins!

Svetlana's work is amazing, her points are all perfectly matched, her quilting straight as an arrow!  She is really a very talented lady, and wonderful person, to boot.  As you may recall, we had the chance to meet in person this spring when I went to Naperville for a fundraiser walk for SCAD, the type of heart attack my best friend suffered in the fall of 2011.  Svetlana brought her entire family along for the walk in support.  How amazing is that?  I loved walking and chatting with her, and hope to meet up with her again next fall when I plan to return to walk again :)

In exchange for these amazing goodies, I got to work and knit her up a soft and cozy cowl, to help ward off the chill of the Illinois winters.  I used the popular honey cowl pattern from Madelinetosh and used one of my favorite wools, Tanis Fiber Arts green label in charcoal.

It can be worn long...

...or wrapped twice.

(man, am I ever a dorky model!)

I sent it off along with a few odds and ends, a journal, some Canadian chocolate, things like that.  The cowl was a fun knit, and I am glad to say the package has been received and being enjoyed :)

Thanks, Svetlana, for a great swap!!

Tutorial: Cathedral window pillow, two ways

Time to make use of those lovely cheater cathedral windows that you made using my cheater cathedral windows tutorial!

Two designs, two sizes!

First up: Making the pillow tops.

For a 21 inch pillow full of windows:

1. make 49 cathedral window blocks and assemble as instructed in cheater cathedral window tutorial and assemble them in a large square, 7 blocks long by 7 blocks wide.
2. Finish internal edges as instructed in tutorial, leaving all outside edges unfinished so the outsides look scalloped.

3. Cut a 21.5 by 21.5 inch piece of fabric that coordinates with your pillow top (I chose the solid grey that outlined my windows.
4. Pin window piece to the square and sew windows to square along outside lines of blocks, along the lines you drew.

5. Press rounded edges inward and finish.

The top is done. There should be a 0.5 inch periphery of fabric around your pillow top to act as your seam.


For a 14 inch pillow with windows set on point:

1. make 9 cheater cathedral windows as described in tutorial.
2. arrange in a diamond shape, with 3 windows on each side. Sew together as in tutorial, and finish these edges, leaving outside and inner edges unfinished.
3. Cut a 14.5 inch square piece of fabric for your pillow top. Center cathedral windows on fabric piece and pin down.
4.Sew along straight lines of outer and inner edges to attach to pillow top fabric, then press scalloped edges inward and finish as in tutorial. The top is done.



To attach pillow backs:

1. Cut two pieces of fabric for the pillow back. I chose a home dec weight fabric.
For 21 inch pillow: cut one piece to 21.5" by 18"; the second to 21.5" by 11"
For 14 inch pillow: cut one piece to 14.5" by 11"; the second to 14.5" by 8"

2.Take long edge of each piece and flip fabric over 0.5" and press. Flip again 0.5", press and sew along edge to finish. (Note- I used the selvedge for one of my finished edges because I liked the fringe look!)

3. Arrange 2 pieces so they overlap, right sides both facing up, with finished edges both in a vertical direction towards the center, and all raw edges outwards. Overlap to make a square of 21.5" and 14.5", respectively. Pin.

4. Take coordinating sized pillow top and align on top of pillow backs, right side down (so that right sides of front and back pieces are facing each other).

5. Sew with 0.5 inch seam along all 4 edges. For 21" full cathedral pillow, be mindful to sew only through the 0.5" peripheral fabric of the pillow top and not to sew the windows themselves. Repeat with a zig zag stitch for added reinforcement. Trim excess.

6. Flip right side out via flaps- be careful of the pins!

7. Stuff with pillow form and admire :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Feel free to contact me with any questions at:
obsessivecraftingdisorder {at} yahoo {dot} ca

I'd love to see your creations in my Flickr group!

Tutorial: Cheater Cathedral Windows

I think Cathedral windows have to rank right up there with my favorite quilt blocks. They are simply gorgeous. But, when I read tutorials explaining the crazy fabric origami skills required to make a single window....yah, I am just too lazy for that racket, I admit it flat out. So, I decided to find a slacker way to cheat.

The great thing about this method is that as the blocks are joined, the backings have a finished appearance as the technique is similar to rag quilting. Also, the finishing of each block to produce the windows sews through the layers, so it doubles as quilting. If you are making a quilt, you can add batting between the layers, however even without, this would make a nice, light weight throw.

Note: While traditional cathedral windows finish up with the window in a diamond orientation, the cheater method finishes square- you can get the traditional arrangement easily by setting the blocks on point.

Here's what you do!

Each finished cheater cathedral window block will measure 3 inches by 3 inches.

To make each window, you will need to cut two 5" circles, one for the backing that will overlap at the sides, and the "feature fabric" that will be seen "in" the window. I used My Go! Baby with the circle cutting die and had the 100+ circles required for my pillow tops cut up in no time! For the grey backing I cut 5.5" strips of WOF and cross cut into 5.5" squares, stacked them into the Go! Baby and away I went. For my feature fabrics, I used scraps of my Nicey Jane from this quilt and sent them through. The Go! Baby can cut 6 layers of quilting at a time, so it was very quick and efficient. I was very happy with the performance. Wish I had been able to use this for the bazillion individually cut circles for my mixed sushi quilt!!

There are two ways to sew each block. Use whichever you are comfortable with- I did a combination of both to try them out and found them equally successful (though I personally preferred Method A).

Method A:
1. Placing wrong sides together, sew entire edge, using 1/4 inch seam.

2. Cut a slit on the feature fabric side, about 1 inch in length, and 1/2 inch from the sewn seam. Be very careful to only cut through the one layer of fabric!! Also, if you are using a directional fabric, think of how it will be oriented and make sure the slit is on the side or top, not the corner area.

3. Use the slit hole to turn the fabrics so they are right side out, pushing seams out from inside to make nice round edges.

4. Press.

5. Set aside for assembly (see below).


Method B:
1. Placing wrong sides together, sew with 1/4 inch seam but leave a 1 inch space.

2. Use hole to turn fabrics so they are right sides out, pushing seams out from inside to make nice round edges.

3. Press, folding over open area to make the outer perimeter a smooth circle shape.

4. Set aside for assembly (see below).


Assembly
You are now ready to join the circles together to make your windows.

1. Make a 3 inch square template from plastic or card stock. Center it on your circle block and use a fabric marker or pencil to trace (these lines will be covered once sewn).



2. Take 2 circles and align, back parts facing, so line on front of each are lined up.

3. Sew along this line as shown.


4. Continue to add blocks to end of row. Your rows should look like this:

5. Line up rows and sew together. You will have a block with edges all turned upwards like so:


Finishing:
1. Press the upturned edges as shown, to overlap on their own block.

If using Method A, note how the slits will now be concealed:

2. Top stitch by hand or machine, close to edge.


You are finished!

Check out the finished backing as mentioned above:


Now use your block of windows to make something beautiful- a quilt, placemats, or as I did, pillows! I will be doing a second tutorial on the construction of the pillows themselves this week :)


Feel free to email me with any questions or clarifications at:
obsessivecraftingdisorder {at} yahoo {dot} ca

And if you make some of your own cathedrals using my tutorial, be sure to add some photos to my Flickr group! Please. It is pretty lonely over there.....{sigh}

Hope you enjoyed "cheating" along with me :)