Baby bow ties finished!

I finished this quilt last week and took some very nice photos a few days ago. I now have some spare time to write a post about it, sshhhh....I am in the office!

Let me tell you a little bit about what this quilt went through :) I finished the quilt top a while ago. Just when I was ready to quilt it, my walking foot fell apart. Having been so committed to finishing it, I tried my satin stitch foot. As you can imagine, it didn't work. It pulled the backing, created pockets...In a moment of frustration, I put the whole thing away and didn't touch it until last week.

See how horrible it looks?

Then I took it out of the wardrobe; undid all the stitches, re-sandwiched it and finished it quickly. I did straight line quilting and also framed the bow ties in the same way. I used the side of my walking foot as a guide; so I didn't have to mark how far the quilting lines would be from the seams. It is much easier like this.

Here are some photos.

I tried a different binding method this time. It was a little challenging but I am very happy with how it turned out. You can find the tutorial at Red Pepper Quilts.

And this is how it looks after it is washed. So comfy and cozy :-)

I love the light blue and purple strips on the binding. I think they add character to the whole quilt.

The quilting around the bow ties make them stand out.

What frustrates you when quilting? Machine binding, not matchy-matchy points, or basting your quilt? Don't forget to leave a sweet comment :-)
Linking up with Pretty Bobbins!
Thanks for stopping by!

And the winner is.....

Hi all!

I was going to announce the winner as an update to the original give away post but thought that page looks too busy already. I combined the Facebook comments and the comments to the blog post here, from the oldest to the newest; put the names in to an Excel sheet and the random number generator selected the winner!
Here is a bad photo of the list.

The winner is...****drum rolls**** Number 18- KAY!!! Congratulations Kay!!!

I sent you an email. Please send me your mailing address ASAP so that I can post your gift!

Thank you all one more time for participating in the give away. I hope you will come back to my blog again and leave a sweet comment to my posts. Thank you very much!

Give away day!

Hi there!

Catching up a little late, yet, joining the fun over at the give away day hosted by Sew Mama Sew.

As much as I love quilting, I LOVE making small things like pincushions and mug rugs. So, today, I am sharing with you these two cute pincushions and a lovely mug rug that I made a few weeks ago.

This is what you can win:

 Front

Back

You have two chances at winning this cute bundle of three. Please note that the mug is not included in the give away ;-)

1. Follow my blog either on Bloglovin' or here on the blog-the second link will show you the steps on how to follow- and leave a comment to this post.

2. Like my Facebook page and leave a comment to the "give away" post.

The give away is open until ****added information: 16 May 05:00pm AEST/Midnight PST**** and I will announce the winner as an update to this post by 18 May. Please make sure you are NOT a no-reply blogger so that I can get in touch with you. International participants are welcomed!

Thank you very much for stopping by and have fun at entering the other beautiful giveaways at Sew Mama Sew!

Have a wonderful day!
****************GIVE AWAY CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!**********

Quilted pillows

Gosh, it's been so long since I posted something related to quilting!

I started making these pillows, ummm.., one month ago and finished them yesterday.
This is my first attempt in making pillows. The pattern is called Chopped Vegetables by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! She is great at writing instructions. She makes the pattern very easy to follow with a simple language and close-up photos.

I don't think I am allowed to talk about the making process since this is a purchased pattern. All I say is that it is so easy and fun to make.
I can, however, talk about the quilting process. For the pillow back, I have used Matilda's Own 100% cotton batting for the first time. It is a little thinner than Sew-Easy, which I have been using since I started quilting, and leaves some lint behind, but; let me tell you, it sticks to the fabric so beautifully and quilting is a dream! I haven't struggled when pin-basting like I did with Sew-Easy (it is almost impossible to push your pin through without bringing some fibre out to the quilt top).

I saw this star-looking free motion pattern on a quilt on her blog and just wanted to give it a go. I got a little confused in the beginning; didn't know how to turn corners or spread the pattern evenly on the fabric; however, I got the hang of it when quilting the pillow backs. Mine turned out something different in the end but still looks quite nice :)

I have gained more experience in sewing zippers with these pillows. I think they look quite neat.

What is your best tip about sewing pillows?

Also, with this post, I take the process pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in words or be sure I’m being totally clear.   I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.  
Cheers,
Nurdan