Friday 1 May 2015

Blood Moon Pillow

I have participated in the last couple of rounds of the X-Factor Pillow Swap - the premise of this swap is that each round, you make a cushion based around a theme, and send a photo to the group admin, who posts it to the group (so you don't know who made which cushion). After the deadline for entries has passed, everyone ranks the entries in order of preference, and the person whose cushion got the most votes gets their first choice, the person whose cushion got the second most votes gets their first choice (if it's still available), and so on.

The theme for the most recent round was drunkard's path, and this is the pillow I made.

Blood moon pillow 

It's a pretty literal interpretation of the theme, but sometimes I think simple is better.  I cut the drunkard's path blocks using my friend Anne's Accuquilt machine and a die I bought, and used a selection of Umbrella Prints fabrics, solids and Essex linen.

Blood moon pillow 

With fairly simple piecing, I thought I should add a little bit of interest with the quilting.  I stitched in the ditch in grey thread to stabilise the piece, then hand quilted about 1/4" of an inch inside each circle. I used a variegated 12 weight thread from Wonderfil - it's one of my favourites at the moment.

Blood moon pillow 

I nearly stopped quilting there, but then I thought it would be fun to add some little quilted crosses a la Jen Kingwell (you can watch how she does this quilting here).  I'm really happy with how they turned out and I'd definitely put them on a quilt again.

Blood moon pillow 

This pillow is finished using the method set out in my covered zipper cushion back tutorial, using a slightly heavier weight fabric my dad bought in Japan. 

Blood moon pillow

This pillow is heading off to its new home very shortly, and then I will wait with bated breath to see which pillow lands on my doorstep.

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12 comments:

Jessica said...

Ah! I love the little x's! This is so beautiful.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

I agree with Jessica - the cross stitch x's drew me right in! Lovely detail.

Mystic Quilter said...

Yes, the cross stitch really is very effective. I love Aurifil thread, especially the variegated. Hope you'll post on the cushion you receive!

Rachel said...

It's beautiful Adrianne!! I love the hand stitching and of course, all those beautiful umbrella prints!

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

Those little stitches are so cool

Kay said...

I really like the simple look of this, and especially the added hand quilting which makes it extra special. x

Cassandra said...

Wow. Simple, but so effective!! Your quilting adds even more dimension!

Wendy said...

I love the addition of those little crosses, it really adds something to the overall design.

SarahZ said...

What a perfect name, and a sophisticated cushion! With the added whimsy of handstitching...a really great combination!!

NickiJ said...

I love the cross detail. Really adds to the cushion.

Poppy Black said...

This looks really special with the extra stitched details. I love the variegated thread!

Sophie Zaugg said...

I just love this cushion ! Drunkard's path is one of my favorite blocks and your stitched crosses really add something to the design.