Wednesday, December 31, 2014

The Princess Pillow Quilt Event

Are you familiar with quillows or pillow quilts?

It's basically a quilt that folds up just perfectly into a built-in pillow.  We had them in the 80s/90s and they've been in and out of style.

Since my niece doesn't care about what's in style, and she is madly in love with the Disney princesses, AND she lives far enough away that a trip here is an all day drive, I thought I'd make her a quillow for the car.  With princesses.

I had a very specific idea of what I wanted when I started this project, but as always when I have a specific idea, the fabric I wanted didn't exist to my specifications.

So, I found this.

I knew right away, this would be a nightmare because the fabric is some sort of chenille.  Which means it's very slippery and fairly thick and would probably be less than fun to work with.

But, it was so soft, it screamed car ride blanket.

And it's pink.

And has princesses.  The princesses could talk me through any hazards, right?

I am not really  fan of princesses but I figured I could handle these bitches.  I'd just cut their heads off if they gave me any lip.

For the other side and for the outside of the pillow, I envisioned pinwheels.

This one that I made for k-ster's niece turned out just the way I wanted it, so I thought maybe I'd give it another whirl.   Ha ha, I'm so funny- pinwheels, whirl.  I crack me up.

What I didn't realize is that with pinwheels, they work best when the fabric remains the same throughout the pattern.


So, while the pinwheels came together magically for me and inspired me to make more pinwheel quilts, the random colors and patterns don't please the eye.  It's pretty and fun, but it's like pinwheels on steroids instead of calm and steady pinwheels.

Sew and learn.

So, the quilt top is pinwheels and the backing is the princesses.  I figure it will last a while and when she's done with princesses, she can just keep the pinwheels side up.

The top came together nicely and then it was time to figure out how I'd put it together.  I had a variety off scenarios going on in my head.

I wanted to quilt it but then I realized that would be nearly impossible with the pillow part.  In hindsight, not quilting it was the best decision I could possibly have made.  I'd be locked in the psych ward if I had tried to quilt that fabric.

I wanted to use a binding, but again, the pillow portion of it was going to really put a damper on that.

And I knew if I didn't use something to hold it together, the batting would separate and disintegrate immediately.

I also debated no batting since I know the princess fabric will be plenty warm, but I didn't like the feel of the seams from the top through the backing.

So, I decided I'd tie it.

In my family, tying a quilt means going to my parents' basement with tables that make it easier to tie because they have thin enough tops that we can use big binder clips to get a good grip on the quilt.  My table won't work that way.

But, I wanted to get it done and didn't want to go through the effort, so I broke a cardinal rule.

I sewed it all together on the edges and then tied it.  In my lap.  I can hear my mother gasping right now.

And because I was sloppy in my sewing it together, one side has a little extra bump of princess fabric that only someone who makes quilts would notice.  At that point, I really didn't care.

The princesses were not talking nicely to me as I hit those hazards.  They were being really bitchy and saying mean things.  And making that fabric slip and slide.

And sewing on the pillow part was almost impossible because it was all so thick at that point.

But, it made a little someone pretty happy, so it was worth it.


So, folded into the pillow, the back has princess fabric and the top has pinwheels.  Normal pinwheels that are behaving nicely.

Flipped so you can see both sides of the quilt at once.

My sister a-ster always thought you were supposed to put your feet in the pillow part when it's open, like in this picture.

Now, as for the Disney princesses.  It's really like 3 princesses.  I don't know where the rest of them are.  No fabric was available that had Jasmine, her all time favorite.  But now that I've met the whole princess crew, thanks to the Magiclips Dolls, I have no idea why only these 3 made the fabric list because there's a whole slew that didn't make the cut.

They were probably smoking in the boys' room while these three suckups were getting their photos taken.

Linking here:
http://www.flamingotoes.com/2015/01/think-pink-sunday-no-198/ 
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/01/clever-chicks-blog-hop-120-featuring.html
http://www.thesitsgirls.com/diy/two-step-cinnamon-almonds/ 
http://www.sewcando.com/
http://www.skiptomylou.org
http://olives-n-okra.com/merry-monday-102/ 

1 comment:

  1. I'll bet your niece was one happy little one when she saw her princess pillow quilt. It is so adorable. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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