Friday, April 5, 2019

Let’s Be Honest / Beauties Pageant 27

Bernie, over at Needle and Foot, recently asked her readers to get honest for a moment. In a social media world where quilters curate their Instagram feeds and post finish after finish on blogs or Facebook pages, it’s easy to think, I don’t measure up. But is anyone’s social media presence an accurate portrayal of reality? We all make mistakes. Perhaps our interactions online would be richer if we owned up to them.

My pillow-y finish from last week is a perfect example ...

The wrench in the works here was the quilting. Originally, I was going to quilt simply—just along each side of the seams—but after I did that I kept quilting. And the more I quilted, the more I realized how difficult and time-consuming it would be to rip out those stitches, and I kept quilting anyway. In the end, I matchstick-quilted the entire front of the pillow, and although it looked lovely, I had a problem: The dense quilting affected the drape and fit of the pillow over the 18-inch pillow form I had purchased. I subsequently concocted and implemented various solutions ...

First, I basted around the pillow to gauge how the pillow form would fit in the pillow as is. There was bulk—a lot of bulk.


So I increased the seam allowance, thinking that would be the solution. (It was not.)


My pillow at this point was looking floppy, especially at the corners. I like my pillows nice and chubby.


So I took the rather drastic step of tapering in all four corners, a tip I had read long ago over at Granny Maud’s Girl.

This was the outcome of my seam-allowance fudging and corner trimming ...


The project now had 12 sides and was rectangular-ish! But I finished it off anyway and bound the edges ...


In the end, I think the pillow is fine. The process didn’t go as I anticipated and the final product is different from what my original vision, but live and learn, right?

To add your latest finish to the latest Beauties Pageant—all imperfections accepted and applauded!—click the link below.

Please note: InLinkz now requires a login for all photo-based link parties. I know that’s a pain. My apologies for the inconvenience!


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The pageant rules are simple:
  • Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
  • Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
  • Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter


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13 comments:

  1. My tip for pillows is to cut them smaller than you think. For an 18" pillow form I cut my pieces 17" and taper the corners also. This makes a plump and smooth pillow. https://www.textillia.com/members/chrisknitssews/projects/starry-eyed But yours is stunning no matter!

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    1. I've had good luck sizing my pillows down a bit like that. Someone recently suggested making a pillow per the pattern and then sizing up the pillow form. I may give that a shot. If I go that route, I think it's also time to graduate to zippered pillows, to keep all that extra fluff where it's supposed to be!

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  2. I make so many mistakes it is unbelievable at times - sometimes I fix them and other times I say forget about it!!

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  3. Thanks for keeping it real!!! We learn so much when things don't work out but it is so painful when you've literally put your blood, sweat and tears into it;-)

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  4. Great tip about the pillow corners! Yours is beautiful, no matter how you cut your corners!

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  5. Hi Michelle! I have only made a few pillows, and I usually forget about that tip with narrowing the corners so that they aren't empty. I think your pillow turned out lovely! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  6. Yeah, getting pillows to look nice can definitely be a challenge. My solution in the past has been to stuff extra batting or stuffing in the areas the pillow form doesn't fill in, but it does collapse down over time.

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  7. I like your pillow and I like your tips for how you dealt with your issues. I will be making a donation pillow at my guild next week so I may need some of your fixes.

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  8. Your pillow is really pretty. I always make my pillows a little small so they'll be fully filled by the pillow form. For an 18 inch pillow, I'll cut the fabric at 18 inches, then it finishes around 17 and works great with an 18 inch insert. Love how cheerful your colors are!

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  9. Sometimes our projects are a little like looking behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz, aren't they? But those little "ears" you were concerned about on your pillow? Those make perfect handles for grabbing the pillow and flinging it at your sibling, or mate depending on the day. Not that I would know about this.

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  10. I really can relate to this! But your pillow still turned our beautiful. I have a queen size quilt which sitting in the corner of my room waiting to be quilted. Your post really a big encouragement for me to finish mine!

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  11. Thanks Michelle for this very needed message. I visit some blogs where the beautiful quilts get churned out and I do go to my sewing room feeling my skills are inadequate. But my love for it keeps me going despite the imperfections. I think your pillow is just awesome.

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  12. its a great pillow! I always learn from mistakes - so I just continue to make them... that way I am always learning - ha ha ha ha!

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