Show Your Wings Blog Hop ~ My Day

My "Wings" Cushion Cover

for the

Show Your Wings Blog Hop

I am using this pattern:

Left Facing Feathers Block # 1

This block measures 8 and 1/2" unfinished.

Feathers Layer Cake Pattern

from 

The Pattern Basket

I started choosing fabrics for this quilt HERE

I decided on one of my favorite stash fabrics,

Guernsey by Brenda Riddle

I dithered over the background fabric HERE

I decided on the aqua dot for the sky fabric 

and started sorting my Guernsey Layer Cake.

Cutting is very complicated,

but the pattern has very good instructions.

There is a lot of very precise piecing involved ...

... and the smallest squares I have ever sewn into block,

two 3/4" squares form the beak.

Cutting and sewing instructions include notes

for both right-facing and left-facing birds.

I added fusible fleece to the back of this block and quilted it

with King Tut varigated light blue thread.

I quilted it with my walking foot and lots of outline quilting 

for durability.

I want to make a new quilt for my bed

but decided to turn this first block into a cushion cover

for my favorite back pillow.

You can see how thread bare the old, eight year old cover was.

This pillow underneath is even older,

at least 15 years old

and it was gift to me from my daughter

when she was in her teens, 

just one of the reasons why it is my favorite pillow.

Here is my finished pillow cover.

I  like to bind pillows just as I would quilts.

I added a little black button eye.

For the back of the pillow,

I used my only half yard of my favorite focus fabric from this collection

and made a simple envelope back

so it would be soft and comfy. 

The binding fabric,

a text print in my favorite spring green,

was made from scrap strips leftover from the quilt behind it.

This pillow is the perfect size and firmness for my much needed lumbar support.

I use it every day and every night. 

I am happy to have given this pillow such a beautiful new cover.

Here are photos of it when it got a new cover 8 years ago ... 

This  is what it looked like then

and I made it with leftovers 

to match ... 

... to match My Favorite Bed Quilt

This quilt is also getting worn from use and many washings.

Both of the kitties in these photos have wings,

Mina and Butterfly, 

as they have crossed the rainbow bridge.

It is time for a new quilt and I will be making one with my Guernsey 

and other stash fabrics.

Last time I sewed the small cushion cover last 

with scraps as an afterthought.

This time I sewed it first

and will now make the bed quilt to match it. 

The quilt pattern calls for 30 of these bird blocks,

15 right facing and 15 left facing.

The finished quilt will be about 60" by 70"

but I will be making it larger of my queen size bed.

I will be sewing bird blocks.

for a long time.

During the sewing,  I will be using pretty quilt behind it on my bed.

This is my Jolly Bar Jazz Quilt

Free pattern link for this quilt here

I like having more than one quilt in similar colors for my bedroom. 

It is time to think spring! 

Enjoy all the stops on the hop today:

February 19th

Patchouli Moon Studio

Vroomans Quilts

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Songbird Designs

Quilts Fabric and Thread Tales

Kathleen McMusing

Life in the Scrapatch  (you are here)

DesertSky Quilting

Clever Chameleon Quilting

Thank you to 

Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt

for organizing this hop.

 

Still is winter in my quilty corner and the sun is sometimes hard to find.

Snow here again today.

Thank you for stopping by and brightening my day.

Happy Blog Hopping!