Quillow for Two, Please!

And then there was the other Christmas gift/challenge.....can a certain aunt who gets inspiration at the 11th hour make TWO of something for the sweet twin nephews by the time she has to ship them??? Well, it all ended up as a resounding "yes" (thankfully!), in a Project Runway kinda way. 

I stumbled upon Crafty Ady's tutorial on how to make a 'quillow' & that was the answer! (BTW, 'Quillow' = literally quilt + pillow) I'd never heard of it in all my years of stitching, but it's totally common knowledge I guess. Brilliant idea! It's a blanket (doesn't have to be a quilt) - no wait, wait, it's a pillow!! At any rate, here 'tis:

Of course, certain aunts can't just purchase a pre-made blanket ("that's cheating", she says), they must make one! Well...also, the blankets required didn't really exist. The chosen fabrics were Hot Wheels and Angry Birds. Oh, yeah, and unlike a lot of stitchers, this was the FIRST time I'd sewn fleece! (crazy!)

Folding the blanket into the pillow is a bit like folding one of those reusable bags - not hard once you get the hang of it.

Folded & ready for the flip into the pocket.

Successfully flipped into pocket. Pillow achieved!

In pocket, from the side. 

Guess that's it! The boys will be all snuggly warm with a blanket  or comfy with a pillow - 

whichever they choose!

Pillow-Rific!

Here's the latest project finished: a pile of pillows using this amazing Dutch wax fabric from Color By Hand. (Here's an article about this style of fabric) Bought the yardage at the Asheville Quilt Show - the Color By Hand proprietress said that they only sell this particular fabric at their show booths, so naturally I had to jump at it!

The long pillow showing the black backside fabric & piping (must have piping!). Green & gold fabric has a chartreuse velvety backside.

Close-ups of the fabric & markings.

Finished! Glitz & comfort in one package....what could be better?

Clutch, Yes!

A Christmas gift/challenge for 2014: try to make a store-bought looking clutch purse for my fab niece. I chose black vinyl with a bright gold zipper - kind of disco classique! (one hopes!)

Some images as a play-by-play:

Zipper in place....

Made more than a few alterations to get the correct proportions....

Proportions correct, time to put in the linings! (Oh, wait! That pic is actually before all the size changes. But you get the picture. Anyhow...) The white stuff is this spongy stuff from a millinery class a million years ago & the gold lining is from bridesmaids' dresses from my brother & sis-in-law's wedding (niece's parents).

Inside view - always must have pockets in purses! (green & gold fab is vintage)

Little charm at edge of pocket.

Finished product! AND, even better, finished by the date I had to ship by! :)

yikes!

So, the top mentioned in the last post did not turn out well (no pix, it was that wrong), so back to the drawing board!