Completed: Crafty urge pillow case

Quilted pillow caseThe past two weeks have been really busy at work so when I got home in the evening all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and read simple books that didn’t require any thinking. Not surprising that I didn’t get much sewing done. On top of that, the things I tried to do weren’t all that successful because I ended up having to unpick most of what I did. When a period like that lasts too long I get frustrated at not getting anything crafty accomplished. Yesterday I decided that it was time to satisfy my crafty urge and since my current projects weren’t working I knew I needed to start something new.

Starting something new is dangerous though when you already have so many projects lying around so I made some rules:

  • The crafty urge project must be easyBatik strips
  • No unpicking, just work around any mistakes
  • Only use materials that I already have
  • The project cannot turn into an UFO

I decided to make a pillow case. Not that I really needed another one, but it’s a simple project that can be completed in a short amount of time that stills offers plenty of opportunity for customisation. When I looked for fabrics to use I came across this set of lovely green batik strips (Bali Garden from Keepsake Quilting).  A couple of months ago Claudette from tabbyonthepatio offered this set in a giveaway because she had two and only needed one. I thought this was very generous and I was lucky enough to win the giveaway! As it turned out precut strips of fabric were just the thing I needed yesterday. I could play a bit with colour, mindlessly sew the strips together, do some simple straight line quilting, handsew some binding, et voila, I had a new pillow for our couch.

I decided to make an envelope closure so I didn’t have to bother with zippers. I also didn’t want to bother with matching any seams so I put the strips on the front horizontally and the ones in the back vertically (you can’t see this in the picture). The pillow didn’t turn out completely as planned because I originally wanted to use only 3 strips for the top flap of the closure but had already sewn 4 strips together before I knew what had happened so the closure is now in the middle of the back. I had also intended the quilting of the top and bottom of the back to sort of work together as one design and then sewed the binding strip to the wrong side of the top piece so it is now installed upside down. Ah well, I think it still looks pretty good and the quilting isn’t that noticeable.

I still have quite a bit of strips left so perhaps I’ll turn those into a matching quilt someday.

January 26, 2014

Emmely Treffers

About Emmely

I am a sewing enthusiast from the Netherlands. I live in the Leiden area with my husband and two daughters and I am currently working as a senior researcher in molecular virology. With my quilting patterns and sewing blog I want to infect as many people as possible with my love for sewing.

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4 Comments

  1. ukcitycrafter

    What lovely colours, I did chuckle at your fourth rule ‘must not turn into a UFO’ I must follow that advice.

    Reply
    • Emmely

      Thank you, I am especially pleased with how the front turned out. It really brightens up the room. The whole point of a project like this is to make me feel good so I should really pick something that I can finish within a day or two. If it turns into another UFO it’s not going to make me feel like I actually accomplished anything…

      Reply
  2. Debbi

    Emmely I so feel your pain when everything you pick up goes wrong, I have had those craft days and all you can do is pull back and take a break. I love your rules, not sure I could follow them but they are great. I spent the last few days going through all my closets so I at least know what all my projects are, for me that is a big start.

    Reply
    • Emmely

      Luckily things are going better now, I had a good day of sewing yesterday and will hopefully finish another project tonight! Good luck on finishing all those projects, do you have many?

      Reply

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