Hello!
I have got some cool stuff to show you!
This ….
… got turned into this!
Yay! The birthday pillow is finished, two weeks ahead of time! I am so glad that this present is done. It may become very busy at work the next 10 days, so I thought I’d better get started!
I am almost finished with writing up the pdf pattern for this “Honey Honey” pattern. I hope to send everyone who volunteered to be a tester an email this Thursday to discuss the deadline and such.
How to FMQ this?
Pebbles of course! (And some “stitch in the ditch”)
I wanted a softer look with all of those strict mathematical lines.
I just sewed the front and back panels together (right sides facing each other) and then turned it inside out! When you sew the panels together, make sure you leave the zipper open! 🙂 Yes, you heard right…
… for the first time in my life I inserted a ZIPPER!
YEP, I DID IT!
It was not at all hard!
I used one of my new labels again.
I ordered these from a Dutch company called Cottontrends. They print your text on a white polyester sheet.
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Some of you may know that I am taking a course in jewelry design once a week. This is not a course to turn me into a real gold smith or professional jewelry designer. I love playing with new materials and pushing myself a little bit. And have some fun with the other girls in the course! He you know, we carry chocolate and candy to class? Isn’t that enough of a reason to go?
The new course (year two for me) started with an assignment on thread… metal thread! Of course I could not let the opportunity pass me by to incorporate some sewing thread into this!
I started to experiment with some tangles of thread that I had saved and a bunch of tiny scraps. I placed them between two pieces of water-soluble stabilizer (is this what you call that?) and FMQ all over it!
I pleated it a bit to get a more curved piece.
This is what it looked like in the sink!
I LOVE IT!
It is still drying on the towel, but you get the idea, right? I thought it would fall apart after the stabilizer had disappeared, but to my surprise it is pretty sturdy!!!
I tried another one with just little scraps, more of a rectangle.
Front:
Back:
In the sink:
I love the colours in this piece, but I think I will cut it up and assemble in a more 3D way.
I have no clue what I will do in the design class with these two thread pieces, but I will show you pictures if it turns out nice!
Isn’t experimenting wonderful?
Esther
p.s. I am linking up with Freemotion by the River’s Linky Tuesday, Quilt Story’s Fabric Tuesday and Lily’s Quilts’ Fresh Sewing Day.
ipatchandquilt 
ohh the rectangle one would make a fab bookmark and the other one reminds me of a necklace, perhaps applique it to a t shirt
You are absolutely right! The triangle one will be a necklace of some sort!
Thank for dropping me a line.,
Esther
I absolutely love your cushion!
Thank you Jenny! I love it too! 🙂
Esther
Fantastic! Know what’s funny? I’m taking a metal class too! I love trying new mediums and seeing what else is there. Turns out, I don’t think I love (or even like) working with metal, but I did pick up an amazing trick for my sculpture armatures and tried my hand at making a button. I have one more class next week, we’ll see what I can come up with – won’t be nearly as cool as yours! 😀
Good morning Susan,
At school I work a lot with clay, fabrics, wood, metal wires and lots of paper. But real metal work is not possible. So, in order to learn something new I signed up for the metal course. So far I can weld metal, sculpt wax into pretty rings, twist and pull metal wires into different shapes. We will learn also how to set stones and integrate other material like wood and shells.
I will have to try my hand at making buttons too, it sounds a wonderful challenge!
Esther
Very cool! That’s much more indepth than ours. We’re just touch simple welding and things like rivits, drilling, sawing etc. I love metal and I love metal art. I have several pieces around the house and lots of art jewelry, I thought for sure I’d love to make it too. Not so much though. I’ll just look at and admire your pieces! 🙂
Love the pillow…..how can one not love pebbles???? They are perfect (softening the geometric shapes)! Love that pattern!!!
Good morning!
I am so glad i used the pebbles, the texture is wonderful! The pebbles are tiny! I love that the background fabric, that looked a bit like concrete / cement now resembles river pebbels.
I chose the more masculine fabrics on purpose, as this pillow will be a birthday present for my brother.
Have a Wonderful Wednesday!
Esther
Thank you and you, also!!!
That woven hexagon looks really amazing – the colours and the quilting are wonderful.
Thank you very much Kristel!
How nice of you to drop by,
Esther
Wow…beautiful…the pillow cover is awesome! I have never done pebbles…but maybe some day.
Pebbles are one of my “go-to-patterns”! I did not find them very hard to do when I started with FMQ a few months ago. Just need to pratice a bit.
Please give them a try! 🙂
Esther
What an interesting texture! I love it!
Hello!
How nice of you to visit my blog!
I loved your HST quilt with all of those bright colours!
Esther
Your new cushion is gorgeous, Esther! What a lot of work – all that pebbling! Good for you inserting your first zipper. I love your new labels. And I agree. Experimenting is fun and exciting…. Especially when things turn out to be great projects like that!
Hi Lorna,
The pebbles were quite a job, but did not as much time as I had thought at first. I worked on them on three different moments, so I would not get cramped fingers / hands. I am glad that the desing, the fabric and the FMQ worked together this well.
The tw thread pieces have intrigued me. I have been thinking about them a lot today. I will play with some metal thread tonight, to see what happens! Sometimes that is how it works; just play and see!
Bye bye
Esther
Hi Esther, it looks great, cool intriguing technique. I look forward to seeing what you do with it! Love Suzy
Hello Suzy,
Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog. I am very curious to see where these “thread pieces” take my jewelry designs.
Esther
Love the pillow! I still have zipper-phobia for now. Yours looks fantastic and your experiment in thread is amazing.
Hello Paula!
I still consider myself Zipper-phobic, ha ha! But I suspect that this phobia will “fly” away! LOL!
I will continue with the thread experiments the next couple of days.
Bye Bye
Esther
What a beautiful pillow! Thanks for sharing.
Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday
Thank you so much!
Esther
Oooh lots of experimenting going on here indeed! Love these pebbles 🙂
Your new pattern works so well as a cushion – did you use a tutorial to make your block into a cushion?
Yes and no, 🙂
I used a tutorial to sew in the zipper, and it also gave instructions on how to open up the zipper before sewing on the back. I have made many pillows before. I do not know which tutorial i used, but there are many good ones out there. I googled for: pillow and zipper.
Good luck!
Esther
Fabulous design! I love the shapes and the pebbles too 🙂
Thank you very much!
I am so glad that so many of you love this design! Sometimes it is a real guess which of the pattern that will be a hit. One of my patterns that i really really love does not get downloaded at craftsy at all, and others that I think are “OK” are real ” bestsellers” if compared to the others. It is funny! I just love coming up with new ones and do not mind spending hours and hours on them. It is a joy!
Bye bye
Esther