Trailer Pillows

 

Do you remember this little trailer quilt I made last month? I made a couple of little pillows to match. I can't wait until our next trip! 

Vintage Fall Truck & Pumpkins

I made this pillow a month or two ago but forgot to share it! I love pumpkins and I love autumn. The fabrics are all @bonniecottonway and @thimbleblossoms . The pattern is one quilt block from the Vintage Fall quilt by @ericaarndt .

This is a big quilt block and I ended up needing to order larger pillow inserts than I normally use. I found these 24" square pillows and I AM IN LOVE. Such great quality and they come in a bunch of sizes and colors. 

4th of July Pillow

 

I made a red, white, and blue pillow to go with my USA pillow for 4th of July this year. I think it turned out cute! 

Rosemary Cottage Pillow

 

Camille Roskelley has a new fabric line coming this fall called Rosemary Cottage. She offered a package of scrap fabric on her instagram and I was lucky enough to snag it. The day it arrived, I used some of the smaller strips of fabric to make this little pillow. I LOVE these prints so much! I have already started a large quilt (coming soon!) and I cannot wait to buy some yardage when the fabric is available in October. 

Map Pillow

 

I used another of the Moda Metropolis Panel, but this time to make a quilted pillow. It's big - 22 inches!

You can view the quilt I made with this fabric here. 

Pillows & Photo Books

Remember this quilt? I have a lot of blocks left, so I made a couple of pillows. These are 16 inch squares.

I also made our 2018 photo books! I had them ready and ordered only 8 days into the New Year, which is a record, by far. Last year was a challenging year and it has been theraputic to go through our photos and reflect on all that happened and all we have to be grateful for.

'Tis the Season

I made a new pillow for our bedroom. We've had the same throw pillows for over twelve years, so I am so happy to have a much needed update. I'd like to make a second one sometime soon. This is 2.25 inch strips pieced using this technique (and calculator paper!) and an 18" pillow form. 

Thanksgiving in the orchard. 

I was on it this year and had our cards ready and in the mail the day after Thanksgiving! Woohoo!

Here's our card this year. I didn't get a picture, but I practiced my fancy lettering on the addresses and sealed the envelopes with washi tape. 

And then... time for a Christmas tree! 

It took us a couple of days to get it decorated. I'm so grateful my kids are old enough to help now, because I just can't do it myself anymore. I fatigue so quickly! #mssucks

Our new kitten loves quilts, especially the box of quilts we keep in the living room! It's a good thing that she is so cute because she is trying to TEAR UP our Christmas tree! I've forgotten what it's like to have a kitten in the house... almost as fun as a toddler. 

More Christmas decor! I have *LOVED* having this letter board for the last few months. It's so much fun! This is a quote from our favorite Christmas movie, Elf, and was my way of announcing movie night to our kids. I've had my eye on these letters in other colors, too. 

My friend Mary was so sweet and knitted a tiny little sweater for our Elf on the Shelf. LOVE! He looks so handsome and cozy!  :)  We have so much fun with this tradition... it has honestly become one of our favorite parts of this time of year. 

I wanted a wreath for our door this year, but they're so expensive! So I made one with some leftover ornaments, an inexpensive wreath, and A LOT of hot glue sticks. 

Ornament selfie!  :) 

A little of this, a little of that...

It’s been a busy summer! Not busy sewing, but busy none-the-less!

The first picture is actually sewing! I made this pillow for my friend Patti. She helped housesit for us while we were on vacation, which is no easy favor since we live pretty far out in the country. She loves B&W and red, so I made her a little pillow. She’s a truly great friend to me. She always says yes when I ask for help and has even driven me 45 minutes (one way!) to my treatments and waited patiently while I am poked and prodded. Most visits take between 2-3 hours, plus travel time, so this is no small task! She’s also babysat my kids, picked us up from the airport, and countless other favors. She’s a rock star! I wish I had the energy to make her a whole quilt. 

If you’re curious about my MS and clinical trial story, you can read more here: https://www.youcaring.com/jodie-bissig-436264

Speaking of vacation, while we were away, I took some time to paint with watercolors. Here are a couple of my creations... 

 We camped for a couple of weeks, during which time I had my birthday. We went whale watching out of Santa Cruz. I painted this little whale on a thank you card for my dad (who was able to meet us for the boat ride) and step-mom.

My husband surprised me by extending our camping trip to include the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Sonoma County (my family lives in Santa Rosa). I LOVE hot air balloons and this event is very special since that is where my husband proposed to me a little over fifteen years ago. 

This balloon reminded me of a quilt with it’s cute star in the middle. I definitely have a hot air balloon quilt on my to-do list once I’m feeling a bit better. 

Purple & Gray Pillow

This purple and gray pillow was made using the remaining squares from this cute quilt. 

Purple is my favorite color (right now - it changes often), so I naturally love this little pillow.  : ) 

A Tree & A Rainbow

My daughter's teacher asked for one of my tree pillows, with an emphasis on orange leaves. (You can see all the tree objects I've made by clicking here and here and here and here).

 And also a rainbow pillow, inspired by this quilt. 

 The square and rectangle scraps are attached with matching thread. Love love love me a rainbow! 

I hope she loves her new pillows! I really enjoy making pillows - it's a fairly quick project (well compared to a quilt, anyway!) and a fun way to add color and comfort to a room. 

Black-and-White Pillow

For sale - please contact me if you'd like to buy this pillow!  : ) 

Crafty this week!

I've completed quite a few little projects this week. First, this little "Welcome" sign, made with a recycled piece of pallet wood. I like it leaning up casually near our front door. I might make another one for at the end of our very long dirt driveway - a little hint that you are, indeed, going the right direction.  : ) 

 Second is another piece of recycled wood, inspired by a sign by this blogger that I found on Pinterest. This is for the backyard and will probably hang this on the patio, or maybe near the kids' swingset... haven't decided yet. I do love the rainbow of colors.

And last is a little blue and white pillow. I pulled out my old pattern for the rail fence quilt - the first quilts I ever made! I love this variation in blues and whites. 

Happy Fall! 

A String Block Pillow

{SOLD}

This little pillow is about 12" square and is made from some of my most favorite fabrics. 

I love making string blocks... they are really quite addictive. 

This pillow is for sale - please comment or contact me if you'd like details. {SOLD}

Marmalade Pillow

This cute little pillow is about 14x14" square and is made with Bonnie & Camille's "Marmalade." I love the aqua, green, red, and pink colors. 

Weekend Away and Wedding Gifts

Our good friends Daisy & Kris were married last weekend in Yreka, CA. Talk about a long drive! But it was a lovely weekend and a nice little getaway for my husband and I. 

The happy couple... 

I had asked Daisy if she would like a homemade gift and she gave me a few ideas. First is this pretty little wreath - made with white hydrangeas and a wooden letter "P" monogram (painted turquoise, of course). 

I also made her a scrappy little string block pillow, with lots of turquoise and blues. 

And this funny little sign. They originally planned their wedding for 2006, but postponed 7 YEARS! The wedding was beautiful and definitely worth the wait. And... if they had married in 2006, I wouldn't have been able to attend - my daughter was actually born that day! 

Birthday Tree

My friend Elizabeth is having a birthday today and I made her a little tree pillow to celebrate. I hope she loves it!

I'm not tired of making these trees yet! You can see all the tree objects I've made by clicking here (pillow #2) and here (pillow #1) and here (pillow #3) and here (pillow #4) and here (table runner).