First Pillow - a few lessons learned

I decided to make a pillow for my secret partner in the For the Love of Solids Swap. I don't really know why since I've never made one before, but I dove in and went for it. I had a few parameters. Most were taken from my partner's sign up form with dashes of her mosaic mashed in:
- Ohio stars pattern
- make it improv/wonky
- include log cabins
- use blue, green, lime, aqua, grey, etc
- use only solids (obviously)
- make each block different in some way.

So here is the front:

Yep, my small item is a zippy pouch!

 For the back I used her mosaic as inspiration:
- abacus blocks
- use a berry colour + those above
I decided that I wasn't confident enough to attempt a zipper in my first pillow, so I opted for an envelope style adding binding to each flap sewed on with one of the machine's fancy stitches I rarely use. I found one with blocks (greek keys?) and went for it. Well, it adds to the wonky and a little character that's for sure. I think I'll need a bit more practice on how to get those stitches straight.

Here is the back:

Lots of wonkiness in these blocks

 Hubster helped me out with some photos so they would have decent lighting, but then the camera battery died and I haven't been able to find the charger. Sheesh. So these photos will have to do. Hopefully my partner will be a better photographer and share some photos with me.

Next up: the small item I made. You can see it in the collage of the pillow front. I made my second zippy pouch. Good thing I have had recent practice with the Mouthy Stitches Zip Pouch Swap.

Lessons Learned:

• You do have to have a game plan when making something a certain size. I was aiming for a pillow about 16" and ended up with it at 22" (I trimmed it down to 20")
• I'm not so good at teeny tiny piecing
• I'm an over presser. There are some seams where the threads show more than I would have liked
• I love solids, but I still need practice with values so I get them a little more varied
• I really need to plan out the placement of blocks for the pillow - the back on this pillow is where the abacus blocks needed to be centered a little better
• I spend too much time playing on Picasa, and should invest more time in taking better photos to begin with. I sense an online photography course in my future, or a search for useful info on blogs...I know I've seen a few recently. A light box will be in my future as well.

Well, maybe I'll still spend time on Picasa for things like this:

Love the neon filter

 Now I'm off to watch the red carpet coverage for the Oscars - lame I know, but it is a tradition. I need a Tim Gunn fix for the night.

Swap-a-palooza - an update

So signing up for 3 swaps set at the same time might have been a little overkill. I realize that now.
I am happy to report that my fabric charms for the iSpy swap are posted and should get there just in the nick of time (fingers crossed). I ended up scoring a sweet yard of fabric from Ki that I chopped up into 56 5" charms. I even received several kind comments from fellow iSpy swappers. Woo Woo.
The fabric is Frolic by Wendy Slotboom. It is very cute.

I also managed to start & finish my zip pouch for Mouthy Stitches today. Phew. This one is a total load off. I was worried since I hadn't made a proper zippered pouch before. I don't know why i was so scared of it really, just one of those things. I can now say that with proper planning and extra attention to my cutting it was a success.

It's late and it's dark so I'll have to save photos for tomorrow. I managed to include a vintage zipper, owls, acorns, cloud 9 organic fabric and inner pockets. I'm including a little extra gift for my swap partner too. I'll blog about it after the swap so I don't give it away.

I haven't decided yet what I'm showing and what will be a surprise, but I'm pretty sure my partner will like it. Oh how I hope she does. I spent a pile of time looking over her mosaic, looking out for comments in discussion threads and on other mosaics or projects. I feel pretty confident. Now on to filling the pouch with my fat quarter of scraps. Very productive day.