Quilted Pillows ~ A wedding gift

My family and I have been invited to a garden wedding so I've decided to make a set of quilted pillow covers as a gift. I love making pillow covers since it lets me experiment with different techniques and colours without the commitment of a full-size quilt.

A few weeks ago, I asked the bride's older brother about her favourite colours. He answered "hippie stuff and purple". So that wasn't particularly helpful. I decided to translate that into "Bohemian jewel tones". Hopefully, I haven't misinterpreted his comments.

I started with a bag full of scraps from Joel Dewberry's Bungalow collection. I love, love, LOVE Joel Dewberry. I might flirt with Amy Butler or Heather Bailey now and then but when it comes to fabric designers, Joel Dewberry is my man.

For the first pillow, I decided to create a crazy mosaic. I really like this technique. It's  fun and easy; you just slice, sew and see where it takes you. There's something really natural about it. Combined with the bright colours, I feel it really brings a pop of modern energy.

For the second pillow, I decided to contrast the modern straight lines of the first pillow with something a little more organic. This pillow is based on Elizabeth Hartman's "Little Leaves" pattern from her first book: The Practical Guide to Patchwork. You can check out her projects at www.ohfransson.com. I'm a huge admirer of her work.

Not too shabby for a bag of scraps! I think I'm partial to the mosaic. Which do you prefer?

Now that the piecing is complete; it's time to start quilting. But that's for a future post!