Think Big Pillow

When liZ and I have met up with Amy Ellis the last two times it has been on an airplane…and it really is a wonder that she still wants to hang out with me. For real.  I am THE most nervous Nelly flier that you will ever meet.  And both Amy and liZ can attest to it.  I make liZ (and everyone around me) nervous on airplanes….it’s a real problem.  The minute turbulence sets in I am white-knuckled with my hands to the arm rests and I have to keep telling myself, “it’s just bumps on the road, it’s just bumps on the road.”  It’s a problem that I hope to someday overcome 😉

Anyway, back to the post….Amy has flown with me at least four times and still wants to hang out—now there’s a true friend.  So, when she asked if I would join in her new Quilting Book Pattern tour…I had to say yes.  Simply because she’s seen me at my worst and still likes me.  And because Amy is awesomely amazing.  She has fabric lines, she has books, and she can free motion quilt like bananas (that’s a good thing).  And she is super, super nice.

Amy’s new book is called Think Big and it is full of big-sized quilt blocks that make everything from a pillow, to a table runner, to a king sized quilt—and she gives you the directions for all the sizes!  (WITH THE MATH TOO!)

I chose the Building Blocks Pattern and made a pillow for Hannie’s room out of her colors, pink and orange.

The block itself is 18.5 inches by 18.5 inches and so it’s a perfect 18 inch square pillow.  I added the jumbo piping because I wanted to give it a bit more color for her room and she likes it!  HERE is a tutorial I did awhile ago to show you how to put piping in a pillow if you need one.  It’s an easy thing–you just need a zipper foot and those usually come with your sewing machine.  The quilting on the pillow is 1 inch straight(ish) lines that I drew and then used my walking foot on my machine to quilt.

As part of Amy’s book tour she is giving away a whole sewing package—including a quilt she made that I got to see up close last fall!  Head over to Amy’s blog to enter to win these fabric bundles and a quilt!

~Elizabeth