Category Archives: pillow covers

candy cat and fishy bones

Browsing on the web for foundation paper piecing projects with cats I found these two great blocks (and the best : both are for free) on Craftsy. The designer is Jo from Unicornharts. The blocks are Candy Cat and Fishy Bones.

cusion cover candy cat 1 - skalabara quilts

My friend Julia is a passionate cat mom for two of these species. I thought a cushion cover with two hungry cats would make a nice gift.

cusion cover candy cat 3 - skalabara quilts

Foundation paper piecing is still high on my sewing agenda. The Candy Cat is a straight forward block with fairly large fabric pieces. But the Fishy Bones block ia a bit tricky as it has a lot of small pieces : a new challenge for me.

cusion cover candy cat detail 1 - skalabara quilts

I decided to finish the Fishy Bones block still as an entire fish but with a visible skeleton.

cusion cover candy cat detail 2 - skalabara quilts

cusion cover candy cat 2 - skalabara quilts

I have quilted the back of the cushion cover in diagonal lines using the walking foot.

cusion cover candy cat back 1 - skalabara quilts

cusion cover candy cat back 2 - skalabara quilts

To quilt the cushion front I have decided to go with the walking foot. This time no straight lines – but irregular waves instead.

cusion cover candy cat detail 3 - skalabara quilts

I have added a zipper closure to the bottom of the cushion cover following a tutorial by Vicky from veni vidi vicky blog.

cusion cover candy cat zipper 1 - skalabara quiltsCushion cover size : 20″ x 30″

Wadding : Quilters Dream Cotton Request (very thin loft)

Quilting thread : Gütermann Sulky Cotton 30 colour 1082

 

Linking with :

 

Hope you enjoyed reading this post and maybe this is an inspiration for you to make some more Candy Cats! Happy quilting!

barbora flower small skalabara quilts

neutrals with a colour touch

Since we have changed the couch upholstery fabric from burgundy to a neutral beige/grey shade, I have made some new cushion covers for the lounge. Up to now I have hardly worked with neutrals (because I think they are boring). But maybe now was the right time for some change.

I wasn’t sure about the neutral colours, but I was lucky to find some beautiful Bella Solids in Flax and Etching Slates in my local store.

cushion cover hourglass 2x 1 - skalabara quilts

cushion cover hourglass 2x 2 - skalabara quilts

These two shades were the base for the cushion covers. As I made the hourglass blocks, I thought that I should add some colours to them. Only neutral colors didn’t feel right. So I got out my Kona Cotton Collection fabrics and started to look for some eye-catching colours.

cushion cover hourglass 1 - skalabara quilts

cushion cover hourglass 3 - skalabara quilts

I made two cushion cover designs – one entirely with hourglass blocks and the other with adding borders to the hourglass blocks in the center. Quilted and sewn them together to make two cushion covers that are quilted on both sides.

cushion cover hourglass 4 - skalabara quilts

cushion cover hourglass 2 - skalabara quilts

Closure is with zipper on the bottom:

cushion cover hourglass zipper - skalabara quilts

Quilted with Gütermann Sulky Cotton 30 thread using the walking foot in straight lines copying the hourglass block pattern.

cushion cover hourglass detail 1 - skalabara quilts

 

Happy quilting,  barbora flower small skalabara quilts

cushion covers for kate

Last year I have made a quilt with Kaffe Fassett fabrics – see here.  This quilt was donated, as a few more of my quilts to the Easy Horse Care Rescue Center. All procedures go to this charity organisation that takes care of abandoned horses and donkeys not only in our area, but also through entire Spain. Please take a moment and visit the website.

I had some flower panels left on the shelf and I thought it would be a good idea to make some matching cushion covers for Kate, as she has acquired the Magenta and Golden Flowers Quilt.

cushion covers for kate - skalabara

All the cushion covers I have made up till now, did not have a quilted back. But I have decided, that a nicely quilted front needs also a nicely quilted back. So from now on I am quilting both sides of the cushion covers.

cushion covers for kate front and back - skalabara

Using my favorite walking foot and Gutermann Sulky Cotton No. 30 thread I have quilted the cushion covers in straight lines :

17 cu kaffe detail 1

17 cu kaffe 2

As both sides of the cushion covers are quilted, I have inserted the zipper on the bottom of the cushion cover. I have found this great tutorial at VENI VIDI VICKY Quilts website – here a big thank you Vicky for sharing – and followed the instructions :

cushion covers for kate zipper 1 - skalabara

cushion covers for kate zipper 2 - skalabara

cushion covers for kate zipper 3 - skalabara

Even though I did not publish any posts since August, I did sew, so more posts to come!

Happy quilting everyone!

barbora flower small skalabara quilts

 

cushion covers and a placemat

Before starting to work on my UFOs and giving it a go to finish them, I have decided to piece a few smaller projects. What could be better to work on than a cushion cover or a placemat?! I have promised my colleague to make two cushion covers with the Bunny block from the Fancy Forest quilt pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. It is not the first time I have worked with this pattern. The cutting and piecing of the individual blocks is explained very well and easy to follow. I have a quilt top with one section of the Fancy Forest ready to quilt. I checked what sizes of cushion inserts are available and found the right size for the Bunny cushion covers : 30 x 40 cm / 12″ x 16″. The actual block has a finished size 8″ x 11″ and by adding the borders I got the desired cushion size.

fancy forest bunny cushion cover 1 - skalabara quilts

 

 

I have quilted the cushion covers in a wavy pattern with the walking foot. My favourite quilting pattern at the moment! Thread used is Gutermann Sulky 30 cotton in light grey #1328, wadding is Quilters Dream Cotton Natural Select.fancy forest bunny cushion cover detail - skalabara quilts

 

Both cushion covers  have a zipper closure on the back.

fancy forest bunny cushion cover back - skalabara quilts

 

The next cushion cover is knitted and it is for a charity auction. I have used one 100g ball of Aura yarn by Sirdar and the knitting pattern is called Chevron Seed Stitch. As I have mentioned before, I do like to knit, but only basic patterns. This is why I look for knitting patterns that use only knit and purl stitches. The cushion size is 16″ x 16″. The back is in a coordinated burgundy fabric and has a zipper closure.

knitted chevron seed cushion cover 1 - skalabara quilts

 

The Chevron Seed knitting pattern in detail.

knitted chevron seed cushion cover detail - skalabara quilts

 

My last project over the weekend was a placemat inspired by Tomomi from Slaney HandCraft. This is and ideal project using fabrics from the scrap basket. The size is approx. 12″ x 18″.

placemat leave 1 - skalabara quilts

 

The photo of the back shows well the quilting – straight lines with the walking foot following the seams. Thread is Mettler Quilting 40 #0959 in fuchsia.

placemat leave back - skalabara quilts

 

And a close up of the quilting.

placemat leave detail - skalabara quilts

 

Well, hope you all have a good week,

barbora flower small skalabara quilts

small fancy forest quilt

When I first saw the Fancy Forest quilt from Elizabeth Hartmann I knew it was the right project for a wall hanging to decorate the spare bedroom. First I got the Hazel Hedgehog pattern and made pillow covers for kids in the family. At the Prague Patchwork Meeting I finally found a fabric collection that was the right one to start with the Fancy Forest quilt. The pattern is written very clearly, it is easy to follow. Precise cutting and precise piecing with a 1/4″ allowance is a must. It was fun work and finally I pieced all the blocks needed for the small version of the pattern. I have added the sashing and the quilt is now prepared for quilting.

fancy forest quilt - skalabara

Here details of the individual blocks :

fancy forest quilt 2 - skalabara

fancy forest quilt 3 - skalabara

fancy forest quilt 4 - skalabara

I wasn’t very precise with cutting and piecing with the upper firefly block and it turned out that it was a 1/4 inch narrower than it was supposed to be. I had to make a new one and changed the colors. I shall make a place mat with this one.

ff frances firefly thread

Now it is time to select a backing, make a sandwich and start quilting! A good project for the next week (or maybe weeks).

You are welcome to leave a comment, I appreciate it! Thanks for stopping by and have a good start into the new week,

barboraflower small skalabara quilts