Patchwork Pillow in Pink and Blue

There are a lot of quilters in my family - especially on my mother's side.  I have 2 aunts who are particularly efficient and I received the most beautiful quilts from each  them when I got married 11 years ago.  Both have pride of place in our master bedroom - one on the bed and one hung delicately on the wall.  

I have always admired anyone who can turn fabric into gorgeous pieces of art - and, really, that is what a quilt is.

Because I love to work with colour and pattern so much, the most natural progression  would be for me to give patch-working a shot, too. I have dabbled off and on for a few years, cutting pretty fabrics into squares and triangles and fitting them into somewhat coherent designs.  I know that I haven't learned quite the right techniques including those where you sew the fabric before you cut it and so on, but one day I hope to take a quilting course that can better help me understand these techniques!

Until then, I'll have to stick to my tried and true patch-working methods.  You know - the ones that involve squares and straight lines!!

I have a zillion patchwork ideas pinned on Pinterest including many, many pillows. They always seem like a good place to start and just the right sized project for a newbie like me!

The simple grid and mix of patterns caught my eye on all three of these pillows and I thought maybe I would give a similar one a try.  

I have made square-patch pillows before but I NEVER manage to get the lines to match up! There's always a square (or seven!) out of kilter.  My goal this time is to straighten the whole thing out and make a real checkerboard pillow top.  

I have made some fancier pillow tops recently  like these appliqued circles and this Dresden Plate, but sometimes it's good to go back to the basic drills  to improve your overall game!

So, after some labour intensive cutting and sewing, this is how my patchwork came together:

Oh dear.  Not the perfect checkerboard I was hoping for, but definitely full of pretty patterns and . . .

. . . perfect for my daughter's newly decorated bedroom!

I am slowly getting this "pink and blue" space completed, one project at a time.  

I collected all of her "new" bed linens at second-hand stores over the last few months and I adore the mix of prints she has in her pillow shams.  

Don't you think the checkerboard pillow slides in there perfectly?

I have a few more pillows partially stitched on my sewing table today.  Hopefully I can get them finished up and on Afton's bed this coming weekend.  

Thanks for the visit!

Hugs to you and yours!

Bronwyn