LMP+QG march challenge: pieced pillow [quilt]

Each month, my friend Kait and I are making a project from the book, Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts ("LMP+QG" for short). You can see previous projects here. 

So for the month of March, Kait and I decided to make the Pieced Pillows from LMP+QG. However, my husband and I already have a number of pillows around our house (see Exhibits A, B and C), so I decided to revise the plan slightly. Instead of making completed pillows, I made two pillow tops which I then turned into quilt blocks for a baby quilt that I'll be donating to a local children's hospital. 

The blocks came together super quickly (it took about ten minutes to cut and sew each one), and it was fun to do a bit of improv sewing when placing the white stripes.

As I've mentioned before, I'm trying to use these monthly challenges as an opportunity to try out new fabrics and techniques. So for the top and part of the back, I used fat quarters from Laurie Wisbrun's new collection, Jack and Jenny. I wouldn't normally opt for fabrics in this color palette (or with donkeys and rain boots on them!), but I have to say, I love the results! I think this will be a great quilt for a little boy.

I also decided to stretch myself a bit in the quilting department, and chose to free-motion quilt the entire thing---my first time doing so! Though it's not perfect, I'm really happy with the overall effect of the stitching and look forward to practicing and perfecting the technique more. For binding, I used scraps of orange and yellow, which added a fun and surprising pop of color.

 

See Kait's gorgeous Pieced Pillows here.

Coming up next month: Peanut, the Wee Elephant