PTS 8 Finished!

It sure has been quiet around here, but I actually have a few finished projects that I haven't blogged yet.  I'm committed to taking pictures in natural light whenever possible, and it has been difficult to find free daylight hours for photographing them.  Free time that I do have has been spent furiously sewing.  I've been working on Pillow Talk Swap round 8, due on Friday, and several sewing commitments for the BAM guild meeting coming up this Saturday. 

I did manage to finish my pillow:

The top piecing is based on two patterns from Carol Doak's book "50 fabulous paper pieced stars," turned 45° and reworked to add an outer hexagonal ring.  Whoa... that sounds complicated.  It was really just a matter of printing it out and redrawing a few of the lines at the edge.  I do wish that I had added a bit of white border around the hexagon so that it was more clearly visible when the pillow is puffed out.  My only available pillow form was two sizes too big, though, so it is stuffed to the gills in this photo.  The edges should show more once my partner puts in a properly sized form. 

 The back is a blue stripe fabric, and the closure is an invisible zipper. 

I also gathered up a few little extras for my partner.  A card set designed by Alice Cantrell (highly recommended!), some washi tape & pens (if you are local, they have washi tape at Kinokuniya Book Store in San Jose), and a little pouch/pen case that I made from mairuru's tutorial (also highly recommended - the size & shape are very cute, and I learned a good method for boxing corners when you have a lining).  


I'm happy to say that this will be shipping out in the next few days.  This summer is shaping up to be crazy busy for me.  We just found out that my dad is having major surgery next week, so I'm trying to get things arranged so that I can fly out there for a few days.  I also just found out that my sister will be moving in with us in early September.  I'm really happy about her living with us, 'cause she & I are buds.  However, that means cleaning out our spare room... aka storage room... aka room filled to the brim with things that don't fit elsewhere in the house... yeah, it's gonna be interesting.  Anybody else in for a busy summer?