Yay!  I’m so excited how this quilt turned out.  I ended up buying a new walking foot after Natalie’s quilt was finished.  I was so nervous to quilt the darn thing that I kept putting it off.  So one night I just forced myself to start. 

Besides changing the walking foot I did a few other things different than last time:  I changed the stitch length on my machine to 3, taped the backing to the floor before pin basting, and pinned the heck out of it!  I can’t believe the difference. 

I did still make a few mistakes of course, don’t tell Emily. ha.  I somehow managed to get the backing crooked and that ended up making one end of the backing a little short.  All in all I’m super pleased with the quilt and think it’s pretty darn cute. 

Don’t ask me why I choose so much pink.  I don’t even really see Emily as a ‘pink’ kind of girl, she’s more blue, but you know.  The quilt measures about 36″x46″ and hand stitching the binding only took me a little more than one movie this time.

I’m sure there will be more quilts to come.

This idea had been stuck in my head for a long time.  I couldn’t get it off my brain so I knew I had to make it so I could move on to other projects.  I’m calling it the storytime cushion because I think it would be perfect for a reading nook or in a bedroom.  It can also do double duty by being a chair pad!  Natalie is infamous for being a stander/kneeler at the table, so hopefully this will make it a little more cushy for her. 

The cushion measures about 15″ in diameter and has a handy little zipper so it can be washed.  I used a dark wash denim on the top and bottom hoping that it will make it a little more durable.  I’m always doodling while the girls are coloring and the rainbow one is a doodle that I draw all the time.  Do you draw the same things over and over, or do you always come up with new stuff?  I thought it made a great applique for the top of the cushion.

It was also a great way to use up scraps!  I think I know why people love patchwork so much.  I probably won’t be able to stop now, ha.  I made my own piping using this tutorial for making bias tape from a fat quarter and some cording I bought at Home Depot.  I love the all the text fabrics that are out there, especially this one by Sweetwater for Moda. 

If anyone’s interested I did plan on making a tutorial (although I’ll be needing to refine the measurements a little – thank goodness patchwork is forgiving).   Let me know if you want the how-to!   Update: Aug 2010: Ended up losing motivation to make this into a tutorial.  And the fact that I just can’t sew with piping very well.  You can find a similar type project here or here.  The only differences is that I used a zipper for the opening and put a 3″ slab of foam in there that I had cut into a circle!  Hope that helps!