Amy Ellis has just released her 4th (yes 4th!) book with Martingale. 🙂 It’s called Think Big and to celebrate she’s hosting the Pillow Collective – Think Big Edition.
Check out last year’s Pillow Collective here.
For the blog hop, 15 different bloggers (including me) got a chance to read the book and make a pillow from one of the designs. Let me tell you right now, I have not made a quilted pillow since the early ’90s (I resist 3-D sewing) but boy did I have fun with this one.
I chose Amy’s Downtown block and tweaked it a little by using solids for all of the rectangle pieces to create an interesting abstract design. I really like the look of it and definitely need to work more modern design into my decor!
For the quilting design, I went to town stitching a whole bunch of random straight lines, using painter’s tape to help establish a straight angle. I quilted on either side of the tape, then used the edge of my presser foot as a guide to add additional random parallel lines.
The best tip I picked up from Amy’s book was how to finish the pillow. There are excellent step-by-step instructions on how to assemble the pillow front and back together, creating an opening in which to stuff a pillow form.
From the book I also learned that you can bind a pillow the same way you would for a regular quilt. I love the pop of color it adds! Now I’m not scared of pillows anymore and may just make another!
The pillow is currently sitting pretty in a corner of my very yellow dining room! If I get bored of using it as a pillow, it also makes a cute mini. 🙂
Think Big includes a beautiful assortment of ten 18″ finished blocks, each with projects in five different sizes! I love how graphic and modern they are, and I’m sure you will, too!
Because Amy is so sweet as well as extremely generous, she’s also hosting a giveaway of several fabric bundles and a quilt featuring her Modern Neutrals fabric line!! To enter, simply pin a pillow to pinterest (say that 5 times fast) using the hashtags #ThinkBigBook and #PillowCollective. Click here for Amy’s Pillow Collective Pin Board.
Today is the last day of the blog hop, so be sure to check out all of the previous stops to see all of the other beautiful pillows. I’ve linked to each blogger’s pillow post below:
- Amy’s Creative Side
- Mary on Lake Pulaski
- Diary of a Quilter by Amy Smart
- Pat Sloan
- April Rosenthal
- Ruby Blue Quilting Studio by Rebecca Silbaugh
- Sometimes Crafter by Christina Lane
- Patchwork Posse / Becky Jorgensen
- Elizabeth Evans of Simple Simon Co.
- Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt
- Maureen Cracknell Handmade
- Debbie Grifka of Esch House Quilts
- Happy Quilting Melissa
- Heather Valentine from The Sewing Loft
Now, who’s in the mood to make a pillow?
Christa Quilts 
What a fun pillow…and it also makes an adorable mini!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I really like your pillow design and the accent that the straight line quilting gave it.
I like, I like!
Cute pillow! I think I’m going to try adding binding to my next one.
Also, I love your new header! It’s PERFECT!
Christa.. Thank you for this post. You just gave me an idea to use the beautiful blocks that I won from you over a year ago!! The ones you quilted I will be making into throw pillows or mini-wall hangings now. The ones that weren’t quilted……not sure yet as I feel like I will ruin them if I try to quilt them myself. We’ll see. Thanks again for the inspiration.
Great pillow, love the colors!
wonderful|!!!!!