Wonderful Wednesday - Pathway to a Quilted Gift

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Today, I'm pleased to share my latest finished project.  It was begun at the end of June and was (finally) finished last week.  Honestly, it sat for the duration of the summer because I hit a road block.  Does that happen to you, too?

Things started out well enough...

Christina Cameli's self-produced video was clear and concise.  Her assistant occasionally gave a different perspective through the camera's lens, but that only added to the experience.  I talked about it somewhere, but haven't located the post.  Here is the LINK to the post released just after the class.  A few days later, I had arrived at a completed top:

I wonder why my project doesn't resemble any of her examples???

Oh!  That's right!  It's because I expanded on her technique.  I have sewn curves before, so this wasn't my first rodeo.  Plus, I really wanted to create a unique gift for a special little friend.

Would you like to see how I did that???

I got an idea and THIS is the image that I came up with for the pillow I would make:

Testing the alterations was (hastily) done with paper and pencil:

Then came the fun part...

Playing with scraps in the colors deemed appropriate for the recipient:

Shading from light to dark, just because I could:

Too bad I didn't notice a problem in the photo below:

Pressing...

... And sewing ensued:

You might think the "F" is for FINALLY finished, but not quite! Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to trim it up and the cross bar was still waiting to be attached to the pillow top:

Plus, there was that road block that I mentioned...

A backing was still needed.  While waiting to choose the perfect backing fabric, MONTHS passed!  By choose, I mean gather enough courage to go to Goodwill in the lingering pandemic to find button down shirts in the right color for my recipient.  Eventually, I delivered a batch of donations and stopped by the storefront to procure these options, which each combine two of her favorite colors:

They were then presented to the Junior Quilter (via text message) for a decision and the girl obviously has high standards...

... As she selected the Tommy Hilfiger without hesitation:

Wait a minute, Joyful, I thought you were looking for backing fabric, NOT shopping for new-to-you clothing items!!!

Bear with me while I applique the cross bar and share it on Instagram...

... I'll address your concern momentarily...

... But first, I'm ready to quilt the pillow top.  I started with the letter:

Next, adding texture to one side panel...

... Followed by the other:

Once the quilting was complete...

... It was time to trim to size:

Suddenly, the project was assigned a hard deadline.  The end of October was approaching so YELLOW month (for the RSC) was coming to a close and I wanted this DONE!  Securing top to back was the next order of business...

... So that turning (above) and stuffing (below) could take place.  The pillow required a LOT of stuffing!!!  It is as full and firm as can be:

Once full of fluff, stitching the opening closed was the only thing that stood between me and a ready-to-gift pillow.  Sewing that 1/4" guideline was smart thinking!  It really helped when matching up the edges of front and back:

About the backing...

That's what makes this pillow SEW special!  The shirt selected by my recipient was a bridge between the toddler she was to the preschooler she has grown into.  It brings the blue from the front, her old favorite, and adds in her new favorite color... Purple:

Here is the completed pillow by the much photographed, currently fading, last Black-eyed Susan in my front garden.  Appropriate, since yellow was her first favorite color and it matches her sunny disposition:

I still stink at selfies, but the perennial sunflowers are in fill bloom and there would be nobody to take pictures before nightfall:

Have another look at the front of my version of The Pathway Pillow...

... Along with the back, which incorporates that shirt I bought because her mother loves all thrifty things:

Plus, the MAGIC of this pillow is in that shirt!!!

Front AND back are sewn together to form the reverse side of the pillow because that makes a SECRET POCKET to hide treasures...

... While the shirt's pocket serves to make this a Tooth Fairy Pillow:

One thing I know for certain, the Junior Quilter is absolutely going to LOVE her special birthday gift:

Another thing I know is that a couple of my readers are going to be SEW happy to see that this project has been completed!  Back in June, after I posted about the class, Kate @ Life in Pieces and Louise @ Quilt Odyssey both expressed interest in seeing how I would interpret Christina's class project.

Speaking of Christina @ A Few Scraps...

Thank you, again, for creating that AWSEOME class for The Pathway Pillow.  I enjoyed the instruction AND the project!

Sharing with Kelly

for

Needle and Thread Thursday

and

With Cynthia (On Sunday)

for

Oh Scrap!

Then later, because I love it...

I shared it with Sarah

for

Show Me Something That's a Gift

Until next time...

Make it. QUILT it, Gift it!!!