Friday 5 August 2016

Small Wonders pillow - designed by Jen Kingwell

This week I finished a pillow (cushion) from Jen Kingwell's book, Quilt Lovely.




the photo in the book

I started this pillow months ago, but then put it aside while I worked on other things.  I've decided that August is the month for finishing WIPs, so I pulled it out on Friday and finished it on Sunday.  The centres of each block are quite fiddly, so I used my foundation paper piecing templates from Jen's My Small World quilt.  I just printed off some more copies and used those to get the centres straight and accurate.

the back - Anna Maria Horner

Jen Kingwell has a particular style, and some of you will know immediately that this is her style.  She likes to use lots of little pieces of fabric, and loves the scrappy effect from using a wide range of fabrics.  Then Jen likes to finish her quilts by hand quilting with thick thread in contrasting colours. I tried out some new 12 wt Valdani threads and enjoyed using them.





I was fortunate enough to visit Jen Kingwell's store Amitie Textiles in Melbourne last year.  I loved looking at all the quilts on display.  There were so many fabrics it was a bit overwhelming, so I just spent my time looking at the finished items and studying how they were made.

Now I want to finish another pillow from the book - Wheel of Fortune.  I might just make it into a mini quilt because the Small Wonders pillow is already 22" across, and the Wheel of Fortune one is even bigger.  I don't actually need huge pillows in my house, but they are lovely.


11 comments:

Linda H said...

Love the pillow Wendy! Such cheerful fabrics!

Dasha said...

Both the cushions are lovely Wendy, but on balance I think I might like the second one better! Will have to see when you finish it.

Julie said...

Beautiful work yet again, I too have that book and as yet haven't rally made anything from it. Lovely for inspiration though. Keep warm this weekend.

Susan said...

Your cushion is lovely Wendy! When I saw it on IG I immediately got book down off the shelf! Not surprisingly I also wondered if I wanted make a cushion that big!

Tilly said...

Love your pillow!

Ruth said...

I love that book and have a bunch of Valdani threads on the way to me. Really like your version of the cushion - thanks for the inpspiration! My sofa could always use another cushion!

Rochelle aka Bella Quilts said...

Both projects are really nice. I wouldn't know where to put such a large cushion but think mini-quilts are wonderful. I try to change mine out regularly. I do like Wheel of Fortune with the circular look.

I like your idea of taking the time to study all of the completed quilts at Jen's store to see how they were made. It is hard to make decisions on what to buy when there are sooooo many choices.

Sue said...

I just wish there were more hours in the day. I have Jen's book and love your rendition of the pillow. Thats on my must make list.
Your blog is a joy to follow Wendy. :-)

Bexter said...

I'm envious of the finish it up August. I see myself as a 'finisher' and I do finish things but if I'm honest with myself, I have a lot of UFOs too. I'm looking forward to seeing all your finishes this month. I will live vicariously through them - I'm a bit busy with a 4 month-old baby at the moment to finish much.

NickiJ said...

Simply gorgeous!

Granny Maud's Girl said...

Two great cushions, Wendy! You have done well to get the scrappy effect while keeping them your own.
I chose to start the clam bake one and have been cutting bits from my scrap box. I thought I could cheat and machine piece the curves. It seems I might have been mistaken. :)