Colorado quilt block pillow

A couple of weeks ago I hit the 1000 followers mark on Instagram.  As a celebration and "thank you" to my followers, I held a giveaway for a handmade item of my choosing.  While the boys and I were at brunch one Sunday, I let Sam choose a number and was so happy to see that the winner was Julia of My Rain Boots are Red.  She is an amazing woman and mother to five of the most gorgeous kids you can imagine.  She is also an incredibly talented quilter and DIYer.  You really need to check out her blog to find some inspiration (for example her Farmer's Wife quilt that I drool over every time I see in photos or this awesome school room map that she and her husband created). I asked her what her favorite colors and fabrics are for some guidance.  Then when I realized that she lives in Colorado, I decided to make a pillow using four Colorado quilt blocks.

This is an easy block to make using half square triangles.  I pulled some charm squares out of a Scrumptious charm pack by Bonnie and Camille and went to work.  Aren't the colors so clean and fresh?  They certainly make me think of spring while I'm shoveling snow here in Indiana right now!

For the quilting I used my go-to Aurifil 50 wt. #2021 and quilted a large X through the center of the pillow front and then echoed those seams at approx. 1/2" intervals (the width of my walking foot).  I love the texture it creates.

On the back I used leftover Bonjour Mon Ami fabric from the baby quilt I just completed.  The fabrics were sitting on the cutting table together and were a great match.  For the zipper cover I used one of my all time favorite dot prints from the Bonnie and Camille Happy Go Lucky line.  I have some of these in every color that came out!

Like I said, I had so much fun making this pillow that it was actually very hard to send away!  I mean, don't you think it looks so happy on my sewing room chair with my Scrappy  Trips quilt?  ;-)  In all seriousness, it was a pleasure to make this because I knew I was sending it to someone who would appreciate the work and thought I put into it.

Thanks again to all of my followers, I really do appreciate each and every one of you.  I never realized how amazing the online quilting community was until I started this blog.  You all make the effort it takes to keep the blog going worthwhile.

Much love!