Sew Sew Modern

So I finally decided on the pillow I was going to send to my partner and got it off in the mail last Friday.  I decided after stalking her blog, her Flickr photostream and her mosaic that she would be happier with a more colorful selection.  And so the plus pillow is heading her way.  Honestly, the more I look at this one the more I think that I'm going to have to create another one - this time for me.

I quilted it by outlining the pluses about 1/4 inch away from the edges. This was my first quilted project since Penelope came back from the doctor, and the tension is a lot tighter now.  It made quilting this a bit of a challenge at first.  (Guess it really was time for Penny to have a check-up!)

 The inner border is straight-line quilted and the outer border isn't quilted at all.  I like the different textures this gives the pillow and the way the straight lines cross in the corner. (OK, small amusements for small minds, but hey! - )

I made her a 1-Hour Fat Quarter Tote to go with it.  This one is a little quirky, fabric-wise, but I don't dislike it. 

I used some Heather Ross sock monkey fabric (from Hancock Fabrics last summer) for the main part of the bag, along with some pearl bracelets that I bought for something else and didn't use, and some random yellow with orange leaves that seemed to tie the two together.

I quilted it with some super-fast and easy loops, but they seemed to go well with the pearl bracelets.

So here's the little package that is winging its way to my partner.  I hope she likes it.