Showing Off - A Little Pillow Talk

This spring I had another chance to play along in the Pillow Talk Swap.  Pillow Talk was the first swap I participated in and it's always one of my favorites.  This time, I had a pretty good idea of the pillow I wanted to make for my partner from the start - this super fun Show Off pillow from Amanda's tutorial.  

And I knew I wanted to use this lovely bundle of fabric - Les Amis by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller.  It's not often that I know exactly what I want to make as soon as I receive my partner assignment.  I usually agonize over it for weeks before the plan comes together.  This time though, the hardest part was fitting it in amongst all the other projects, and naturally I wait until I am up against a deadline.

This was especially tricky this time as my youngest daughter and her husband came home for the weekend for the first time since she got married almost 2 years ago.  What a treat to have them come!

I managed to get the pillow top made on Thursday, after I finished another project I can't talk about just yet.  I did the machine quilting Saturday afternoon while they were at the beach.  Luckily, one of the things she wanted to do while she was home (besides go to the beach) was a Star Wars marathon - the original movies, 1970's style - so I had plenty of time for the hand quilting.

I used my (new-to-me) Accu Quilt for the first time on this project.  It was fabulous to have perfectly cut hexies to work with.  And I love the way Amanda's pattern shows off the fun animal prints from the Les Amis line.  It's a great way to showcase your favorite fabrics.

I'm thinking I might have to make this pattern again.