Living on island makes you do funny things. One of them was to begin making pillows of ships that service the island. There is one main ferry, The Machingonne (which may retire in 2027), and the barges run by a local family, Ft. Gaines and Lionel Plante. I have made pillows of the Machingonne and the Lionel Plante Barges, and now it was time to make pillows of the Ft. Gaines.
Designing the Pillows
This is the Ft. Gaines barge. They do lots of the heavy lifting for many islands in the Casco Bay. This boat is docked right down the street from me, so I see it many days as it goes off with its load of large trucks. In order to make the pattern, this picture is imported into Electric Quilt* and begin working by drawing lines. Eventually, I am able to print out a foundation pattern and begin sewing. The base block is about 14 inches, for an 18 inch pillow form.
Making the Pillows
It is not a job for the faint of heart, making these pillows. You can see this section is about 1-1/2″!
It also creates quite a mess. I did find a glue I really liked using for placing the first piece: Aleene’s Fabric Glue. It is clear, which is a real bonus when making small pieces with white background.
And here is a piece, showing you the foundation pattern. I was asked to make 4 pillows, but I wasn’t so sure of the piecing and wanted to see what it looked like. I began by getting the bulk of one done, then did the other 3.
Here you can se the first one done on the bottom, and some of the pieces of the second one as it is coming together. Now, you may notice that there is a little wonkiness; I decided not to fuss it as I was using a a thick poly batt.
Eventually I had a small group of pieces, and you can see me working out the sky additions to the first boat, with some partial pieces above it.
Finally, all four boats were pieced. Borders were added and off to the quilting machine!
Quilting the Pillows
I quilted them on my HandiQuilter Simply Sixteen with Prostitcher. I used a quilting pattern that I had used on the other pillows – Catching Bubbles by Christy Dillon of My Creative Stiches. It is fabulous and everyone comments on it when they see it. It really evokes the wind and the water and I love it.
A few years ago I bought batting for pillows. It was thicker than I realized but I do love seeing the definition of the quilting on these pillows. It winds up being just right for the pillows….giving them lots of stability and a nice pouf.
Here’s a picture of the back before I put theme together.
And the four finished pillows, waiting to be picked up!
What else is going on?
My plate is full for projects for the fall. Two babies are scheduled to arrive; one will get an Elizabeth Hartman quilt and the other a quilt based on a children’s book. The other project is a placemat pattern for the fall blog hop sponsored by Carole…October 14th is my day. Also, I host TGIFF at the end of the month, but I do have a quilt I could quilt for that….sounds like a plan!
Coming Up on the Blog
Hugs and Kisses
State of Maine
2 Charity Quilts
Baby Quilts
Linking Up
Fabric Stash
Adding my table runner and one set of coasters…here is the totals for July so far.
Prior YTD Fabric Used = 48.5 yards
Prior YTD Fabric Bought = 17 yards
Current Month Fabric Used = 4 yards
Current Month Fabric Bought = 4 yards
Net Fabric = -35.5 yards!
Disclaimer: *Links with asterisk indicate an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate and affiliate of other companies, I earn from qualifying purchases. Your price is not any different, but a small percentage of the sale will go to supporting my blog.
Kathleen, those are spectacular! You really knocked it out of the park, or should I say out of the dock!! I am impressed with the teeny tiny pieces, good work.
Well done, Kathleen! I remember the other pillows, too, and they are all very cool representations!
Love these!! What determination to finish these up with all those tiny pieces. And the quilting is indeed gorgeous…
Some bitsy pieces in that block, but all four turned out fantastic! The quilting couldn’t be more perfect, too! Bet it feels good to have those done!
Speaking of perfect, I love the print you used for the water with these pillows! They turned out beautifully. It sounds like you have some fun things in work for the fall, and I look forward to contributing to the fall blog hop that Carole is hosting with you!
I love these, Kathleen! They are so fun. Great job and a perfect quilting choice!
Four?!! When I saw the pieces for one, my heartbeat picked up lol. They turned out wonderfully. I can relate to the joy of seeing daily ferries and barges, and for me, freighters, fishing trawlers too, along with personal watercraft of all kinds! Don’t you feel so grateful to live by the ocean (Great Lake for me)? I am sure these will sell right away.
So complex and well done, Kathleen!!! I love how effective that water print is. And the panto is just so fitting.
Those are amazing. You are very talented to take that photo to a block like that.
You had me wanting to make one of these pillows, you should sell the foundation patterns but then you had to mention her name (EH). I can sew it, might blow it up a little.
It makes my eyes cross just looking at that small foundation piecing unit!!! Lovely finishes.