Let It Snow - A Winter Pillow

I hope all of you have enjoyed

a very merry Christmas!

I've just spent some time catching up

with my good friend,

and I gave her a little gift

that can be used all winter long...

a Let It Snow winter pillow!

For this project,

I used some "ink swatches"

I had purchased from Sweetwater on Etsy.

{They don't seem to be available any longer, but they carry some similar items.}

I used the pattern that was included with the ink swatch,

to create the pillow front.

For the pillow backing,

I followed my own free tutorial

for making Covered Zipper Pillow Backings.

This particular pillow finished at 12" x 16",

so I just started with a backing piece that was about 13" x 17".

I decided to attach the zipper cover

about 1/3 of the way across the pillow,

vertically, for extra interest.

I am sew in love with this project!

The lipstick red ink swatch looks great against

some white-on-black polka dots.

{The polka dots look kind of like snowflakes, right?}

On the back,

I've chosen a large red gingham print.

It contrasts well with the polka dots, don't you agree?

I added my little eamylove label,

so my friend knows that I made this pillow just for her!

My little snowman models are cheering for snow.

So far, there's been no snow to shovel here in my neighborhood.

I have a feeling that we'll be seeing some flakes soon, though!

Have a Happy New Year, Friends!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you dozens of sweet Christmas memories,

lasting long after all the cookies are gone.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Across the Pond - Christmas Trees and Santas for December

Better late than never...

I'm sharing this month's themes for the

Across The Pond Sew Along.

Christmas Trees and Santas!

The Patchsmith has devoted two posts

{so far} to this timely topic,

and she has even supplied us with a fun free pattern

for making Quilted Christmas Trees.

Photo by The Patchsmith

Aren't they just so sweet???

I'm very late in decorating for Christmas,

but I hope to find time to share photos

of my own quilted trees soon!

If you enjoy stitching,

Amanda has curated a wonderful collection

of free designs for many more trees,

in the followup post found here.

I must find time to make this gorgeous Nordic tree!

Susie's been busy over at Susie's Sunroom,

making a series of Santas!

Here's Santa's hat, which she made using the

foundation piecing technique, 

with warm and fuzzy fabric for the trim.

Photo by Susie's Sunroom

Head on over to Susie's blog post

for more inspiring Santa projects!

Photo by Susie's Sunroom

I've been busy sewing something special

for a Christmas tree in New Mexico.

Last year I posted about 

the Holly Jolly Tree Skirt I made

using Kate Spain's In From the Cold collection.

I made this same pattern again, but smaller,

using the same prints.

I think the cocoa cups are still my favorite,

but I'm loving those mittens, too!

This time I used green mistletoe for the binding.

There's my little label, on the back,

to say, "Amy Made That!"

The backing is beautiful,

and the tree skirt is actually reversible.

Those Christmas doves are so pretty.

Right after I finished that tree skirt,

I noticed some more pretty Christmas doves

over at Debby Kratovil's blog!

Debby has a free download available

here on Craftsy, 

for heart and dove ornaments!

Photo by Debby Kratovil

I had a few minutes to try out Debby's tutorial

using some scraps from the tree skirt.

My Frixion pen came in handy

for tracing the design onto the fabric.

I used a zigzag stitch,

setting the width to 2.5 and the stitch length to 1.0.

Once I'd stitched the outline,

it was sew easy to cut away the excess fabric

and add a hanging ribbon.

I hope you'll have time to add some

homesewn Christmas photos to our Flickr page

for Across The Pond.

Now I'd better put up that Christmas tree,

so my doves will have a place to nest!