from Marta with Love

Madrona Road Polaris Pillow

The Front Range Modern Quilt Guild just held a pillow swap in honor of the Modern Quilt Guild’s Madrona Road Fabric Challenge.  Our swap assignment was to make a pillow for our secretly assigned partner using only the fabric collection Madrona Road by Violet Craft, plus solids (if we wanted).  Here’s what I came up with:

Madrona Road Pillow - from Marta with Love

The back is my favorite print from the collection, Wild Carrot in Straw.

Madrona Road Pillow (back) - from Marta with Love

I was excited for this swap because (A) I’ve loved Madrona Road for a while and (B) my partner was our guild president and my dear friend, Melissa!  No pressure, right?  I included for her a custom card with a Morning Glory sewn onto it.  Morning Glory in Charcoal is my other favorite print in this collection (I previously made a little bow clutch with it).

Morning Glory card - from Marta with Love

I call the pillow Polaris (the fancy name for the North Star, for those of you who are unfamiliar) because the pattern (Two Stars Squared by Diane of from blank pages), to me, resembles the North Star.  And for someone like Melissa, who is constantly guiding her fellow quilters with ideas, encouragement, and inspiration, I found it extremely fitting.  She definitely lights the way!  Har, har, har.

Maybe I should call it the Fiery Russian Meteor Pillow?

Madrona Road Pillow (in progress) - from Marta with Love

Madrona Road Pillow (paper piecing) - from Marta with Love

Madrona Road Pillow (wrong side of quilting) - from Marta with Love

I didn’t make the pillow in time to submit it to the MQG challenge, but I did make it in time for my guild’s swap deadline this past Saturday. That gives me a .500 average, which, if we were talking baseball, would guarantee me a spot in the Hall of Fame.  Keep that in mind.

Madrona Road Pillow (close-up of quilting) - from Marta with Love

I chose these prints because I like the brightness and vibrancy of the magenta and tangerine against the neutral Yarn-Dyed Essex Linen in Flax (this is the 876th project for which I’ve used this fabric but I am in love with it and will likely use it on 876 more projects).  The other neutral solid is Kona Snow.

Madrona Road Pillow (text detail) - from Marta with Love

Madrona Road Pillow - from Marta with Love

Oh yeah, look what I got to come home with!

Pillow from my swap partner, Anne - from Marta with Love

My secret partner was Anne and she totally rocked it.  This is her first project in 10 years!  I can’t believe this is how dusting off sewing cobwebs looks for her.  What’s her next project going to look like?  My favorite detail is probably the yellow quilting thread.  It’s so pretty and her stitches are so even and lovely.  Thank you SO MUCH, Anne!

Pillow from my swap partner, Anne - from Marta with Love

Oh, and I’m happy to be linking up to the Let’s Get Acquainted Monday Link-Up on my friend Martha’s blog today!  I get oddly excited when I happen to post on a linky day and realize I get to participate. 🙂

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10 Comments

  • Marti Dyer-Allison

    Second to my CVN 73 pillow by Angela, I liked this one the best! We should go in together on a bolt of Essex Linen — I’m sure we would use it up within a year.

    February 18, 2013 at 8:28 am Reply
  • Shawn Stephenson Schumacher

    Very beautiful!

    February 18, 2013 at 9:35 am Reply
  • Nicole_boldgoods

    Your use of Madrona Road is perfection! The colors really pop and I love the little square of text. Your partner did a great job, too, sounds like fun!

    February 18, 2013 at 10:38 am Reply
  • Books_Bound

    Both are beautiful! I love how your stars look layered. And I think it could definitely be called the “Fiery Russian Meteor” if it was used in a pillow fight. 🙂

    The pillow you received is also beautiful! I’m so bad at coming up with designs–that is so simple, but looks so great, and is something I’d never even think of doing. I guess I’m doomed to mimicry. Ah well. 🙂

    February 18, 2013 at 10:51 am Reply
  • Melissa

    I love my Polaris pillow 100 million thousand percent! Thank you for making it so special for me. 🙂

    I didn’t get a good look at Anne’s pillow for you until now, but DAYAM! She knocked it out of the ball park! Man alive! All those corners and triangles and stripes and pieces!! She made you a fantabulous pillow!

    There wasn’t a lemon in the bunch. 🙂

    February 18, 2013 at 11:18 am Reply
  • Stephanie

    I love, love that pillow – the colors are gorgeous and the pattern is amazing! I’m going to have to look for that 🙂

    February 18, 2013 at 12:35 pm Reply
  • Kari

    The pillow you made is just so happy! It’s a fun detail on the side with the text fabric. Anne did an awesome job on yours, too.

    February 18, 2013 at 3:38 pm Reply
  • Jenelle

    This is gorgeous! I love how the pattern pieces overlap to create a 3-d effect as well. 🙂

    February 19, 2013 at 9:57 pm Reply
  • Martha

    I love the pillow you made it is fab! So beautiful. And the pillow you got is awesome too! Anne did a fantastic job! Great eye candy!

    February 20, 2013 at 10:34 am Reply
  • Cathy R

    This post really inspires me to practice my paper piecing.

    March 7, 2013 at 2:40 pm Reply
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