More Pillow Talk

It was my mom's birthday last week.  (I mention her a ton on this blog 'cause she's just so awesome.)  Anywho, this is what I made for her special day:

Front

Back

     I was inspired by this quilt at Diary of a Quilter (one of my earliest pins -- almost a year ago!)  I picked up the Sarah Jane Studio's Children at Play fabric quite a while ago; it's one of the few pieces I have that's bigger than a quarter yard.  This was also my very first zipper experience but it went pretty well.  The nylon zipper is ancient!  I experimented with some variegated thread (Coats and Clark, Dual DutyXP #9314) on the back which made it really fun to do.  Here's a closeup:

     Besides the main applique/fabric design mentioned earlier, I especially liked this tutorial at Pile O'Fabric for the back.  I added piping and quilted it using my feed dogs...no FMQ for this girl yet! The batting is Fusi-Boo (fusible bamboo.) It's quite thin and was easy to work with but I can't attest for washing/durability.  The insert is a twenty-inch square duck down pillow from IKEA for only $7.  I named it Mister Cuddlekins and intended to keep him but after many hugs, decided I shouldn't give my mother a pillow cover with no filling for her birthday.  Ah well, another trip to IKEA then.