It is the first Thursday of November, which means it is time for another Throwback Thursday link up with Jenn @A Quarter Inch From the Edge. For November, I thought I would share a quilt I made for my sister in law for her birthday back in 2007.
Purple Quillow
I made her a purple quillow – a quilt that folds up into a pillow! The front of the pillow is a quick patchwork of fun purple Japanese prints.
Purple Quillow
When the quilt is unfolded, the same prints that were used for the front of the pillow lay across your lap, and you can tuck your chilly feet into the pocket that reverses to become the front of the pillow. I went with a very simple piecing for the quilt to make it easy to remember how to fold the pillow back up. Simply fold into thirds in the long direction, and then fold at every fabric change, and stuff into the pillow pocket. Voila!
Purple Quillow
The back side or top of the quilt when it is unfolded is made from silky Japanese fabric. Let me tell you – those were a pain to sew with! They frayed like crazy and after seeing how quickly they unraveled, I wisely chose to use larger seam allowances for this side of the quilt. The quilt is envelope sewn together, and the quilting is VERY sparse quilt in the ditch. It has seemed to hold up fairly well, though.
I am linking up with Throwback Thursday to check out what everyone else is sharing this month.
I remember making quillows for my kids in the 90s. I didn’t actually quilt them though, just used polar fleece and pillow panels. Hmmmmmm… I wonder if one or two of my unquilted tops might make quillows. Aren’t memories wonderful ?!
I can imagine those silky fabrics were a pain to sew with! (And I love the leather armchair.)
So the patchwork is actually on the inside of the pocket and it turned right side out? I’ve never make a quillow. Thanks for sharing!
Oooh but the silk is so pretty! And the foot pocket is genius!
I can imagine how hard it was to sew that silky fabric! A quillow! You are always so dang clever!!
I remember making these. Thanks for the memories.
I forgot about the quillow…I made a few of those in my early quilting days. I’ve never used Japanese fabrics. Thanks for tip on needing a larger seam allowance.
Yvonne, Your quilt/pillow is really pretty! I have always loved purples and seeing all of the beautiful variations in your quillow makes it even more appealing. I have a ton of silky type materials that I have several projects lined up for. I am going to make sure and turn under each seam to help prevent the unraveling, plus someone suggested applying double sided fusible tape to each side (that is what they did) and then the turn under. One of the great things about computers and Excellent Quilters like yourself; we can all share ideas, tips and projects to help one another. Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful creative day!
I was just thinking about Quillows the other day, I want to do a modernized version! Love that silky backing – looks lush!
I’ve never seen one of these before. What a neat idea to have extra quilts lying around for people who visit and aren’t appreciative of our hardiness (uh, frugality with the thermostat). I had to look several times to figure out where the pillow design went when the quillow was unfolded. Could there be a tutorial in your future?
It’s so much fun to look back and see what we created. I’ve never heard of a quillow, it’s very cool! I like the idea of a foot pocket since I’m always tucking my feet. Thanks for sharing!
The backing looks amazing but I can imagine the difficulties with it that you describe.
I never heard of quillows. whoa! 🙂
I’ve had the Quillow book for years but never got around to making one. You were smart to use the fabrics to guide the folding!
Ah… the quillow! I haven’t seen one of those in a long time. I bet that handy pillow pocket has kept your sister in law’s feet warm many a time. Thanks for linking up with Throwback Thursday @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge!
I remember quillows. Think I even made a few! 🙂
I’ve made a couple quillows as well. This one is super cute all folded up.
Oh quillows – that really brings back memories! My mom made them for all the grandkids for bus trips – they are actually pretty cool in my book. I almost shared the fleabag I made for my son this month but now I will share it next month. I like the pretty fabrics you used – purple butterflies! So fun to see how far we’ve come,huh?
I’ve always quite fancied making a quillow in wools and have never got round to it. It would be sooooo much easier to sew than this must have been for you! Having sewn with sari fabric I feel for you with these!