Kim Hanson

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Reading Pocket Pillow Tutorial

January 3, 2018 | 3 Comments

Welcome to Wednesday everyone! It’s January 3rd and time to get back at it. Whether you’re headed back to work, back to school or back to your sewing room it’s the dawn of a new year. Always, always, always a wonderful time for re-creating, re-discovering and re-organizing. So, why not start off 2018 by grabbing some fabrics from your stash to make your favourite child a Reading Pocket Pillow for their bed? Here’s one and here’s how you make it:

Designs by JuJu has just introduced some wonderful embroidery designs that work oh-so-well when crafting a Reading Pocket Pillow for that special little someone in your life. Word Art embroidery and Story Time applique work hand-in-hand in creating some sweet and special designs. I’ve made this particular pillow for my granddaughter, Harlow. I gave it to her for Christmas, filled with books tailored to meet her grade two reading abilities. Her name is embroidered on this pillow, but that is optional. Let’s get started!

Please be sure and read through all the instructions prior to commencing. Fabrics shown are from Robert Kaufman’s line – Blueberry Park – Bright Spectrum by Karen Lewis

Shopping List:

 Designs by JuJu DBJJ1077 Story Time Applique

Designs by JuJu DBJJ1078, 1079 Word Art Sets 1 and/or 2

Designs by JuJu DBJJ652   Simply Sweet Applique Font (optional)

Deep Purple Fat Quarter (18″x22″) for pillow front cut to 17″x17″

Lime Green Fat Quarter for pillow pocket cut to 11″x17″, scraps for applique**

Light Purple Fat Quarter for pillow pocket lining cut to 13″x17″, scraps for applique**

Pink and Purple pieces for envelope-style pillow back, each measuring 11″x17″

Green rickrack – 90″

Medium weight tearaway stabilizer – one yard

Embroidery thread, embroidery bobbin thread,

embroidery needles, embroidery scissors, hand sewing needle (optional)

White pencil, omnigrid ruler, rotary cutter

16″ pillow form (flattened out)

Spray Starch and Temporary Spray Fabric Adhesive

3 large buttons (optional)

*I use Brother Embroidery thread for all my projects

**To avoid the pattern from these two fabrics, I used the wrong side of the fabric for applique

Machine Embroidery:

  • Download your choice of one Word Art and one Story Time applique design. Load them both into your machine. (Use the 4×4 size)
  • Using a pencil, mark the center of the lime green, pillow pocket fabric. Measure one inch above the pencil mark and mark again. Use the second mark as your center point.

  • Hoop lime green fabric with corresponding piece of stabilizer.
  • Being mindful to center the design, stitch out your choice of Word Art embroidery. Remove fabric from hoop.
  • Mark the center point to both the right and left of the Word Art design. Re-hoop the fabric, center and stitch your choice of the Story Time applique designs. Stitch the tacking stitches of the design. Remove hoop from the machine.

  • Cut a fabric scrap slightly larger than the outline of the design. Spray the scrap with spray starch and the wrong (patterned) side of the fabric with spray adhesive. Adhere scrap over the outline of the design. Return hoop to the machine and stitch outline of the design.

  • Remove hoop from machine. Using embroidery scissors, cut as close to the stitched outline as possible.

  • Place the hoop back on the machine and complete the applique embroidery design.
  • Repeat for the second embroidery applique design.

Construction:

  • Stitch the pocket lining to the pocket itself. Right sides together, pin along the top edge and stitch. (The lining will measure longer than the pocket itself.

  • Flip over the lining to the right side, leaving a 1 1/2″ border on the top of the pillow pocket. Press.
  • Pin the rickrack to the bottom of the border on the pillow pocket. Stitch.
  • Line up bottom raw edges and pin the pillow pocket to the pillow top as per the photo. Stitch.

  • Pin rickrack to the perimeter of the pillow front. Stitch in place.

Machine Embroidery – If you choose to embroider your child’s name on the pillow front

  • Download the 2″ Upper Case applique letters of your childs’ name from the Simply Sweet applique font alphabet.
  • Using your omnigrid ruler, measure 1″ from the edge of the pillow pocket border, as shown in the photo.

  • Using a white fabric pencil, mark a straight line along the straight edge. Fold the pillow front in half, marking the center. Embroider your childs’ name being mindful to center. (I stitch the middle two letters first, on either side of the center mark and then work on either side of the name.)
  • Hand stitch large buttons in place, if you wish.
  • Take both pieces for the envelope-style pillow back. Fold over top edge of each piece, ½” press. Fold an additional ½” press and stitch in place.
  • Right sides together, line up the top raw edge of one pillow back piece with the pillow front and pin. Line up the bottom raw edge of the second pillow back piece with the bottom raw edge and pin, in an overlapping style, like the photo.

  • Stitch around the perimeter of the pillow front and back unit. Flip to right side out. Pull out the pillow corners. Flatten the pillow form and insert into the pillow cover.

There you go….all done.  You will have a super cute reading pocket pillow for your favourite child. Please contact me via email at km.hanson@shaw.ca if you have any questions. Thank you so much.

Happy New Year!

Kim

Filed Under: Photography, Quilt Patterns, Quilt Photography, Quilt tutorial, Quilted Pillows, Quilted pillows featuring machine embroidered, Quilts and Machine Embroidery, Quilts, Yoga Mat Bags and Yoga for Kids, Uncategorized |

Passionate for Yoga!

April 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Like many of you, I have a few passions; one of them is my yoga practise. I have met so many great people in my yoga classes – some of them instructors some of them students. Yoga has become an almost daily occupation for me – I don’t practise every day, but several days per week for sure. Practising yoga has basically changed my life – for the better in every way. My anxiety level has dropped significantly, my body is in better shape than probably at any other time in my life and I now seek quiet where before it was chaos that I sought to find.

Another long standing passion I have is quilting. One day when I put the two of them together, I came up with, what I like to call – the Patchwork Yoga Mat Bag. Embroidered yoga symbols on the bag work to embellish it and make it special. I adore symbols that depict AUM – there are so many, but I have a special few that I really like to use. Also, the lotus can be digitized in spectacular fashion and embroidered in as many colors as you can imagine. Each bag that I make is different from the last. The Patchwork Yoga Mat Bag is indeed made in a patchwork style, holds your small or large yoga mat, your keys/water bottle and a towel or change of clothes.

This is my latest bag, sent to a sweet and lovely customer/friend in Vermont ….hope her daughter likes it!

Filed Under: Photography, Quilt Patterns, Quilt Photography, Quilted and Embroidered originalYoga mat bags, Quilts, Quilts and Machine Embroidery, Quilts and Yoga, Quilts, Yoga Mat Bags and Yoga for Kids, Writing, Yoga |

My Favorite Mash-Up

March 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Great day to you! I’m Kim Hanson and I love quilting. The endless possibilities that fabric art offers is both seductive and addictive to me. I am grateful to be able to work daily in my home studio and run a website – www.KimHansonQuilts.com. Mash-ups are what I love the most – what is your favorite mash-up? Here are a few of mine:
Quilting & Embroidery

Baby Boy Bliss

Life’s a Picnic - Featured in Quilting & Embroidery magazine Spring 2011 issue

Harlow's Quilt

My Flower Garden

Jacob's Crazy Pillow

Delicious colors combinations, charming and whimsical embroidery designs and such fun and easy, breezy patterns bring the Quilt Creator (You!) so much personal satisfaction and the Q.R. (quilt recipient) so much delight. Any of my patterns can be customized by the Q.C. for the Q.R. with ease and a little pre-planning. Take My Flower Garden for example. Crazy quilting with an embroidered twist! Step #1: Decide who the Q.R. will be and what theme your quilt will portray. Step #2: (Fun part……) Sit down with your fabric stash and choose fabric colors that will suit your theme and your Q.R. Better yet, jump online or head to your favorite quilt shop and purchase some brand new fabrics. Step #3: Head on over to a great embroidery website that features downloadable designs and shop to your generous heart’s delight. (I totally love www.embroidables.com and have used many of their designs in my work.) Step #4: Begin your creative process and love, love, love what you do! It will show in every stitch that you make. Your embroidered quilt will shine and your Q.R. will love your work and cherish the project. So much fun!

Quilting & Yoga:

Patchwork Yoga Mat Bag

Colorful Orange and Purple

Combining two things that you love can lead to unexpected outcomes. The joy of creation is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

*I purchase the majority of my embroidery designs from www.embroidables.com. Here is their link if you would like to have a look around: http://www.embroidables.com/store.php?page=affiliateprogram&cid23443

Comments;
23 Responses to “Quilt Mash-Up by Kim Hanson”

1.
Alice McFarlane says:

March 27, 2011 at 8:42 pm

Loved the pics of all your quilts, pillow and yoga mat. Guess my project was the quilt I made for my husband. Hand embroidered bass fish blocks set together with fishing stuff material, then I freestanding embroidered fishing lures to add to the fishes mouth to make it look like he had caught the fish. Plus doing quilts for my 4 grandchildren is a favorite pass time.

2.
Nancy Boone says:

March 27, 2011 at 11:29 pm

Love all the quilts. I enjoy using my embroidery unit to do the actual quilting designs on quilts. I also like to use machine embroideries to do crazy quilts.

3.
gini howard says:

March 28, 2011 at 12:26 am

your quilts are wonderful. i might have to try making a yoga mat.

4.
Granny M says:

March 28, 2011 at 6:31 am

Love the quilts Kim. I do a lot of quilts with embroidery

5.
Pat M. says:

March 28, 2011 at 8:57 am

Love your “4 Steps”–very inspiring.

6.
Marge Greenberg (aka Dimples) says:

March 28, 2011 at 11:25 am

Kim – love all of your quilts. You are inspiring me to learn how to use that embroidery machine that I bought last summer and have only used 4 times :o{

7.
Ann Wintrode says:

March 28, 2011 at 11:34 am

Kim, Love all your quilts. I’m just learning to do Machine Embroidery and you have definitely encouraged me. Being a quilter I want to be able to combine both the embroidery and the quilting. Wish me luck.Thanks a bunch.

8.
Marilyn B. says:

March 28, 2011 at 11:44 am

Love the 3D effects and the great embroideries, Kim.

9.
Joan Lawrence says:

March 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Kim, Congrats on being picked as a guest blogger. I used my embroidery machine daily when I first purchased it but seems lately the new has worn off. Thanks for new inspiration.

10.
Shellie says:

March 28, 2011 at 12:58 pm

Love what you do with embroidery in your quit making, truly inspirational!

11.
Dawn says:

March 28, 2011 at 1:50 pm

Hi Kim… Just love your quilts I work in a Fabric Shop and we have quilters classes on Weds… would love to introduce Embroidery designs on their quilts and these are perfect examples to show for great inspiration!
I also love the embroidery designs… Wink wink!
Redoing my sewing room to make room for more quilting stuff… love your projects!
fun2sew

12.
Kat says:

March 28, 2011 at 2:06 pm

Hi there Kim,
Love your quilts, great colors to brighten up any room! Just started in quilting and have enjoyed making the 4 I have made and am always looking for more ideas to add to my list of quilts I want to make.
I have made 2 kids quilts for “Quilts 4 Kids” and your “Baby Boy Bliss” would be a good one to do for that group. Colorful and not too complicated for a beginner like me.
Thanks for sharing!
Kat

13.
VickiT says:

March 28, 2011 at 4:32 pm

Your quilts are just awesome Kim. When I saw this earlier today it didn’t click in my head until I remembered where I’d seen that quilt before. You and I both know how great Jami’s embroidery designs are and how mixing the machine embroidery designs with quilting works so well. Getting quality designs is the secret to making it so professional as well and the Embroidables designs are always just perfect.

I’m glad that I got to see even more of your quilts here. I know that very top one is one of may favorites because of the colors you used.

14.
Stephanie says:

March 28, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Top quilt is my fav. Great inspiration Kim. Thanks for sharing.

15.
Elaine Phillips says:

March 28, 2011 at 10:02 pm

I love Jacob’s Crazy Pillow. Thanks for sharing.

16.
Sherry Book says:

March 29, 2011 at 9:50 am

Oh I love your pillow with the crazy quilting and embroidered words/trucks! And kids would love the texture of your Baby Boy Bliss quilt. I’m wanting to try putting chenille shapes on a baby quilt as alternate blocks to a 4 or 9-patch block; just haven’t gotten around to it yet! You’ve given me inspiration.

17.
Lin Taylor says:

March 29, 2011 at 12:13 pm

Nice quilts Kim. Nice website, too.

linny t

18.
Sue Stroud says:

March 29, 2011 at 7:52 pm

I love all the Eyer Candy but especially the Jacob’s Crazy Pillow

19.
Ruth McCormick says:

March 30, 2011 at 12:56 pm

Just love the top quilt, I am new to this, have made or helped make several (too many to remember) rag quilts and just finished my first pieced quilt. I machine stitch my blocks and a very very talented and dear friend has a long-arm quilt machine and she custom quilted it for me. Absolutely beautiful. I am so blessed to have Christian friends whom love to share the love of our Saviour and quilting knowledge. We have so much fun getting together.

20.
Kathy says:

March 30, 2011 at 12:59 pm

Kim,

Your quilts are amazing! The colors that you select blend so well together and the embroidables designs accent your quilts beautifully! I especially love the crazy pillow that you made for Jacob! That is one quilt size that I can probably complete! You inspire so many people with every quilt you create! Thanks for the inspiration!

21.
Brenda Green says:

March 30, 2011 at 8:20 pm

I love these quilts! I hope to quilt when I retire. These beautiful quilts make you want to start sewing.

22.
Kim Hanson says:

March 31, 2011 at 9:03 pm

Thank you all so very much for taking the time to comment on this blog. Your words are so kind and very inspirational to me. Thanks so very much.

The winner of the 160+ Rotary Block Cutter quilt gadget is fun2sew….

23.
RITA DECOOK says:

April 2, 2011 at 7:40 am

I love this. I’ve made several embroidered wall hangings, as opposed to quilts, using my embroidery machine. I’ve made 12 Days of Christmas, a traditional Christmas theme, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Baby themed, I made a wedding pillow for the son of a friend of mine. I wish I could post pictures. But if you go to my website, they may be up. (My son-in-law and daughter have been working to get them up).

I love your “twist” on some of the ones you’ve done, especially the one with the “raw edges” showing. Never thought of doing one that way.

I’m retired and have more time to devote to sewing and embroidering …. two of the things I love do to more than any other crafting venue I do (I’ve sewn since I was 5 years old … by hand … and I’m almost 64, I learned on a Singer treadle and my Mom’s White sewing machine, both of which are older than me).

Keep up the good work. I’ll be checking back often to see what’s happening.

Filed Under: Quilts, Quilts and Machine Embroidery, Quilts and Yoga, Quilts, Yoga Mat Bags and Yoga for Kids, Writing, Yoga |

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