Modern Quilt Guild Michael Miller Challenge 2014

Hey folks. Last night I finally finished sewing down the binding on my entry for the Modern Quilt Guild Michael Miller Challenge.  Each of us that chose to participate were given a subset of the fabrics from Petal Pinwheels by Michael Miller. These are the four I received:

I decided to pair them with Kona Nightfall, as I thought the contrast really made them stand out, and might be a bit of a different color combination than others might choose in the challenge. Our guild specifically made the challenge to make a pillow.

I decided I wanted to use the paper pieced hedgehog from Artisania (free pattern here) centered in a wreath of yo-yos. I think that yo-yos are under utilized in modern quilting, and wanted to make a modern interpretation of them.

A few close-ups of the different elements (the dime is for scale):

I quilted the whole piece aside from the hedgie in a small meander with matching navy 50wt Aurifil thread. As for all of my pillows, I used fusible fleece in place of a batting and lining. It always gives it a nice structure, and saves me the fabric for a lining.

Lastly I framed it in a scrappy binding created from the challenge fabrics. I love the look of binding on a finished pillow - it has a similar appearance to piping, and doesn't have the "bulky corners" problem I've faced with turning so I can get nice sharp points.

Now to find time to go shopping for a new pillow form.... ;)

Linking at Fabric Tuesday.

<3 Kelsey