Pillowcases--Eleventh Finish of 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long 2018

Stitching the band on pillowcase #2

I'm working out a quilting design for the inner section of my Mystery BOM. I've done some online research and I have been practicing drawing one particular motif on paper. I'm still in the planning stages for the fun part of quilting for that project!

In the meantime, I pulled out the pillowcase project. These were goal number 12 on my 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long list. I thought that I would get them stitched last spring. This year, one of my goals was to have fewer holdover projects on my Finish-A-Long list. This fewer holdover projects goal, will be on my mind as I figure out what projects will be on my 4th quarter list!

One year, the oldest granddaughter and I made about 20 pillowcases that we gifted to a summer camp for youth. As I look at my pile of fabrics, I may make that a goal for next year. One of these pillow cases will be for donation, the other three will house quilts. I like to make a pillow case to go with the project because if I give the quilt away, it is already wrapped. If I keep the project, I can tell at a glance where it is in the storage closet!

Pillowcase #4

The first pillowcase I stitched was a striped batik with a darker green striped batik as the band. I thought that I had taken a photo of it in process; but, took two of pillowcase number two. Go figure!!! The batik wasn't printed so that the stripes were on grain so I chose for the stripes not to line up on the side of the pillow case; but that the stripe next to the band would look the same all the way around! After I had finished with it, I wasn't all that excited about the contrast between the two fabrics. It is housing Skittles and Sherbet so it will be fine!

Pillowcase #2 is housing "Totally Hexed." I finished that quilt two years ago so this pillow case was long overdue!!! I sure liked working with the Moda grunge fabric.  That orange batik fabric wasn't actually used in the quilt; but, it is close enough to the one that was so I will remember what quilt is inside the pillow case!

Finished pillowcases

Pillowcase #3 will house the Mystery BOM that I'm currently machine quilting. For once, I will have a pillowcase ready when I've finished the project!

Pillowcase #4 will be donated. I saw the partial panel of fabric on the free table and I immediately thought that it would make a great pillowcase. When I measured it I found that it was only 18 1/4" wide by 40" long. Darn, it wasn't wide enough for the project. I could have used it as the band for a pillow case; but, it had a printed edge so the "panel" ran the wrong direction. I decided that I could piece the pillowcase by adding some fabric from my stash. Because I was going to need to do some math to  stitch it, it has sat in the "to do" pile for over year!

I like the fabrics that I chose to add to the panel. If I were stitching another one, I would make a better effort to get it centered! Of the four pillowcases that I stitched, number four is my favorite!!!

This is my eleventh finish this quarter! I used four yards of fabric. I have now used 32 1/4 yards of fabric from my stash and have 17 3/4 yards left to meet my goal of using 50 yards of fabric from my stash this year.