dress up diamond pillow

Do you ever have a stack of fabric that you wonder what to do with, then one day, out of the blue you have a light bulb moment that marries the perfect idea to that stack of fabric? It's a fabulous thing when it happens and it's even better when you find the time to make that idea into a reality. I wish it happened to me on a more regular basis and faster, but you know.... :)

That's kind of what happened with this pillow. I had a cute stack of Wild fabric (by Dear Stella) since May. In July I had a light bulb moment....I could showcase the cute dress me fabric in the center of my diamond pillow pattern. This past Friday I finally sewed it up! It was SUCH a fun project (not to mention quick) and that was exactly what I needed.

The dress up fabric is appliqued on and then top stitched for durability. I worked with purples and violets because my daughter loves those colors and I thought they were a nice compliment to the blues/grays/blacks. I can't tell you how many times I squealed over making these teeny tiny clothes. I had SO much fun playing dress up! But those little heart shorts. Oh Mylanta. They are my favorite!!! My boys wouldn't readily admit it, but I could tell by the look on their faces that they thought they are pretty cute, too. (Shhh. Don't tell!)

When it came time to make the backing, I dug into the stash and unearthed this fabric. I don't have a lot of purple/violet in my stash and I really don't have that many larger cuts, so you can imagine my delight to find this fabric, which was EXACTLY the right length. I love it when that happens! Hurray for using the stash!

I'm so happy to have this one out of the old noggin and sewn up! My daughter saw the finished pillow, scooped it up and gave it a big hug. I'd call that success! I think it goes without saying, but I LOVE how it turned out, too!

Happy Monday to you!