Kaleidoscope Quilted Pillow with Sweet Stems Fabric

Sometimes a fabric collection comes along and it just speaks to you. It's your jam. When I first saw Sweet Stems fabric collection (by Sue Daley Designs with Gabrielle Neil for Riley Blake Designs) in preview photos I knew it was lovely but when the package came I was so thrilled. The stack of prints coordinated perfectly with the decor in our home. It was a perfect fit and a great reason to create a project that could live in this space. We have a banquette in our kitchen with a bunch of pillows but they're currently a neutral beige - Sweet Stems would be a gorgeous update for 1 lucky pillow. These are the pretties that I could choose from:

And look at the 8 prints I chose for my project seen here on our banquette cushion. See what I mean? They coordinate perfectly!

I've designed a few pillows before (see previous posts), but this one is bigger to fit the 20X20 feather pillow that I am currently using. I love the kaleidoscope block and the effect it creates when multiplied, so that's what I had in mind when I set to work designing my pattern. I used the 5" kaleidoscope block template that I designed for my Rose Garden Pillow

I love Foundation Paper Piecing because you just sew on the lines to get accurate piecing. Each block is created with 2 units of 4 pieces each (see above). My pattern requires 16 of the 5" FPP blocks.

 I took the backing papers off before sewing the blocks into 4 rows.

All sandwiched together and ready for quilting!

The binding is so sweet don't you think? I love the mini floral print.

No project gets blogged without the obligatory "hanging on the fence" photo, so here is the finished front and reverse side of my Sweet Stems quilted pillow cover. I didn't have enough of any one fabric for the back of the cover so I pieced together 2.5" strips. I kinda love it!

I can't tell you how happy I am with my new pillow cover. It looks so great in our kitchen perched on the banquette bench alongside the neutral colored pillows. Extra bonus: the painting that hangs on the wall has the same blues and greens so it's a match made in heaven!

 Here is the before and after of the pillow cover update. Who wore it better? - LOL!

Sweet Stems is landing in stores now so have a look for it at your local quilt shop. To see the full range at Riley Blake Designs click HERE.

If you haven't tried paper piecing yet, I think you should give it a try. It's such a great way to get perfect results. Good luck and happy sewing!