Thursday 22 November 2012

Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop and a Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop.

This is the first time I have taken part in one of Madam Samm, Sew We Quilt's Blog Hops, but from what I have seen she is definitely the Queen of the Blog Hop! This is the last one of 2012 for Madam Samm, but she has some exciting Hops already lined up for 2013, apparently, so keep your eyes peeled :)

The Cheerleader for this Blog Hop was the lovely Pauline, otherwise known as Quilt 'n Queen. Poor Pauline has been fending off the flu bug and coping with a laptop in its' death throes, but still managed to keep everyone on track, that is dedication!

The Hoppers on track today are

Thursday November 22
In all there are 95 Hoppers taking part, that is a lot of pillows (or cushions for we Brits!). 
As ever, and despite my best intentions,  I took this project right to the wire. The photo for the Blog Hop didn't really give me an idea of the actual size of this pillow - it is big! The pattern is by Jill Finley of Jillily Studio and is available here, but be warned this pillow eats up stuffing :)
 
The original pattern calls for a black background, but as regular readers will know my plain black fabric is currently skulking in a storage unit. So, yes you have guessed it, the son's shirt came into play again for the applique door! Instead of a night scene then I went for a dazzling blue Northern sky, just like the ones we loved in Latvia. Although you can just see a sprinkling of snow in the air with some quilted snowflakes dotted around, as it wouldn't be Christmas without at least a little snowfall :)
Now if you would like to make your own Holiday Lane pillow, today's Giveaway might just help to get you started. 
To win 6FQ's of Holiday themed fabric, all you need to do is leave a comment telling me what unusual fabric you have used in your patchwork. If you are a follower leave a comment telling me that too for an extra chance to win. 
The winner will be drawn randomly on Tuesday 27th November at 18.00 UK Time. If you are a no-reply blogger please make sure you include your email address in your comment, so that I have some way of contacting you should you win. International entries are, of course, welcome!
 
Giveaway now closed, Congratulations Beaquilter!
I shall look forward to seeing what other things I can requisition for my sewing until I am reunited with my stash :)

135 comments:

  1. Your pillow is beautiful! Love the blue sky!

    Have used a pink Rosie the Riveter Keep on Quilting themed fabric for the UR Priceless BLog Hop earlier this month

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  2. Having done several challenge quilts, I think the most unusual fabric I have used was a cartoon like design of superheros. The quilt itself was a house design, and i used the fabric as a flat screen tv in the living room. Since there was so much going on in the rest of quilt, no one ever commented on the fabric!

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  3. Beautiful pillow, love the blue sky! I found some fabric with children's faces, minus a front tooth. Made a scrub top for my grand's dentist, big hit! Thank you for sharing.
    jbechosend at sbcglobal dot net

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  4. Beautiful, I love the blue sky, the most unusual fabric I have used so far is denim from my sons jeans.

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  5. I found some fabric that had beer steins on them and made my sons each a placemat.

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  6. Oh it is lovely, love the blue sky and those snow flakes, what a fab cushion!

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  7. Your pillow turned out beautifully - lovely! I've cut up mens plaid shirts for a quilt before and used jeans to make hot pad/pot holders. Reuse recycle repurpose :) GREAT giveaway!! amycav at hotmail dot com

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  8. Hello from this side of the pond too! Love the colours you have used for the cushion and the fact that you made it the same size - I made mine a lot smaller. Read your last post too - isnt Henley lovely - not been there for ages.

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  9. I love your cushion - I think your choice of fabrics makes it look especially twinkly and festive.

    Like Ukmuminusa I've used the legs of denim jeans to make patchwork cushions.

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  10. Love your blue sky and all of your house fabrics are lovely too - great cushion.

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  11. great job on the pillow. love the deep blue sky. I have been know to chop into sheets, and I have made a couple of quilts from old shirts.

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  12. Your pillow is adorable and the clear blue sky is awesome. I have used the legs from denim jeans to bags and purses.
    Thanks for sharing your work

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  13. I have used my husbands old shirts (not really old but he doesn't use them after the collars are a bit worn) in my charity blankets! Thanks for the chance to win and I love your pillow, very lively!

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  14. Love your pillow, it is so nice! Thanks for sharing. And i am now a new follower because I like your Blog.

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  15. Lovely pillow! I get old jeans from the Goodwill and use the fabric for purses. Just recently for the UR Priceless blog hop, I used old jeans for the cute little purses!

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  16. Great cushion!
    The most unusual fabric I've used is some I had screen printed myself!

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  17. What a lovely Holiday Lane, thanks for showing.

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  18. Nice job...including the substitution of fabric. I use old sheets sometimes for things and also old clothing. That's how quilting used to be so why not?

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  19. Your pillow is gorgeous...you were very creative with that shirt! Your giveaway is very generous! The most unusual fabric would have to be the vintage postcards I printed onto fabric sheets....so much inspiration out there!

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  20. Great idea with the shirt and I love how your pillow turned out!

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  21. Look forward to read more as a follower!

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  22. Your cushion is beautiful and you made great use of substitute fabric. Not sure what the most unusual fabric I have used is because if it's available and suits what I want to make I will use it. Many years ago a friend of mine was given a very expensive and lacy pair of knickers by her boyfriend trying to make up for something he had done. She ditched the boyfriend and gave me the knickers as she thought the lace could be used in some of my needlework. I used it to embellish an appliqué I was making

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  23. I'm with you on calling them cushions, Fiona. That black shirt is slowly disappearing... LOL!!! Your cushion looks great!!! I can't comment on unusual fabric in patchwork, as I haven't done much. I am intrigued by the idea of these hops and will check them out next year.

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  24. Thanks for the chance to win the lovely fabric. Following via GFC...

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  25. Great pillow. I love all your house fabrics!

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  26. Beautiful, and it feels great to use something to make something else doesn't it? I once had a piece of really ugly fabric that was given to me. I finally sat down and made myself create something wiht it. It was quite the challenge as it was kind of a burlap fabric. It ended up making a great wall hanging in the end. It good to challenge the ole mind from time to time!

    You can now enjoy your bright and cheery new pillow for the holidays! :-)

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  27. Lovely cushion! I've used old ties for crazy patch...not exactly unusual, but difficult to work with. Thanks for the beautiful fabric givaway!

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  28. Good Afternoon ...and my oh my you made a terrific pillow...delightful indeed... and please excuse me from the giveaway...I would love to see someone else win...lol and yes I call them cushions too..

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  29. We bought a new "OLD" home and I was blessed with all of sweet Ms. Emma's belongings, which included lots and lots of unopened sheets. I've been using them in my sewing, vintage sheets!

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  30. great pillow, I don't think I've quilted with unusual fabrics. hmmm I once long arm quilted a customer's quilt that had minky on the back, it turned out great! you didn't see the threads on the back but your saw the pattern of the quilting.

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  31. I haven't used them yet, but I am collecting my husband and children's outgrown or ripped Hawaiian shirts for a quilt some day. I have also seen a denim quilt that has made me hesitant to ever throw out a pair of worn jeans!

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  32. I'm a newbie to quilting, but I've already cut up two old shirts and a pair of pants for patchwork and sewing projects (heh, heh, it was glorious)!!! :)

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  33. I'm a new follower; thanks for the chance!

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  34. Love your pillow!! sweet fabrics to giveaway. I didn't use anything unusualy;;; except maybe the white felt for my snow.

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  35. I am a new follower...thanks for the giveaway

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  36. Your pillow turned out beautiful...I love the fabrics you chose. blessings, marklene

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  37. Your cushion is so Christmassy! I love it.

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  38. Your blue background looks quite striking! Love the pillows for this hop!

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  39. Wonderful pillow! Thanks for sharing. (I also looked around at your blog - love that bird you showed in your previous post.)

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  40. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pillow, very nicely done! I once used a 'pocket' from a work shirt for a quilt square on a graduation quilt for a friend. The shirt was from her grandpa, I left the pocket open so that her mom could tuck something special in it for her.

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  41. I am very new to quilting, so I am a rule follower so far. No straying from cotton for me. I'd be afraid to step outside the box.

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  42. I have been using old shirts from the thrift stores. Thanks for sharing in the hop fun. your pillow is perfectly lovely. Janita

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  43. Your pillow are super cute.Thanks for sharing!!

    I`m a follower

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  44. Love your pillow! The most unusal thing I used used was on an old fashioned Santa that had a patchwork coat. My mother in law had passed away and had an old coat with a mink collar. I used the mink collar to edge the patchwork coat on several Santa's and gave them out to some family members.
    hulseybg at gmail dot com

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  45. I'm a new follower.
    hulseybg at gmail dot com

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  46. My patchwork jacket has a piece of one the christening gowns my grandmother made for extra money. It also has bits of my children's & grandchildren clothing as well Asa piece of every fabric I had in my stash at the time.

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  47. I have had to resort to 'borrowing' a piece of my hubby's boxer shorts LOL.

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  48. Oh and I'm a delighted follower of your blog. :)

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  49. Loved how you made it your own way!! Its beautiful!!

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  50. The blue background is really nice with the fabrics you chose. It turned out beautiful!

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  51. Gorgeous pillow. Probably the most unusual item I have used is old flannel sheets for quilt batting for items I didn't want too lofty. Thanks for sharing and for an opportunity on a great draw
    bonnielarson58@gmail.com

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  52. I am a follower
    bonnielarson58@gmail.com

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  53. Hi Fiona! Love your piecing on the cushion!! The blue background is gorgeous! I can't think of anything unusual that I use, but my brain feels a little odd/old at times! Does that count!!

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  54. I'm following from Riga back to the UK!

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  55. Lovely pillow! Great use of 'what's available' for the background! Hope you are reunited with your stash soon. I won a bundle of 100 2 1/2" squares and when I went through them, there were all sorts of fabrics. I decided to patch them in a small quilt I called Vintage. Thanks!

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  56. I haven't used anything unusual yet, but I have some lovely, old, embroidered tea towels that I have been thinking of using with some vintage fabric. That is probably not too unusual!

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  57. I don't know how strange my fabric is, but I received quite a bit of fabric from a friend. One particular fabric contained one-inch circles in reds and yellows and purples with a turquois background. I thought it very bright and didn't know what to do with it. I used it to make a carrying case for my quilting rulers, about 12" by 30" with red handles. It looks fantastic!

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  58. I'm a new follower too! Your scenic pics are wonderful :)
    Thank you for the chance

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  59. I can't say I've used any strange fabric but I do pick up sheets for quilt backing, does that count?

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  60. I've used lots of untraditional fabrics over the years in special patchwork projects - laces from the wedding gowns of my grandmother, mother, myself & my daughter will all be part of my granddaughter's ring pillow. An entire infant's dress became the focal point appliqued on a quilt for all 3 granddaughters. And many felted wool skirts have gone into patchwork quilts. It's fun to put your family history into loved projects.

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  61. I like it with the blue. It is more like dusk. Strangest fabric that I have used in patchwork would be a shirt that had a giant frog on it.

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  62. I love the blue sky and your choice of fabrics. Cute houses.
    I'm new to quilting so the most unusual fabric (which I don't think is truly unusual) was fleece for the backing of a lap quilt for my MIL.(she wanted something soft and cushy)
    Thanks for sharing.

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  63. I guess the most unusual (for me) fabric is some fleece for the back of a quilt. Thanks for sharing your pillow & thanks for the chance to win.

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  64. I'm a follower. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  65. Your cushion turned out great! I like the blue sky. I've used recycled denim in a rag quilt. I look for 100% wool garments in the second hand store and felt the fabric for wool applique. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  66. What a great looking pillow. Thank you for the opportunity to win the fabric. Elizabeth

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth.

      You have come up as a no-reply blogger so I can't reply to you directly. Sorry.

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  67. Love your pillow. I have used a lot of wool felt applique. Thanks

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  68. I am a new follower in e-mail. Thanks for the chance to win.

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  69. I love the fabrics you have used in your pillow. Thank you for sharing.

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  70. You chose great fabrics for your pillow and the polka dot flange is just perfect! For me, the most unusual fabric I have used is one with symbols of the Pacific NW Indians. I used it once and have some leftovers that I am not sure what to do with! Perhaps some potholders some day! Normally, I used pretty normal fabrics.

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  71. I have visions of your son turning up to visit, pulling on his shirt and finding random holes dotted about it ;o) Looks good though!

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  72. Love your pillow and it was easy to become your follower. I look forward to reading your blog. I love to use vintage handkerchiefs on quilt blocks. Thanks for the giveaway! I will see you on November 26th...my day! Happy Thanksgiving.

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  73. Lovely cushion! Hopefully this comment has beaten the curse of the noreply issue x X

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  74. Hi Fiona, so glad you joined us for your first Sew We Quilt blog hop. I think of pillows on our bed and cushions on our couch. Your festive cushion is perfect. I love your fabric choices, the polka dots are awesome and it has the perfect blue sky with a dusting of snow...great job. Thank you for your commitment and for sharing your time and talents in the blog hop. Happy stitching Pauline

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  75. Lovely cushion! Love the blue background.

    I have only used cotton or wool or minkee in patchwork projects so far although I have been cutting up old denin jeans for a future project. I have also used fleece for the backing of a baby quilt to make it soft and cuddly. Once I participated in an "ugly fabric challenge that required me to use a fat quarter sent to me by a quilting friend. The fabric she sent I did not find very ugly, though, and I made a nice table quilt and tea pot cozy with it.

    The fabrics in your giveaway are very lovely. Thanks for sharing ... :) Pat

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  76. I love your cushion! (We call the things that pad a couch a cushion and the cushions we throw on top and are moveable are pillows. Isn't it funny how many little differences there are in a language that started out the same.) Great job!

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  77. I haven't used any unusual material for my quilts since I started back into quilting. I remember, as a girl, we used good pieces from worn-out clothing, all types of material and everything from army/navy blankets to flannel sheets for the batting. I've been to busy giving away clothing to people that can use them to even consider taking some apart to use in quilts..maybe that should be a New Years Resolution.
    Marj in Mexico

    thelady(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  78. I'm a follower. Thank you for the chance at your giveaway, beautiful collection of fabrics. Cute pillow, really like the snowflakes in the sky.
    Marj in Mexico
    thelady(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  79. Love your Christmas pillow. It turned out vesry nice.

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  80. I had to fuse 2 layers of diaper flanel to make the snow for my pillow .... but it worked great.
    I just love the bright blue you used ... just makes it all pop
    thanks for sharing
    in stitches

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  81. I love the bright Christmas fabrics you used. Very festive!

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  82. -your cushion ist great, lovely fabric choise!
    For the first time I used polarfleece in my patchwork, but see for yourself in my blog☺

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  83. I do follow you now, it´s a pleasure ☺
    Thanks for the chance to win!

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  84. I do follow you now. Thanks for having a give away. It is nice to talk to someone so far away. Beautiful pillow.

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  85. I love your lane! I really like your background fabric--very clever. Thanks for sharing.

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  86. Looks like you're amazingly creative when it comes to quilting. Up-cycling is so "in" these days. I love the fabrics you used for the houses. I don't think I've used anything especially different for a project. I'm kind of a 'follow the directions' kind of person. :)

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  87. What a pretty pillow! I've used a vintage sheet, owned (and used) by my husband's elderly aunt to make a special quilt for our daughter. Thanks for sharing!

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  88. I'm a new follower...thanks for the sweet giveaway!

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  89. lovely pillow. I guess using a fur type fabric when I did a teddy bear quilt. Thanks.

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  90. What a wonderful cushion, the fabrics look great! Thanks for sharing.

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  91. You made some great fabric choices! Love your pillow!

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  92. The pillows are great adn fun fabric colors for xmas

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  93. Years ago I made my own rendition of "grandma's flower garden". The flowers were pictures of my mom's grandkids and great grand kids. The leaves were green fur, the sky was blue fabric with mini rhinestones, and the ground was brown corduroy. Thanks for sharing!

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  94. It really is a big pillow! Very cheery!

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  95. Years ago I bought 10 yards of Christmas fabric with pear ornaments for $1/yard. Try as I might, Christmas after Christmas I dream up projects to use up this cheery cloth. But it's like "straw into gold"...the more I sew, the more I still have left. Just may donate the remaining yardage one of these days.

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  96. I have a whole TON of a bluish, snowflake print I won in an auction... it ends up in a LOT of my projects! I love your cushion -- you did a great job!

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  97. thanks for the chance! I haven't really used any unusual fabric yet. most of my stuff is like 20 years old though.

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  98. I've used crib sheets in baby quilts. Thanks for participating in the hop and for the giveaway!

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  99. Wow, your pillow is wonderful, even if you had to "cheat" so to speak, lol, by using your son's shirt. I say if you need the perfect fabric, it doesn't matter where you get it from.... fabric is fabric!!! :D I can't think of anything unusual, just like you, some clothes here and there, and a couple of times i used the back of cetain pieces of fabric that were better colors than the front of the fabric was. :)

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  100. Year 2000 fabric bits and pieces was my most unusal fabric. Lovely pillow. Judy C

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  101. I have matchine embroidered an initial on some patchwork pouches.

    susie
    legato1958@aol.com

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  102. Your pillow turned out great. I think the oddest fabric I have used is animal print.

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  103. I love your pillow! I use lots of dots on my projects

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  104. Your pillow is great. I think so far the most unusual fabric that I have used for patchwork is corduroy.

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  105. Great pillow....I used my great grandmothers lace on my Daughters ring bearers pillow ....

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  106. Your cushion is lovely! I've never used unusual fabric in patchwork, but I did use my husband's jeans to make a purse!

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  107. I think you know I'm a follower as you just can't get rid of me!

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  108. Very nice! I saved the fabrics from my grandchildren's crib sheets to use in some blocks for them.

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  109. Rosemary B here: Well, I am a follower now! Just Wowie, I adore your Holiday Pillow very very much, love the sky -- all of it is so inspiring
    I also hoard clothing that is of quality fabric and especially unique designs. So nice you could incorporate your son's shirt. Now we all know :-)
    Thank you for sharing your creativity

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  110. Your pillow is gorgeous. I have used cross-stitch fabric in my patchwork so that I could combine embroidery along with quilting.

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    1. Now that sounds like my ideal mix! Carolyn you are a no-reply blogger so I cannot reply to you directly or contact you if your number is drawn for the giveaway!

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  111. Loved your pillow especially the background fabric. The most unusual fabric for me is velvet and silk. Love and Dislike Both!

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  112. I like your pillow and it is so appropriate for the season. Unusual fabrics that have found their way into my patchwork is textured scraps from garments (like crinkly textures, raised dots, seersucker, embossed prints, slubs, and pique). These are usually lighter or heavier fabrics than quilting cotton. alternate email mlwright29(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  113. My grandmother use to wear flowered houses dresse. I cut them up and made quilts for all the grandchildren for Christmas one year.

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  114. Hmm.. Unusual fabric... I have not used it yet but some one sent me 1/2 yrd of Rosie the quilter fabric. I can't ait to use it!

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  115. Hi!!! Love your pillow and the background fabric!!! I have not used my unusual fabric yet!!! It is a silk from India and very pretty!!!!

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    1. I can understand why you are hesitating I would too Carla!

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  116. I am a follower and thanks for the fun!!!

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