DIY.. Half Square Triangle Pillow

Quilting isn’t one of my strong suits. So when I decided to jump on board the Fat Quarter Shop’s “I Love Sewing and Quilting” blog tour, I knew I had to try something outside my comfort zone. I have wanted to sew a half square triangle pillow FOREVER.. So as usual, this was the perfect opportunity to get working on something new.

The color combination is pretty crazy, right? Normally, pink is not a color choice for me. I was a tomboy growing up and hated pink. I resisted wearing it all all occasions.  Maybe it is because of “Radiant Orchid” being Pantone’s color of the year “, but I have been drawn to pink this last year more than ever before.

So where does this combination come from? My sneakers of course!

Every time I look down at my pink my pink Brooks sneakers, I’m reminded about how much I love them. I’ve been drawn to the colors in my shoes for months and knew at some point I had to use them in a project. A half square pillow was the perfect testing ground because I could play with the combinations. The colors are so vibrant and I love the pink meet fuchsia meet orange with a touch of blue scheme.

I’m not going to bore you with a tutorial. Look up “half square triangles ” on Pinterest and you will find a bunch of amazing quilters sharing their best practices. I didn’t have a lot of time to make my pillow and love the HST tutorial Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock shares on her blog.

As part of the Fat Quarter Shop’s “I Love Sewing and Quilting” blog tour, we were asked to share a little about ourselves.  I’m not that big on talking about myself, but here goes:

1. How did you start sewing/quilting?

Growing up, I resisted all my Mom’s attempts to teach me to sew. At 18, I wanted to make harem style pants and took a few local classes. A few years later I was fortunate to study abroad in Uppsala, Sweden. I caught the design bug and upon my return decided I wanted to become a fashion designer. At that point, I still knew next to nothing about sewing, patterns and design. I busted my butt and learnt as much as I could, put a portfolio together and got into Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario.. That was the start of a long journey.

2. When was the first time you knew you were a sewer/quilter?

It took me a long time to feel like I knew what I was doing. I’m a recovering PERFECTIONIST. I started to feel like I was a real sewer a few years ago. This was when I lived in New York City and was working in the fashion industry. I was teaching a friend to alter a pattern and sew a skirt and realized.. Holy Crap, I know what I am talking about!

3. Do you have any sewing horror sewing stories or faux pas?

Think twice and then cut. Just last night I set in a zipper, perfectly and then cut off the end that had the zipper pull still on it. Duh.

4. What advice would you give to someone just starting in quilting/sewing?

Just start and don’t compare yourself to others!  Comparison is the kiss of death. Take classes. I love taking classes and think this is the best way to improve and learn new techniques. Plus you can meet some pretty cool people in the sewing world.