Pura Vida

Before I show you what I have worked on this week....

If you live in the US (and even if you don't), you may have heard about all the fires that are consuming so many of our western states.  Over 800 homes have already been lost in Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Montana.  Julie and her husband have started a wonderful organization called Phoenix Quilts, which is currently accepting donations of quilts, tops, blocks, fabrics, supplies and monetary donations, with a goal of providing at least one quilt to each family who has lost their home to a fire. If you haven't seen her site, please take a moment to go visit her, see how you can help, and leave her some words of encouragement and praise for all her hard work.

This morning I mailed a box off to Julie, which I'm hoping will help out with her efforts.  I included one finished quilt (the "Don't Touch Me" quilt that I showed you here) and a stack of fabric that was taking up space in my stash.  I think it's about 18-20 yards total, so I'm hoping she and her team can use it (or donate it elsewhere if it's not what they are looking for).

Now for this week's project / finish, a pillow I made for my work BFF, Kim.  I've mentioned before that my day job can be very stressful, with long hours and headaches and curve balls when you least expect them.  I do love my job (really, I do!) but in those hours / days when it seems too much, the friends I've made and relationships I've built along the way are what keeps me going.

I "met" Kim last year when we were assigned to a very large, complex project together.  During the stress and long hours we got to know each other better and though we've never met in person (she lives in North Carolina, I'm in Florida), we quickly realized we have a lot in common and became very close friends.  Kim took a (much deserved) vacation to Costa Rica in February and came back with a new motto --- Pura Vida.  Translated literally, this means "Pure Life," and is the Costa Rican way to say, "slow down, enjoy life, don't get so stressed all the time."  I would consider it the equivalent to Jamaica's "don't worry, be happy!"

(Completely random side note... it must be something about the name Kim, because my childhood best friend was Kimmy, and I recently met another Kim (who sews and runs like I do) who I am quite fond of and have much in common with.  Maybe I'm just drawn to other "K" names?)

But anyway... I'd been wanting to try some UnRuly Letters and I knew right away that I'd make Kim a "Pura Vida" pillow.  Took me a while to get to it, but here it is:

Photo taken in bring sunlight, without the pillow form.  This measures 18"x14".

I'm not sure you can really see it here, but the back has an envelope closure, so the pillow can be removed.

I hand stitched the binding to the back, which is something I don't usually do.  I'm really happy with how nicely the corners come out when hand stitched (vs. machine sewn).

The pillow is in it now (obviously) but it was dark and rainy so I had to take this photo inside.  It's actually a better depiction of the true colors of the fabrics.

I quilted wavy lines across the pillow top, which remind me of ocean waves.  I know Kim had a great time out on the water in Costa Rica, so hopefully she'll get the same feeling from this.

I still have work to do to make my letters a bit more unruly, but this was a lot of fun to make and I'm looking forward to my next "letters" project... as well as seeing what y'all have been working on this week.

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Linking up with: 

Confessions of a Fabric Addict for "Whoop Whoop Friday"

Sew Many Ways for "Find a Friend Friday"

Pieceful Life for "Show Off Friday" 

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~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~


Thanks for stopping by!
~ Kat ~