Grummie's Pillow

My grandmother is 84 today. There isn't much in the way of new and exciting gifts to give her, so I decided I would make her something. Since my latest crafting involves sewing and smocking, I made her a little pillow. It measures about 10'x15' without the ruffle.

I used leftover fabric from Brooke's Dress, which are colors that remind me of Grummie anyway :). The plate is an Ellen McCarn pattern I used for Sadie's first bubble, and also the smocked insert for Jackson's bubble.

I actually had everything on hand, even the blank pleated insert! I literally used every scrap of fabric, because I was intent on putting a ruffle on the pillow. It is made of many smaller strips, and barely was enough to go around, but I like the end result.

Stuffing the pillow was a little tricky. Even though I didn't overstuff, it is difficult to keep the stuffing from lumping up behind the elastic smocked insert. And while I pieced the front quite evenly, I guess the smocking still wasn't perfectly blocked because it seems to be a little wonky still. And the side pieces curve for some reason.

Even so, it was a good learning project--I've never done pillow before. (Well, unless you count the snail!) Also, I've never actually sewn a smocked insert into anything, those baby bubbles were made for me. The other garments I've smocked directly on.