A (Secret) Friday Finish

Shhh -- I can show you today's finish, but you have to promise not to tell for whom I made it.  Promise?

It's a pillow top:

The fabric is Madrona Road by Violet Craft for Michael Miller fabrics.  I used the "Ocean" colorway.  The design is a paper-pieced pattern from Nancy Mahoney's book, "Kaleidoscope Paper Piecing."  My niece bought me this book because she saw a quilt made from one of the patterns at Esther's Fabrics in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

I love my niece, but I do not love paper piecing.  Even though I used the "butcher paper" paper-piecing method (I promise a Tuesday tutorial on this, soon), I still hate paper piecing.

I even did a tiny bit of hand-quilting, using three strands of embroidery floss.  Backing the pieced top with lightweight fleece makes the stitching "stand up" very nicely.

Hmm, my gold thread matches so well, even close/close up you can't see it in the photo.

This project is for a challenge in which the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild is participating.  We're making pillows for our projects, so only one block (whew) was needed.

Linking up to Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday, hosted this week by Fiona at Celtic Thistle Stitches, as well as Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Meanwhile, have you commented on this post to enter my giveaway celebrating 400 followers of 52 Quilts?  And how is your #5 UFO for 13 in 2013 coming along?  Less than two weeks to finish!

From the desk of your