Pillowcases, Pillowcases and Free Patterns

Travel size pillow case for my grandson Miles using the 10,000 BC Collection from Benartex

American Patchwork and Quilting (APQ) continues to work toward their goal of providing 1,000,000 (yes, that's ONE MILLION) pillowcases for charity. I've partnered with them with the generous assistance of Benartex Fabrics to make some of these.

Yes, you can join in on the fun!

First, I selected one of their  43 FREE pillowcase patterns from their web site. I selected the one that is similar to the one I've used for the past 10+ years. You can see my blog post tutorial here (Pillowcase Tutorial) for when I made some smaller pillowcases for my grandsons. If you scroll down on that page you will see how I rolled up the main fabric to fit into the hem for a NO EXPOSED SEAM finish. Really awesome. Here is the link at the APQ site for the free pattern I used for today's tutorial: Roll it Up (scroll down for the pattern and a video).

Now, those of you who know me and my fervor for making pillowcases for my two little grandsons, know that my daughter Hilary has sternly advised me NO MORE PILLOWCASES. Well, what can I say? If I make enough she never has to do laundry (her most detested chore)!

So, I've made several for this blog hop. I guess I got carried away!

First, for the boys, I selected the Tropical Rainforest III Collection by Kanvas for Benartex:

Frogs, Lizards, Iguanas and - yikes! - Snakes!

Tropical Rainforest is a gorgeous collection that is perfect for anyone who's not afraid of slithery creatures. Believe me, as the mother of 3 daughters, I NEVER would have thought of using these for my little girls (who are very grown now). But I can see that my grandsons would LOVE THESE.

My husband made me remove a frog from our hotel room when we were in Cuba!

Frogs I can handle; snakes, you got to be kidding!

Now for the girls. I made 5 pillowcases for them . . .

Sneakers, bikes, hearts and lovey-dovey words for the girls

I used the Cool Girl Collection by Benartex Fabrics and sewed every last piece I was given. I especially love those sneakers, don't you?

Pink is my absolute favorite color. I dream of finding pink sneakers one day . . .

Many thanks to Benartex for generously supplying me with all this fabric. You can read more about how you can be involved and sew some pillowcases. Mine will be donated to The Alternative House through my local quilt shop (The Quilt Patch) which collects them and distributes quilts, fleece throws and other items like this. Make them local; give them local is my mantra!

Here is more info on the 24-Hour Sewathon:

*Sewathon website: www.allpeoplequilt.com/sewathon <http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/sewathon>

*Facebook: www.facebook.com/sewathon <http://www.facebook.com/sewathon>

*YouTube promotion video:  http://youtu.be/ySDoLAn6byU?list=UUQznLGBargr-HYg_GVVTmtQ 

*Official social hashtag: #APQSewathon

We're hosting a 24-hour event in our Des Moines offices, but shops and groups across the country are hosting their own sewathons. Find shops in your area here:

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/magazines-more/24-hour-sew-thon-shops

And here are more bloggers with their pillowcase offerings. Go visit and see what they made!
 
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Blog Participants List:

·    Alison Glass (http://alisonglass.com/blog)

·    American Patchwork & Quilting (www.allpeoplequilt.com/blog)

·    Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister Designs (http://www.meandmysisterdesigns.com/blog/)

·    The Benartex Design Team: Sew in Love with Fabric (http://www.sewinlovewithfabric.blogspot.com)

·    Debby Kratovil (http://debbykratovilquilts.blogspot.com/) - that's me!

·    Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts (http://www.laundrybasketquilts.net/blog/)

·    Heidi Pridemore (http://heidipridemore.blogspot.com)

·    How To Sew (www.howtosew.com)

·    Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom (http://www.sisboom.com/blog/)

·    Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts (http://figtreequilts.typepad.com/my_weblog/)

·    Karrie Winters of Freckled Whimsy (http://www.freckledwhimsy.com/)

·    Kelle Boyd of Ann Kelle (http://www.annkelle.com/category/blog/)

·    Linda Carlson (www.lindacarlsonquilts.com)

·    Lori Mason (http://www.lorimasondesign.com/news/)

·    Modern Quilt Studio (http://craftnectar.com/)

·    Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft (http://modernhandcraft.com/)

·    Northcott: Patti’s Patchwork (www.pattispatchwork.com)

·    Shannon Fabrics: My Cuddle Corner (http://shannonfabrics.com/blog/index/)

·    Tammy Silvers (http://www.tamarinis.typepad.com)

·    Timeless Treasures: Sew Timeless (http://www.ttfabrics.com/blog/)

·    Valori Wells (http://www.valoriwells.com/blog/)

·    Verna Mosquera of The Vintage Spool (http://freespiritfabric.blogspot.com/)

·    Wendy Sheppard of Ivory Spring (http://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/)