WIP Wednesday: Poof Poof Poof Poof

I love the way the word "poof" sounds when you say it out loud;  like a bubble popping out and flying off into space.  In any case, much better than "foot stool" which is terribly mundane.  To be honest, I'm not sure whether the poofs I'm talking about--that is, the kind that are also called foot stools--are technically poofs, or poufs, or maybe even puffs.  Regardless, I finished the one I was working on, made using Amy Butler's Gum Drop Pillow pattern (I guess she wasn't sure about the poof issue either).

I've actually been crafting and sewing like mad lately, a little to my detriment to be honest.  Sometimes it starts to feel like another duty, rather than something I do for fun.  As though soon the crafting police are going to chase me down and reprimand me for lack of productivity.  I've been doing lots of small projects, but as of now am stopping to focus on the design and execution of my next big quilt (the dinosaur).  It's hard for me to get started sometimes when a new big project requires lots of thought and time and investment of creative energy.  When I only have fifteen minutes, my instinct is "Oh let me go quickly make an adorable pincushion" rather than "I have time to sketch three bones on this giant pre-pattern drawing".  In the end, I love the end result and the design process of making larger, more involved art quilts- I just have to force myself to focus when I can.

Sorry for the random diversion;  hopefully those of you who aren't interested in my inner monologue have skipped on to the pretty pictures!   Here's my finished poof- I absolutely love it.  The white print is Kate Spain and the black print (my current favorite fabric of all time) is from Jane Sassaman's Prairie Gothic line.  In the pattern the eight pieces are assembled in an alternating fashion, but I went ahead and put two pieces of each fabric together (so that it alternates by quarters) because I wanted the repeats on the Jane Sassaman fabric to stand out.

I made the bigger of the two poofs in the pattern, and it is really very big. Perfect for perching on in my studio when I've tossed a pile of stuff in the chair.  I lined the pieces with fusible fleece to make them a but sturdier and added piping between the alternating quarter sections (still haven't quite worked out how to do proper piping-any suggestions would be awesome).  I couldn't believe how much stuffing it took to fill it! My mom brought me a kitchen size garbage back filled with tiny batting/fabric scraps, I had 4 walmart sacks completely stuffed, my sister gave me a roll of twin sized polyester batting, and I had about 7 24" practice FMQ sandwiches.  All that stuffed in there and I still had to buy another bag of polyester fiber fill to finish fluffing it out.

I'm so glad I finished it, the pattern was really very easy to follow and the poof was easy to assemble.  I'm already enjoying it- I just hope the dogs keep away.  Nothing in the studio matches, I love all the mixed up bright colors!

Linking up with Lee over at WIP Wednesday as well as Sew Much Ado: We did it Wednesday.

For this week:


Finishes:
Amy Butler Poof
Minky Blankets (2)
Embroidery Hoop and Pin Cushion for Wild Olive Swap

Progressing on:
Dinosaur Quilt (design phase)
Easter Dress for me (almost finished)
Crochet Flower Blocks (just chugging away)

No Progress on:
Dog Quilt
Nativity Quilt
Baptism Gown
Upcycled dresses

How are you guys doing?  Feeling craft-overwhelmed-ness lately?  Any good solutions?