Feel the sweet relief of a lavender scented cold pack on your puffy allergy-irritated eyes.

Maelynn Wood joins us to show how to construct a lavender and flax filled pillow.

From quilting the outside with a walking foot to constructing the envelope back.

This quick project is a quilters answer to allergies.

Perfect for a gift or a treat for yourself.

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[Upbeat music] Hi there, and welcome to the 48th season of Love of Quilting.

I'm Sara Gallegos, and with me today is Maelynn Wood.

Welcome.

- Thank you.

Maelynn is a pattern designer and an educator, and she has got the cutest little kind of, like, relaxation.

Me time.

Kind of a project for us today, huh?

- Yes.

So we're going to make this cute little eye pillow.

Tell me about your inspiration.

Well, sometimes at the end of the day, our eyes are puffy and tired, and we just want to sit down and relax.

So I have created the excuse that you need to do that.

I love that.

That's what we need as an excuse.

So this is an allergy relief pillow.

And it goes in the freezer.

Okay.

And it's filled with two ingredients.

One is flax seed.

- Neat.

And the other is lavender buds.

It smells really nice up here today.

We've been kind of joking about how this is going to be our scratch and sniff episode, because it does just smell so fragrant and relaxing on set right now.

- Yep.

Yes.

And so you said it goes in the freezer but not the microwave, right?

No, this isn't a microwave.

This goes in the freezer.

So when do you need those five minutes.

You just take it right out of the freezer.

Find a nice comfy spot, lay it over your eyes.

And it's just supposed to help release the swelling and puffiness that sometimes gardening and hot weather brings.

- Sure.

It just happens, right?

- Yeah.

- That's perfect.

Excellent.

So where do we begin?

Well, we are going to quilt the front side of the pouch and so we're going to start I have the front panel cut out here.

And the batting.

And I like to cut my batting about an inch bigger than my piece, just to give us a little bit more wiggle room.

So I've cut those for us today and we're going to be quilting them.

So if we get any like shifting or shrinkage, you've got plenty of batting there.

Yeah.

Yes.

We're all good.

- Okay.

And so you have marked a line in the very center of the fabric, right.

I did and I did this with an iron.

You can also do this with a hair marker, but it just gives us a good point in the middle.

A nice straight line to start with.

- Excellent.

I also, want to say that we're using the walking foot because we're using more than one layer of fabric, and it's going to give some nice pull through the machine for us.

Because it's kind of like grabs from the top while the feed dogs grab from the bottom.

And a sandwich is that fabric and pulls it through the machine.

Yes.

- And I forgot to mention, we've got a little, serpentine stitch here instead of a straight stitch.

Do you ever play with different stitches for quilting?

Oh, yes.

- Okay.

I mean, I'm partial to the straight stitch.

Kind of gets the job done when you need it done, but when I'm able, - Quickly.

- to have the time to sit down.

And sew I'm all about the stitches.

Why not?

So how do you line up your second row of stitching?

Then I'm just going to match the edge of the foot with the last seam.

- Okay.

And then just continue going on down.

And it looks like the spacing is the same whether you're on the left or the right side of the foot.

Yes.

- So it doesn't really matter which way you go.

That's right.

And I really, really love how you've got this contrasting thread.

Oh, it's just the pop of color that you need.

That's pretty.

- Yeah.

Very pretty.

Do you always work with a cotton thread for this?

It is what I prefer.

Okay.

- So I have found that it works really well.

It's lasting really well.

See if it stands the test of tim - Right?

Okay, we'll do this row Let's see here.

And the batting that we're using is an 80 20 blend.

But you could use you could use whatever batting that you have on hand.

And these are great projects.

If you have scraps.

- Oh yeah.

If you have that little piece of leftover batting, just keep it and put away for a future project because projects like these are perfect for those little extras.

It's kind of a neat idea too.

If you're gifting somebody a quilt, why not give them a little eye pillow over with it with your scrap fabric?

Yeah, why not?

- That'll be really fun.

- Yeah.

So you mentioned it's an 80 20 blend.

Will you explain to me what that means?

This is a blend of cotton and wool.

- Cotton and wool.

Nice.

and it has, it has a good feel to it.

It allows and you can see in the quilting here, it just gives it more of that full, more traditional quilted look.

Yeah.

And depending where you are in the country, you might want a quilt that's actually cuddly and soft and warm, or you might want it thinner.

So this is generally what I use for my everyday quilting.

Right.

And this was a scrap that I had from my last quilt project.

Yeah, if you are stuck in just like the cotton batting trap, definitely try some blends.

I know I like a cotton polyester sometimes just so it doesn't show lines of I'm folding my quilt and traveling with it, but that cotton in wool is so nice.

Like you said, especially in places where we both live that get a little bit chilly.

And yeah.

- Yeah, I also - It's great.

just feel like anytime you see wool on something like, oh, this is going to last.

- Yeah.

- This is going to be that that heirloom piece that will be passed down and.

And extra cozy.

- Extra cozy.

For sure.

So you've got a piece here that's completely quilted and that is, is with horizontal straight lines.

So you can kind of go whichever direction you want.

Right.

This one does have horizontal straight lines.

And you can see I did lengthen the stitch length a bit to give it more of a hand quilted look.

It's a little trick that I like to use even when I'm quilting a large throw on my domestic machine.

Sometimes just lengthening that stitch length gives it more of a hand-sewn look, a little bit more of an instantaneous heirloom feel.

I like that.

So what stitch length are you going to?

This is three and a half.

- Three and a half okay.

Yeah.

That's really nice.

- Yeah.

So will you do an entire quilt which is that match stick kind of quilting through the whole thing.

Yes.

- That looks pretty.

- Yeah.

Takes a little time but - It takes a little time.

I take over the kitchen table for a couple of days.

I bet.

Yes.

- Yeah.

But it's worth it in the end.

Okay.

Great.

So once we've got our piece quilted.

Then what?

We're just going to trim this to size so you can see it did it did pull a little here.

So I'm just going to line up the ruler with the edge.

I know that this piece of fabric is exactly what I want.

So I'm just going to trim the overages using my ruler and my rotary cutter here and just trim off the exposed batting.

Do you want me to turn your rotary blade around for you?

Since I see you're left handed.

I am lefty, no, you know.

- You're fine?

The lefties in the universe.

I think we're just used to adapting and - Ambidextrous.

Just go with the flow.

- Right.

Although any time I can get my hands on a pair of left handed scissors, it's.

It's like Christmas.

Yeah.

- It's an exciting day.

One of my daughters is left handed also, so I'm always looking for all the different variations of left handed scissors.

What else do we need that's left handed?

- Right.

Okay, so then I'm just going to toss this off to the side as we do.

I've got this nice perfectly sized piece here.

Nice.

The next thing we're going to start on is working on the back side of the envelope.

And so this is the front of our of our pillow.

And then I'll use this as an example.

I'll show you we are going to make an insert.

And so it's an envelope style pattern.

So the insert is going to go inside and then just fold folds over.

- Okay.

Just a little lapped back.

Yeah.

Notice the personal buttons.

And the reason being this is the side that's going to go on our eyes.

- Oh right.

So this is also why this is not quilted.

We just want it.

It's nice and smooth and flat against our face.

And then that cool will get to your eyes instead of going through the batting.

Just a little bit faster.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

So to do that I'm going to take my two back panel pieces and I'm just going to fold them in, twice over to catch the raw edges.

And I'm going to iron that down just to hold it It looks like a little bit in place.

- just about a half inch twice.

About that ballpark ish.

Yes, yes.

So I'm going to do that to each piece.

You mentioned to me that you like to work with this project with children sometimes too, that it's kind of like a simple, easy thing to get kiddos into sewing.

Yes, if you have someone in your life that's young and wants to do a quick project because they They want it sew, but they also want to then take it home.

Correct.

- With them.

Right.

So this is a great Saturday morning project, Sunday afternoon project.

And gives them that instant, satisfaction of look what I made, look what I did.

- For sure.

- Which is great.

So then we're just going to go through I'm just going to we're going to sew this, line down.

- Okay.

- And you can see that I just gave it the top stitch effect here on, on this fabric just to sew those edges down.

So I'm switching back to a straight stitch.

We don't want to I guess you could use the serpentine stitch to close it too.

But don't need that huh?

Let's scootch that over a little bit.

There we go.

There's the first one.

Oh it is a blue bobbin.

And there I wasn't sure which color bobbin we had in so.

Sew this one with the fold up.

So I can see the edge.

I like to be matchy matchy.

I really like to use this contrast color though.

To use the blue thread on the peachy flamingo fabric is.

Oh it's a great poppy.

- It's really sweet.

Kind of lend to the tropical.

Absolutely.

- Vibes as well.

Okay.

So now we've completed the outside panel.

So we're going to put these right sides together.

Okay.

- On top.

And you want to match the outer edges being flush.

- Okay.

And they are supposed to overlap on just ever so slightly.

And then we're going to clip around.

And so all the way all the way around and this is our opening.

So we'll flip it right right side out.

We'll have our opening.

So you don't need to leave an opening for turning?

No we do not.

They're all on its own.

And so I really like to use clips, over pins.

I'm a clip girl.

I don't know, but - It works too.

It works either way.

You're never going to forget to take it off before you get to it.

And no one pins in the sewing machine today.

No sewing over your pins.

- Yes.

No, I the clips are very, very helpful and they're so easy to put in and out and so do you typically sew it with a quarter inch seam?

I do just a standard quarter inch seam allowance - Okay.

- All the way around.

Which I did not switch to a quarter inch foot, but I think we're pretty close.

So just a little pivot at the corner.

- Yep.

Get those clips out.

Let me go one more stitch.

There we go.

Flying clips.

- Always.

Always flying around.

- You never know where you're going to find a clip in in the sewing rooms.

Isn't that the truth.

Well and then you don't have to worry about finding a pin with your toe either.

I would rather step on a clip.

Any day.

Yes, the only thing worse than stepping on a pin is stepping on like one of your kid's toys.

I think.

Yes.

So you don't see those either.

- Right?

- Toys incoming.

A couple more stitches here.

Turn my corner.

Now.

We're in the homestretch.

- That's right.

What a great gift.

I just want to make these for everybody now.

Yes, and it is hard to just make one.

I would suggest if you're doing this project, cut out 2 or 3 because you could use these, for teachers gifts.

Oh, great idea.

- For any If you're going to a retreat and you want to bring just a little something for the people that you're going to be bunking with, this is a great little gift that travels well.

That's a great idea.

- Yeah.

I did backstitch here because we are going to be turning it right sides out, and you're going to be pulling against the seams that helpful you think?

- Yes.

And then do you like to clip your corners before we turn it?

Yeah.

Let's take care of those corners.

- Okay.

Cool.

Reduce the bulk a little bit.

I think I've got another little rotary cutter here.

Helps with the turning eh?

I went a little crooked there.

I won't tell anybody.

- Thank you.

There we go.

Okay.

- Great.

So then we're just going to flip our project right side out.

I like to take my thumbs all the way to the.

If you don't have a tool.

- Yeah.

Although a tool that, viewers might have at home.

Is it knitting needle.

Oh, that's a good idea.

- That or a crochet needle.

Or a little stiletto.

- Or a little stiletto works, too.

But I just take my fingers and just pop those corners out as I go and then get the big reveal, flipping it right side out.

Right.

I always like to, like, say, ta-da or something for a little reward to myself.

- It is.

as I'm alone in my sewing room generally.

You gotta have those little wins.

- So Definitely have to have the little wins.

So nice to have instant gratification projects too.

So there we go.

- Cute.

And then you can see.

So from the front we've got this nice quilted front.

And in the back we have this nice little envelope opening where we're going to be able to put our pillow insert.

So this project does have two pieces because sometimes we lay down and put this on our eyes and after a while you start seeing a little bit of perhaps build up of your eye makeup.

- Sure.

Or if just, you know, the sweat and grime of the day - Right.

if you are working hard.

And that's why this project is in two pieces, so that you can take it out and and launder this.

I would put it through the wash and maybe just let it air dry on a counter.

Oh, that's nice idea.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

You definitely cannot wash it with flax seeds inside because those are going to hold the water and expand.

Right?

- Yeah that's not what we want to do.

But we do want to use flax seeds in this project.

So let's talk about where those flax seeds are going to go.

- Okay.

Great.

- Okay great.

So we've got two rectangles here for my interior pocket that are the same size.

And we're just going to sew three sides - Okay.

with a quarter inch seam allowance.

Pivot.

Just coming down and pivoting around the corners and coming back up.

So we'll start and stop on the short side.

- Okay.

Okay.

Three sides.

Not all four.

Right.

- Okay.

[Sewing machine noise] Scratch those layers together.

- Yeah.

And just a regular cotton on the inside?

This is just a regular cotton.

And this is a fantastic use, for your scrap bin.

If you have two pieces that are in your scrap bin and they don't even have to be identical, it's never really going to be seen.

- Right.

So even maybe it's fabrics that.

You weren't.

Your favorite, but you're like, I still want to use them somehow.

This is a really great use for those fabrics.

The what was I thinking that day fabrics.

I've got a few of those in my stash.

Where I go Like what kind of a mood was I in when I bought those fabrics?

Theyre just not my norm?

- Right.

You were in the all the fabrics on sale mood.

So Yes, that's it too.

When are we not in that mood.

- That's so it.

That's right.

It's on sale.

Why not?

I'll come up with something to do with it.

Okay.

So do you lock at the end of this one too?

I do like to do that.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

There we go.

A little backstitch.

And your lining.

- Okay.

So now we've got our bag.

We're going to flip this right side out.

- Okay.

And we're going to fill it up.

- Im excited.

So the examples that we have I filled the bags about three quarters of the way full.

Okay.

And it does take a little finesse in massaging to get them in there.

So today maybe we'll just do halfway so we can just show it as a, as an example.

Sounds good.

Do you want to do the honors and do some, some scoops?

Sure.

And when I'm putting it in I like to do a little pre-mix.

So we'll do a few scoops of the flax seed and then a little bit of our lavender buds here.

Making a mess.

And oh, we're going to make a mess as part of the fun.

Okay.

Good.

- Yeah, it's going to be great.

Okay, so a few scoops of flax and.

Yeah.

And then we'll just do here, I'll let you do it.

You just going to dump them in there?

I'll let you have the fun.

- Okay.

I've had all the fun.

I'll let you do it this time.

Yeah.

Just a little bit in there.

- Good.

And these are just you just buy lavender buds, like in bulk.

Yes.

We have a lavender farm close to where we live.

- Oh.

It would definitely be worth, looking up and seeing if you have a lavender farm close by, because then you can just buy the buds.

But I do believe you can find these.

You can source these online.

Now that you mentioned that, - in bulk.

I actually do have a lavender farm nearby too.

- Yeah.

That's a good idea.

And you don't need much for using maybe two two tablespoons.

- Okay.

Of lavender in here.

I think I've gone over that.

- Okay.

This is going to be a really relaxing pillow.

It's going to be a very scented pillow.

Yeah.

- I've just been dumping it in there.

You're going to need more than five minutes.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

This is definitely for the nap time.

Yeah okay.

Great.

So then once you've once you filled it up I just give a little, little massage.

Are we cleaning as we go?

I just it feels like I should.

- Yeah.

Okay.

That's great.

Okay.

And then I just fold this in right here.

- Okay.

And clip it shut.

And then we're going to sew it.

So.

Oh thank you.

Help from a friend.

Oh I love that.

So I'll just throw a couple clips in there.

- Okay.

And I do make I am very careful and conscious as I'm sewing, you know, to make sure I've got a nice flat piece here and that all of my flax seed and lavender is pushed off to the side.

So I just, I like to rub my hand on the top and make sure nothing's snuck in there.

So we're not sewing through a flax seed.

- Yeah.

I mean, that's not in any manual if you can or cannot.

- Right.

Sew through flax seed.

But I don't want to be the one to try.

I've heard a lot of sewing machine horror stories that would be a new one.

I have not heard that yet.

Okay, so we're going to lock a little bit.

Okay.

Just make sure I keep my edges together.

Yeah.

Just keeping the edges together and sewing a nice line.

And I like to make sure you start at the very beginning and end at the very end, because these, the flax is small Oh.

- And it would like to escape.

So you don't want to skip one stitch at the edge.

- Nope.

You need to get all the way through.

- All the way through.

Okay.

- Yeah.

There we go.

This is excellent.

I know it's kind of fun right?

- It is really fun.

- Yeah.

So then the the next and the last step is to insert our, our bag, our insert into our outer pillow.

And I just gently massage it in and kind of use the flax and lavender as the weight to help it get in there.

- Okay.

Let gravity take hold.

Let gravity, do its thing.

- Yeah.

- And just kind of get it as much down to the end, which makes it easier for putting in the second side and smooth it out.

This is so cute.

And then you can use your fingers or whatever you want to make sure your your corners are where they're supposed to be here And there we go.

Oh that's adorable.

So have you done other scents other than lavender?

Are there other things you could fill it with?

I've put Essential oils.

Okay.

- In there before.

But this is a really just, like, a good baseline.

Yeah.

- Really.

You can go from here.

Of course, with essential oils.

Just be a little careful with what's going close to your eyes, right?

Yes.

- Yes.

- Not nothing.

Nothing strong.

Great.

Well, we've got a few minutes left, so let's add a little more stitching to that first one you're working on.

Yeah.

Let's do some pizazz on this for sure.

- Okay.

Do you have any other favorites such as you like to play with?

All of them.

Is there a bad stitch to play with?

A girl after my own heart.

Right.

I feel the same.

I do like, intermixing.

So doing some of mine and some of another, of a stitch.

Okay.

- What did you choose here?

I chose a triple straight stitch to go right between these serpentines.

- Okay.

I thought that'd be kind of fun.

And it's the serpentines are just the same width as the toes of our little walking foot here, so it's really easy to stay straight down there.

Then you can tell me what you think.

I think this would be everybody wants to make stitch booklets for their sewing machines, right?

Where they test off all the different stitches.

This would be kind of a fun place to experiment with.

Yes.

- Different stitches, especially quilting specific stitches in your machine.

Right.

And these are this is a small project.

So it's a taste of each stitch.

- Right.

It's not a not a large commitment.

And you need batting or some sort of a stabilizer when you're working with decorative stitches.

And the batting does the trick.

That's kind of nice too.

Okay.

There we go.

Okay.

So let me cut that one and then thoughts about another.

Let's try this triple zigzag.

Yeah.

And this walking foot gives us some options beyond just a straight stitch.

It doesn't have just a single hole opening.

So you can actually use some of your wider decorative stitches.

It is a triple zigzag.

Oh now we're getting fancy.

- I know right?

I love it.

- Hopefully it won't pucker too much on us.

Yeah we'll see.

Have you ever run into any problems with having the batting just by itself.

Up against with the feed dogs of the machine causing any extra lint or anything like that?

Or So the lint buildup will happen.

Yeah.

- A lot faster.

You could cut another piece of fabric to go in the backing if you wanted to.

I would suggest cutting that backing fabric to the same size as your batting.

Okay.

And leaving both the the batting and the backing on the larger size and then cutting everything to size for the front piece when you're done.

When it's all done.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

I think especially with cotton threads we get a little linty so just have to make sure we do our machine maintenance clean all that stuff out of there huh?

I try to do the first of the month at minimum.

Oh, that's a great idea.

First of the month.

Set an alarm and clean it out.

Cute.

Okay, so I think I can go to my history stitches here and find that triple straight stitch again really easily and go back betwee these, see what we think.

Now I want to teach this myself.

Yes.

This is a great like I said, a great project.

If you're teaching, someone who is young and just wanting to get into it, it's a very quick project.

Also, if you're having a sewing night and everybody just wants to be able to chat while they're sewing, this is a good chat while you sew kind of project.

There's only a few pieces to put together.

No so many mistakes to be made.

You're not going to get too lost in it.

- Oh my goodness.

Yeah.

- So fun.

It's a good.

All right, let's take a look here.

You know, and you can just play with your scraps and choose what you like the looks of.

You may find that one of the stitches that you use, you don't like.

And that's okay.

At least you tried something new and different.

So this one gets real quilty with the, the wool batting.

And it's a little puffy, huh?

- Yeah.

And don't be afraid to do that on the top.

Remember the your eyes are going on the on the bottom on the flat side.

- Right.

So you can, you can really get as fun and decorative as the, as you want on the on the top side.

Well, this is an adorable and sweet project.

Simple to share with any of your sewing friends or even the littles in your life.

And also just incredibly thoughtful.

So thank you so much for sharing this with us today.

My pleasure.

Grab a pencil, tips, and other useful information.

Coming up next.

Barbara Mica of Crawfordsville, Florida, says I recently purchased a roll of double sided fusible web.

It was difficult to cut until I tried putting in an empty wax paper box with the serrated blade edge.

- Oh.

- Now it's easy to roll and cut.

This is from Mary Rose Spriggs from Old Knee, Maryland.

She said, I bought a wool mat and it's wonderful.

But there are two issues.

It was very expensive, so I worry about staining or damaging it.

And I don't like the smell of wool.

I solved both problems by putting the mat in a pillowcase.

The pillowcase keeps it clean from spray and starch can be washed and it eliminates the smell of wool.

Okay.

I just love this little tip and story from Linda Greer of Phoenix, Arizona.

She says my sister Patty and I love your show Aw thanks Linda.

- Isn't that cute.

We live two hours away from each other.

But Saturday morning is our time to watch the show and text back and forth about the beautiful projects.

I'm always looking for ways to use leftover scraps and trimmings from quilts, and also looking for good beginner projects for my granddaughter, Luna.

Episode 4404.

That was Robin O'Neil.

With the scrappy borrow boxes ticked all the boxes.

I was able to use batting and fabric scraps trimmed from my long arm instead of cutting a square into a plus sign, and she just did like a base with two little wings on it like we did.

Quite a little different than we did in the episode.

And she said that her granddaughter practiced hand stitching on the scraps, and when she was happy with the designs, we sewed up the boxes.

They ended up with 11 little Christmas surprise gifts.

Isn' that cute.

I do like the hand stitching on it too, especially in that dark one.

- This project is so much fun.

You got to do it.

- Oh, yeah.

- Yeah.

Well, this is from Mary Beth Ottoman, and she is from Battleground Washington.

She says, I love your program.

I always learn something new from each episode.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mary Beth.

I often have trouble inserting a needle in my sewing machine.

It's difficult to hold on to the needle and to get it lined up properly, and often I'd end up dropping the needle.

To solve this problem, I poke the needle into a pencil eraser, and then I can easily line it up and have the pencil as a handle.

Pretty clever.

- Yep.

- I like it.

Okay, this is not a tip, but rather a prop, she says.

Angela has mentioned a tiny crochet hook that she uses to remove stray threads in quilting, and so she thought that you might like to see that as a demo.

Happy quilting!

Yeah, look at how little I mean, it is so tiny.

It's so tiny.

- So you can kind of get in between the threads.

And if you have like a stray thread that's caught between the batting and the quilt top, you can just kind of pluck it - Pluck it through.

And pull it out.

Our producer, Vanessa, added a little note and said she keeps forgetting Yeah.

- to pick one up for the set, so she's really thankful for that Leslie.

Oh good.

Now we're set.

Thanks, Leslie.

Thanks so much for sharing your tips.

It's always good to sit around the tips table and learn from you.

We'll see you next time.

If you have a tip to share, send it with the prop to the address on your screen.

Additional quilting ideas are available in the pages of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine.

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The Bernina 990.

If it can be imagined, it can be created.

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Longarm quilting machines allow you to express your creativity.

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Quilt forever.

Electric quilt making every quilt a designer since 1991.

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