4th of July Pillow

I came across an army star pattern at Lily's quilts and instantly fell in love.  I knew I had to make it, and in time for the 4th of July.  Luckily Missy was coming to visit for a crafting/girly fun weekend, and it was the perfect time.

I LOVE it.  I'll admit, it's actually my very first throw pillow on my couch, and my only 4th of July decoration currently, but I think since it's so grand, it works overtime to compensate for my lack of other decor.  Yes, I am gushing a little, I'm not always good at being humble.  Also, if you look at the close up quilting, you can see it's far from perfect, so hey, at least I can admit that, right ;).

This was a really fun project, it definitely took some time to work out, but was worth it, and if you have at least some experience paper piecing, I definitely recommend giving it a try.  If you live in Utah, you even still have time to get it done before the 24th, or just make it red and green and call it a Christmas Star.  A great big thank you to Lily for the tutorial so I can have this awesome pillow!

I started out quilting just the lines in the background, then added the stitching in the ditch around the outside of the circle and the triangles in between the star points. I felt it needed a little more so I threw in the pebbles and I'm glad I did. Not only did it give me a chance to practice 3 different styles of quilting, but I think it gave it that last little bit of oomph I was looking for.

I currently have one more 4th of July pillow hanging half done on my design wall made from the same fabrics. I should be able to finish it up this week and have both of them done in time, which, for me, is a really big deal! Maybe I'll even get another decoration up or two.