Crafturday! Paper Pieced Squirrel Pillow

I just finished this pillow, from a pattern by During Quiet Time, a craft blog I like a lot. You can find the free pattern on the During Quiet Time site.

This pattern was probably the most complex paper piecing pattern I've tried yet. I started with the bigger/easier pieces and moved on to the smaller ones later; I figured by the time I got to the hard pieces I would have completed enough that I would feel obliged to finish and not get intimidated. I was right! I worked one section a day as I had time and I would say it took around a month to complete the pillow (given two or three sewing days a week). It went together pretty easily once I finished the individual sections. It's 12" square and I love it!

I got away with one fat quarter for each part of the top- background (very tight squeeze & had to use up all the little scraps I made along the way), squirrel body and binding (same fabric) and tail. I used a different squirrel print for the flaps on the back and a random ugly fat quarter for the flip side of the quilted squirrel top. I would recommend using a half yard for the background if you can, just to eliminate stress. But if you are very careful about using up all your scraps you can get away with a fat quarter. Have fun!