X-Factor Pillow Swap - Holiday Edition

I know there haven't been a lot of sewing posts lately, however, there has been a fair bit of secret sewing going on, which I am finally able to start posting about.  When Tiina  (Cottilello on Flickr) posted that the theme for the X Factor Pillow Swap - Round 12 was Holiday, my immediate thought was Christmas.

In New Zealand because we have a summer Christmas we don't usually decorate with holiday themed pillows and quilts, but I decided to participate anyway.  Nothing wrong with starting a new tradition in my home.

I kept thinking of a Christmas tree pillow, and one night while lying in bed, I had the brilliant idea of using a selection of green fabrics to make Sugar Loaf Blocks. While fossicking through my fabrics, I pulled out this bauble print from Ann Kelle's Jingle collection, which when fussy cut fitted perfectly in the centre of my blocks.

Carefully stitched in a simplistic tree shape with a star in the top block,  a wood grain trunk and various low volume backgrounds I had my pillow top.  Simple quilting and a bright cheery red Christmas print binding (again from the Jingle collection) completed my pillow.

This has now been sent off to it's new owner and I am waiting for my Christmas  pillow to turn up in the post - hopefully in time for Christmas this year.