A {handmade} Pillowcase

I have a great artist friend, Tracey, who is an amazing quilter and seamstress.  She is so fantastic for inspiring me with her sewing skills.  So the other day, she invited me over to sew a pillowcase, and with her help I stitched up the most beautiful pillowcase on the face of the planet {so not exaggerating here!}.

See for yourself:

Am I right?  

Well it helps to start out with fabric you love, and then get a perfectly coordinating strip of yellow that your friend just happens to have in her stash, and then have that amazing friend walk you through the pattern (which, by the way, you can find at All People Quilt as part of their 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge) and give you great pointers along the way (like trim down your seam before completing the last length of stitching on the French Seam, and use a pin to pick out the corners to make them square).

Just look at these beautiful French Seams:

I am always amazed at the process of sewing: the way you stack fabric in a certain order and facing a certain way and then bing-bang-boom it magically transposes into the right thing.  I have learned to not over think it, just follow the steps and wait for the magic to happen.

I can't bear to part with this pillowcase, and I need to make one more for my husband's pillow (he will be thrilled, I know).  Then I will whip up one (or three) to send off to someone who could really use a pretty pillowcase.