Today I visited a dear family friend I have known since I was six years old and delivered this sweet pillowcase as a surprise for her:

It was made using my own free tutorial.

Jan is now in her late 80s and living in a residential memory care facility. Fortunately, it’s less than two miles from my home so I’m able to stop by and visit her a couple times a week. When Jan was moved there last December, I gave her a quilt I had recently completed so her new home would have a splash of color:

Perhaps you recognize the Picnic Quilt, the first of three quilts I made last year from a free pattern from Cloud 9 Fabrics called Ribbon Box. I chose the fabrics for Jan’s pillowcase with the Picnic Quilt in mind.

Here’s a close-up of the pillowcase fabrics because the photo at the top of this post doesn’t do them justice:

The main body of the pillowcase is a leaf print from the “Garden Dreams” line by Amber Elliot for Riley Blake Designs. The narrow uneven stripe used for the bottom band is from the Tilda Classic Basics Collection. (The selvage information calls it “Pen Stripe Light Blue” but it definitely reads as aqua to me.) I bought those two fabrics specifically for Jan’s pillowcase — and I liked the fabrics so much I bought enough to make a pair for the Portland White House. The sage green fabric used for the folded flange is an older piece from my stash, designed by Barbara Brackman for one of the “Morris Tapestry” lines for Moda.

I’m delighted to report that 1) the pillowcase looks great with the quilt, and 2) Jan loves them both!