Derby Day Pillow

I think I can safely say that my three daughters are obsessed with horses.

Ever since we arrived in Texas almost three years ago, my girls have been begging for riding lessons. This year James and I decided that they were finally old enough, so as their Christmas gift, we and all their grandparents gave them the gift of weekly lessons for as long as we can afford them. They have fallen completely in love with the horses at our local equestrian center, and we spend half a day there every week while they learn all the details of caring for and riding these beautiful animals. Participating in the blog tour for Melissa Mortenson's sweet Derby Day collection gave me the chance to sew up a cute horse themed pillow, and the girls were so happy to add it to the bench in their bedroom.

A Dresden block seemed like a fun way to show off all the prints at once, and I wanted to feature one of the little horses in the center. I pulled in a solid green to help the center circle stand out and backed the Dresden on a navy Riley Blake gingham print. The stitching is all done with navy thread, which my youngest daughter requested, and though I usually like my quilting to fade into the background, this is a fun change.

I backed the pillow in a beautiful floral print from the collection. I absolutely love this shade of green!

Melissa has created a stunning look book for her Derby Day fabrics which you really should see. The projects she designed for this collection are so clever and gorgeous, and there are plenty of horses and dogs featured throughout the pages too. It's everything my daughters love in one place! Be sure to stop by for a peek.

Meanwhile watching these lessons each week is bringing back my own dreams of riding horses when I was little. My sister and I were devoted to Talent Roundup Day on the original 1950's Mickey Mouse Club show when it had a revival on the Disney channel in the eighties, and we desperately wanted one of those cowgirl outfits. Seeing my girls fulfill one of my childhood dreams is almost more wonderful than doing it myself...