Happy Camper throw pillow

In addition to my machine piecing and longarm quilting, I also like to have a handwork project going on.  This is typically something that I take along with me in the car or on trips, just so I have something constructive to do with my hands.

It was sometime in April (I think) that I got this cute throw pillow pattern.  It caught my attention because of the vintage trailer design ... and Mr. Pirate had just purchased a new-to-us travel trailer.  I thought it would look adorable, gracing the interior of the trailer.  The pattern is called "Happy Camper" from This & That.

I didn't realize that it would actually be *practical*, too!  This trailer is small, only 17'.  There isn't a whole lot of excess room inside, but it's exactly the right size for 2 people.

When we are watching a movie on the laptop, in the trailer, we put the laptop on the stove, facing the dining table.   We each sit on one of the benches, lengthwise, so that we face the stove and stretch our legs out.  As it turned out, sitting this way was a little uncomfortable on my back, as there was no cushion on the narrow end of the bench seat against the wall.

BUT ... at 12"x16", this little throw pillow is *exactly* the right size to put between the small of my back and the wall!  So, not only is the pillow adorably attractive as a decorative item, it's also practical.  :-)

I hand embroidered the design, using a back-stitch and 3 plies of DMC floss.  I put a thin layer of batting under the embroidery fabric and stitched through both layers.  When finished with the embroidery, I quilted a diagonal cross-hatch around the trailer.  The trailer itself got a stitch in the ditch.

I was able to use fabric from my scrap bins to create the front and back of the pillow.  The pattern design calls for 3 covered buttons to be sewn on the right-side panel, but I knew they would annoy my back, so I omitted them.  The little scallop trim came from my mother-in-law's stash, so it is *truly* vintage!

I usually put a concealed zipper in the bottom seam to be able to easily remove the cover, in case I need to launder

it.  But in a departure from that normal procedure, I used an overlapped backing.