Frank Pillow Completed

In my earlier post about Frank (dated 9/24/25) I was very pleased with how quick and fun it was to make up the Lella Boutique pattern. All that remained to complete this item was the FMQ and its assembly into a pillow. Deciding the pattern to quilt over Frank's face was a quandary for me, more so than it should have been. I worried about my motif choice for far too long, dithering back and forth among my many rulers. I glossed over my many circle and heart choices. I considered a Clamshell motif, or perhaps a mustache type Swish ruler. Eventually I settled on something wavy. I then "wavered" on the basic decisions.

• Should the wave be deep or shallow?
• Should the repeat of the length be short or long?
• Should the distance between waves be close or more spaced out?
• Should the waves be parallel in one direction or they should cross each other at right angles?

The top size is 17½" square. I decided on an 8" long wave shape with a 1.5" depth, spacing the waves slightly over 1.5" apart. I sewed a horizontal set and a vertical set using my HQ Wave C template. I rejected using my HQ Wave F template as having too much movement; its wavelength is 4" with the same depth options as HQ Wave C template.

Selecting a thread color was another delay. I truly do not know why I could not make up my mind. Part of the problem was that I had no dull greens, which is what I thought I needed. I only had bright chartreuse, Kelly green, or blue-green tones, not drab olive type monster colors. After choosing a bright green, I was pleased it gave movement to Frank's face without screaming discord; nor did the bright green detract from the pink spider web background.

I plan to make two or three more of these pillows as gifts, so I could vary the FMQ pattern and color on those. While at a recent craft show (9/25/25 post), I even sought out alternative green fabrics for Frank's face, ones that were not too perky, too bluish, too dark, or too busy a print. This project helped me resurrect my zipper insertion skills. Instead of the overlap method for the pillow back, I put a zipper in the bottom seam. A 14" zipper with an 18" pillow form provided a good combination of insertion ease and final plumpness. The pillow back is simple and not quilted but in keeping with theme — the perfect green with spider webs.

I noticed now that I had not put a label on this pillow. I think I will just write the title Frank, my initials, and the year in the lower corners with a pigma micron marker.

Extra Information
In researching waves for this blog post (and my own benefit), I came across a Handi-Quilter video on How to use the Wave Rulers. I learned that some rulers have been released under new names and some are no longer available from Handi-Quilter directly. Here is my summary to share for wave type rulers. There are also scallop rulers but I did not address those.

Original issue wave rulers:
I own C and F. B is too large for my hand to hold. I may seek D out E.

• Wave B: 10" x 2" or 10" x 1" (hard to hold, now Smooth Wave)
• Wave C: 8"x1.5" deep or 8"x 0.75" deep
• Wave D: 6"x ¾" or 3" x ¾" (now Ripple Wave)
• Wave E : 6"x 1.75" or 3" x 1.75"
• Wave F: 4"x1.5" or 4"x 0.75" (now Tidal Wave)

New names:
Smooth is too large for my hand to hold. I may seek out Wiggle and Ripple (formerly D).

• Wiggle Wave: 3"x½" or 1½"x½" ( ~10" long, may be hard to hold)
• Smooth wave :10" x 2" or 10" x 1" (hard to hold  on sit down, formerly wave B)
• Ripple Wave 6"x ¾" or 3" x ¾" ( ~12" long, may be hard to hold, formerly wave D)
• Tidal Wave  4 x ¾"  or 4" x 1½" (formerly Wave F)

The original Lella Boutique pattern picture shows tight vertical waves down Frank's face. My guess is that this is a canned wavy line stitch on a Bernina. My Pfaff does not have that. I wanted something less dense anyway. I use Winline 100% Bamboo batting and it allows for stitching as wide as 8" apart.