Hi everyone,

My nephew is graduating from high school this June and, due to the COVID-19 crisis, graduation will be a bit different from normal. Only the student and 2 guests can attend a sort of “drive-through” graduation ceremony.

I decided to make him a special gift that he can take with him to college. He is an avid skier, and a member of ski patrol. What better gift than a ski patrol themed item? Initially, I thought about making a quilt, but I opted to go for a pillow instead mostly so that I could make the item in time to mail it to him for graduation.

For the pillow front, I created the classic ski patrol logo, which is a cross shape. I made the cross from Kona cotton in Cardinal, and the block background is Kona cotton in white.

Ski Patrol block dimensions

Once I stitched these units together, I had an 10.5-inch unfinished block.

Ski Patrol cross block

My pillow form is 18-inches, so I added borders to expand the size of the block. I used a fun ski lift themed fabric from Dear Stella that I had in my stash. I think the fabric line was called, “North Pole After Dark.” I just love those little ski lifts and mountains!

Ski Patrol block with borders

This ski patrol block will become the pillow front. I’m working on a custom block for the pillow back. Once I have the back block assembled, the pillow should come together pretty quickly.

In my next post, I’ll share the special block that I designed for the back.

Happy quilting!

~Jen