Allotrope Pillow & Block Tutorial

Allotrope pillow
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, Mark Cesarik sent me a nice little package with charms of his Cosmic Burst line.  I had best intentions of whipping up a project with them before baby came back in the spring.  My pregnancy got complicated at the end and so, these poor little charms sat neglected.

UNTIL....inspiration struck!  And you know what?  Boy, am I glad I waited.  These colors are just screaming out with energy.  Sometimes the right fabrics and design just fall into place, you know?  That's how this block felt for me.

allotrope pillow side view
I turned this block I'm calling Allotrope into a pillow.  I'm gifting it this Christmas.  Perfect for a little girl.
allotrope pillow back
I used the Cosmic Burst charms and paired it with Kate Spain's Terrain.  It was a surprising pairing for me, but I am really digging how they look together.  I straight line quilted it pretty tight - something I don't normally have the patience for.  I think it adds some nice dimension here.
allotrope pillow close up
I also piped it using my Pillow Piping tutorial with colorful Terrain print.

What a difference from the original sketch I had for Allotrope with blues!
allotrope eq sketch
If you'd like to make your own Allotrope block, I've provided Allotrope templates for you.  I only used the templates for the corners though.  All the center squares are 2.5" unfinished squares sewn together to make an on-point block.  This makes a 12" block.

(I added a white border on the pillow to make a 15" square.)