Oliver the Owl nursery pillow with piping

Did you see the owl applique I made following the instructions and pattern as one of the projects in the Fun with Fusible Applique course? He was destined to become a nursery pillow, nothing ‘too cutesy’ by request, but still colorful and fun. But so far he’s just on a plain ivory colored cotton panel so I thought he needed a bit more color. I wanted to make a patchwork border, but couldn’t face sewing lots of little squares together!