My first knitted cushion cover

Dear Husband borrowed a book from the library for me on knitting. In there was a project for a cushion cover using chunky wool. It goes up fast and provided your sample is OK you can easily make a cushion cover.
Here is the result:
and the link to my Ravelry project page

 I think the cushion pad is getting a bit old, it's not very square any more. I can assure you that my knitting and the backing are square.

The zip at the back is hidden and the fabric is from Benartex, Cool Britannia collection.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale.

Little twister stars, tesselations

I made a workshop for our group The Golden Lion Quilters to realise the pattern of the twister stars. There are lots of illustrations on the internet of this block, and books and rulers.
I couldn't ask every member to buy the ruler, so designed a cardboard square with all the marks to realise the twisting. All the ladies enjoyed my workshop, some of them finished their blocks and made it into something.

I had some Liberty squares which I sewed together and added a border all around.

Next I marked with a pencil where to cut for the tesselation to happen.

This is what I had cut, twisted and then sewn back together.

 I realised at that point that you need a very good contrast between the fabrics. And I don't think there was enough here.

I was left with my samples, and I have to use them. This one became a cushion cover. Another one you might think, but I have some wearing out on the sofa, so I'm trying to replace them.

I quilted around each little block, to show them better, and then added some FMQ (Free Motion Quilting) in the border

This is the back with the zip hidden.

This cushion looks beautiful with the white background. Still pristine. And it means I can enjoy seeing my work displayed.

I wish you lots of sewing time. I'm off to see the Malvern Spring Quilting Show tomorrow, with 2 friends. It's bound to be a great day out.

Pascale.

Busy with life , and sewing...

During the February half term holidays in Wiltshire, while there was no school for the girls, they kept me busy in the house and out. We had 2 bedrooms redecorated after some flooding from a bathroom upstairs, and they want new curtains, bedding, and pillows.

This week involved a trip to Ikea and Dunelm to buy new things.
I made 2 cushion covers for DD, in her chosen favourite colour, this aqua blue, or is it Teal, Turquoise, so many names. She loves them.

Back with hidden zip.

My next mission in her bedroom will be new curtains, as well as for her little sister. But I can't make them until I have finished the quilt for DD2, and that's an ultimatum !
Lots of work in perspective, but I love them.

Cushion in front of the new wallpaper on one wall.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale.

I'm back in the sewing room, and made a cushion cover

After the summer holidays and going away 3 weeks in France (lucky me, we went to see our families), having the girls at home for 6 weeks, which I enjoy very much although my time seems to disappear faster, and after some flooding from the bathroom upstairs on the level below, lots of appointments with insurance people...I'm finally back in my sewing room for some sewing.

Front, in the sun

I am not showing you something super exciting, just a block we did at my patchwork group, and I used that to make a cushion cover. they seem to wear out quickly in this house, or maybe it's the same for everybody.

Front in the shade

So the Golden Lion Quilters had their first meeting on Wednesday night, and we made the Attic Window. I realised that it was a first for me, although I knew the shape and had a good idea on how to make one.
My homework is done, 4 blocks put together with a border and the cushion pad is reused.

The pieced back

 I made a mistake when cutting the long rectangles for the windows, with a 45 degree angle, and cut them an inch too short. So decided to sew them together and use them in the back, and make what is called a french plait (how appropriate as I'm french!). The bands on the sides are matching the front so that there isn't an obvious change of colour on the side seams.

 The zip is cancelled under a fold of fabric. I was given some long pink ones, so not the right colour here. You could easily make a similar cover with 4 fat quarters, and have some fabric left.

There was even some sun this afternoon when I took the photo. How lucky.
The bright colours are to remind me of the summer, although there wasn't much of a summer here in England. Quite disappointing.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale.

New cushions on the sofa

In fact the inserts are the old ones, but the covers are new.
I didn't take photos for a tutorial but they are very quick to make. I bought 1 metre and a half (60 inches) of this synthetic furry fabric, and managed to make 4 cushion covers. Each one is roughly 40 cm (16 inches) square finished.

I cut my fabric 42 cm(16 3/4") large by 95 cm(37 1/2") long. It doesn't have to be so precise on the length.
Next you need to sew a double return to make a hem on the 2 short ends.

Now put your pad or insert in the middle, and overlap the ends of your cushion cover, right sides outside. You can decide where you want the overlap to be. Pin the fabrics together. There is no need to measure with this method, it will fit.
Take the insert out through one of the open sides, turn the cover outside in and pin the open sides closed. You need to sew along each of the 2 sides, and then zigzag the edges if necessary (it was for my furry fabric).

Turn it right side out and you have finished. Bravo.
There was no need to put a zip (go to a store and buy one) or to make button holes and hand sew the buttons. It was also very fast.

I was amazed at the mess this fabric made on my floor. Lots of little threads went everywhere.

And I will have to cover more cushions as I realised that the fabric on some of them was getting worn out. It's a shame as I liked them, but then it gives me the opportunity to make something new.

Cushions for charity

As a member of the Golden Lion Quilters in Swindon, Wiltshire, I am expected to present some cushions on Wednesday 14 May to be given to the Breast Cancer Association. A lady will attend our meeting, collect the cushions and sell them for the benefit of the charity.





I had to decide what to do, and chose to use orphan blocks, and reduce my number of UFOs.



The first one was a workshop on sewing round seams with the machine. I don't really like the colors any more.

They are all closed with a zip.

The second one is the result of a swap of blocks. Again not really my colors, but I hope somebody will love them.
I put the block on point and added the triangles in the corners.

















And then full of energy I went back to the shops to buy 2 more cushion pads and zips to use some cushion fabric I had won, but didn't particularly like.













I don't think I really enjoy working like this for charities, because a few years ago we made some bags for a charity, and some members discovered that they were sold for next to nothing.
On one side I understand that the charity wants the money to serve its purpose, but on the other side we spend time and money to make something nice that is not sold for its value. It made me feel that it would have been better to give them the money directly.
I suppose another reason is that people don't expect to pay much in a charity shop, even for new things.
As a result I have done my bit this year, but I wasn't as keen as previously. I hope these cushions will be sold for a good price, that is a reflection of the time and effort put in making them.

Sashiko cushion

Tada!...here is my new cushion.

Done very quickly thanks to a kit from Olympus with the sashiko stitches drawn on blue fabric. Although looking at the catalogue the model I made doesn't appear, you would find other very nice projects.

And so I bought in Malvern last year the marked fabric, some sashiko needles and thread. I stitched quickly, plus a zip and you have a new cushion cover.

It was nice to have some hand sewing to do, in the car or at home.

Bird print Cushion

This is a cushion I made from the book "Egg Money Quilts" by Eleanor Burns.

I really love her technique,which makes for very precise blocks, because you first cut the pieces a bit oversized, and then precisely cut them again for the finished size.

She is also looking for a method to make things easy, just what I need.

Her book includes cardboard templates which are very easy to use.

As you can see I was in my red period, and used fabric from my stash.

The fabric for the back is very french, a bit like a Jouy Toile.