Wednesday 25 June 2014

Summer Wedges



I have already blogged about the Angry Cushion on the left, and today I finished the one on the right, Summer Wedges.
 
The pair of them are now sitting on the sofa looking very bright and cheerful.
 
 

 
This one started with 36, 10 degree wedges sewn together to form a ring.
I then turned under the edges and appliqued the whole thing onto a
 25" square piece of pinky-purple linen.
 

 
I used some wadding to back the panel and did some circular quilting in the centre and around the edge of the wedges to hold it all together.
 

 
The reverse is made from the remaining piece of purple velvet with a concealed zip
as for the Angry Cushion. 
 


I was lucky enough to have had a whole day of sewing with not a lot else on, bliss.

The second project was to make a new peg bag
as last years was looking a bit sad.
 

 
This time I used old jeans to make the back and top sections,
with stitch and flip on the bottom panel as before.
(My tutorial can be found here).
 

 
I managed to use the waist band for the top section and so I didn't even have to hem it, sneaky!
 

 
When I went out to get pictures of the cushions the new peg bag was already in use
 and  I like this 'real life' picture with the birthday bunting still up
 and waiting for another June birthday in a few days.
 
Have a good week.
 




Saturday 21 June 2014

A Colour Wheel of Wedges


 
I have been playing with the wedges, arranging and rearranging them on the floor.
They are ten degree wedges cut with a ruler from strips of 8" fabric.
 
In the end I opted for a colour wheel separated by white strips.
At the moment I have just tacked the edges under
but the plan is a second cushion to go with this one which is getting well used already on the sofa.
 
It is such a beautiful day here in Cornwall and I just had to get some photos in the garden.
I enjoyed experimenting with pictures and seeing how the wheel changes in different settings.
 

 
This blue pot of geraniums is brightening up the back door step.
 


Blue sky, white clouds, green hedges and fields
 (and a willing model, well sort of!).
 


Self seeded Calendula around the vegetable beds.  
 


 
In the shade of the wisteria on the bleached wood of the garden table.



And finally last night,
on some rotten wood next to the Valerian which has self seeded on a wall.
Not quite in time to catch the setting sun which sneaked away behind a cloud.

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Wedges on the Water Butt

 

 
I have been playing with my new 10 degree wedge ruler, another lovely birthday present.
I haven't even done any sewing yet, just having fun with colour and pattern.
 
I went out into the garden to catch the very last of the sun and the only place I could find to get a picture was on the water butt.
 
Then I noticed I wasn't alone.
Piglet was quietly sitting there with a smile on his face.
 


So I moved him round so that he could get a better look!
I think he likes them as much as I do...
more soon.

Sunday 8 June 2014

The Angry Cushion


 
I was going to call it the Cross Cushion because of the crosses (surprise surprise!) but then I decided it would be a really good size for having a pillow fight with so now it's the Angry Cushion.
Always useful with two teenagers in the house which we will have as of this week.

Apart from helpfully deciding to put it on his head when I was trying to get some pictures,
 he has already spent a large part of the afternoon on the sofa lying on it,
while watching Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother!

Anyway back to the cushion..
 


I started with this piece of simple patchwork,
 and then I went and had a birthday and  Mum got me this..
 

 
A gorgeous book,
 Wild Blooms and Colorful Creatures by Wendy Williams.
And I also got some felt and coton perle to go with it.


 
So I just had to try out some of the 'Wild Blooms' from the book.

As luck would have it
the felt squares almost perfectly matched the cross patchwork I had been making.
 

 
Once I had added the applique on the white squares,
I quilted the panel onto a piece of wadding using some Gutterman Sulky variegated thread
which is lovely. The quilting was straight lines and very simple.


 
The reverse of the cushion is made from a piece of purple velvet
that has been in my stash for a while. I thought it would make it nice and soft.
 I made a sort of pleat to cover the zip which I have read about somewhere but  just made it up with what I had.


The cushion pad was a 24" square, and if I'm honest it could do with being a couple of inches bigger but it will do.


 
So that's about it, one Angry cushion.

Monday 2 June 2014

WIP - a cross cushion


 
I wanted a quick fix and we have a few cushions on the sofas that are looking a bit sad.
 
I have been looking at various cross quilts recently and thought I'd have a go at a simple design before I try a wonky one.
 
I will also be trying out some Gutermann Sulky variegated thread that I got recently
 when I do the quilting. I'll keep you posted.
 
And here are just a couple of pictures that I can't keep to myself
 from some gardens we found by chance this weekend. Queen Mary Gardens in Falmouth.
 

 
A stunning bed of Lupins and Artichoke...


 
and some impressive Echiums that must just love the climate here by the sea.