Here is the finished cushion that I made to celebrate our Silver wedding anniversary - I used a photograph from our wedding album, and used a mix of cream and white fabrics and some wide crocheted vintage lace for trimming and used an assortment of buttons for embellishment too. I also added a prairie point with a button, using some inspiration from a wall-hanging in issue 01/2013 of a Norwegian magazine, MyQuilt..... .....I used 2 different fabrics for the back of the cushion - some cream fabric that I just LOVE and also part of a an old duvet cover that had worn out but I couldn't bear to part with - this was an old Laura Ashley duvet cover that we'd had for a wedding present! I also inserted a zipper, using a flap to cover it with, as this looks neater than leaving the zipper exposed, oh and one of my "made with the hand, given from the heart" labels was added to the back too of course!
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I was recently asked to complete a commission for a pair of 2 "Memory" cushions. I had already made a similar pair of these cushions last year for my niece to give to her sisters-in-law as they had lost their mum - they loved them, and one of the sisters-in-law, Lorna, asked me to do a similar project for one of her friends and her friend's sister, whose mum had recently passed away. So, I set too with my box of cream and white fabrics and threads and vintage lace and trimmings and buttons. I didn't want the cushions to look identical as I never make 2 projects exactly the same, but I did use some of the same fabrics in both cushions. A plump feather pad inside and they were completed. Oh and I added a small label to the back of the cushion too. Hope they like them! Last year I made several cushions on this theme using photographs - I printed the photographs onto special sheets of fabric (my favourite brand is EQ Printables) and added vintage lace and trimmings and buttons, and used a variety of old and new fabrics to give them a vintage feel. A few weeks ago, I was in Cyprus with Mr F and lots of his family to celebrate our niece's wedding. Michelle was one of my bridesmaids, and now she's all grown up and as you can see from this photograph, she was a beautiful bride. I really love this photograph of them, and wanted to make a very special present for them - so I set to work with fabrics and thread and lace and buttons..... .....firstly I edited the photo into black and white to give it a vintage feel, then I printed the photograph onto inkjet fabric sheets, by EQ Printables, and added all my usual bits and bobs to make a truely unique gift. I used some vintage lace to trim this cushion, and some old buttons. Once the back and front had been completed, I machine sewed around all four sides about one eighth of an inch away form the raw edge to keep everything together, then added the binding..... .....I used a double-fold binding, which was attached to front by machine and then hand-stitched in place to the back - I like to finish off by hand, as this gives a lovely neat finish. One of my labels as a final flourish? Of course!..... .....congratulations to the happy couple Simon and Michelle! Thank you for letting us be part of your wedding celebrations! Hope you like your wedding present! My daughter Beth has asked me to make a cushion as a birthday gift for her boyfriend's grandmother as she'll be 80 years old. So I set too with the usual assortment of cream and white fabrics and trimmings and buttons, and the lace trimming is the very last piece of lace that was leftover from when I made Beth her Christening gown, 20 years ago! Beth and her boyfriend were very cunning and managed to get a photograph of Hazel emailed me to me ready to print onto fabric. The printable fabric that I prefer is the inkjet fabric sheets by EQ Printables. The photograph they chose was one that had been taken on Hazel's wedding day. I just love these vintage photographs - they look great teamed with lace and ribbons and buttons. I was amazed at how much Beth's boyfriend looks like his grandfather. And his grandmother looks absolutely beautiful..... .....well what do you think? I emailed a picture of it to Beth, so she could see how I was progressing, and Beth was really pleased with it - I hope Hazel will like it too!! A few weeks ago one of my friends commissioned me to make a cushion for her mother-in-law's 90th birthday. So I gathered an assortment of fabrics and lace and zippers and labels and threads and buttons together, then I played around with layouts and colours, and printed off a photograph of her mother-in-law using a sheet of EQ printables fabric..... .....and here is the result. There is a zipper on the back, and I've sewn one of my labels on the back too! I'm really pleased with this, and think it looks fabulous. I've made several of these vintage" style cushions now, and they seem to be really popular among friends and family, and I think I'll make a few more of these as Christmas gifts. I wish I had time to make some for myself!! What do you think Julie? Do you think the birthday girl will like it? It's my mum's 70th Birthday today - and now I can finally reveal her pressie!! I had blogged about making this cushion a few days ago, and here it is finally completed. My sister helped by sneakily "borrowing" some old photographs from my mum's house, scanning them and emailing them to me. I can remember this photograph being taken, and was so pleased when this was one of the photographs she sent me! Just incase you're wondering, that's me in the middle aged 10yrs old, with my sister Becky sitting on my lap - my sister Rachel on one side and my sister Lisa on the other. You can see I used some vintage lace and buttons to embellish the cushion..... .....then I quilted some of the panels in straight rows, and one panel with free motion quilting. The quality of the fabric used in these printable sheets is excellent and it sews together beautifully. (Last year I bought a cheaper brand from a quilt show, but the pictures distorted when the backing sheet was removed, no matter how careful I was)..... .....I've sewn one of my labels onto the back, along with a zipper to fasten the opening and some more vintage lace trimming. I used a couple of different fabrics for the binding..... .....and I'm really pleased with the finished result, and as you can see my mum is really pleased with it too!! Happy Birthday mum!xx My dear friend Fran has got a VERY special birthday this weekend and it deserved a very special present. I was lucky enough to meet Fran's wonderful mum last summer soon after the arrival of Jasper, and I have super memories of her rolling around my living room floor with him - and she had as much boundless energy as that wretched puppy! Fran's mum passed away a short while ago, and I wanted to make Fran a unique present using a picture of her mum - but didn't want Fran to know anything about it - it was TOP SECRET!! But oh the power of Facebook - I was secretly able to message one of Fran's bestest ever friends (thanks Georgina - we'll be getting signed up to join M15 next!!) to join me in a little bit of espionage - well anyway, Georgina and me hatched a plan - she duely emailed me some piccies, and I chose a black and white photo that I thought would work with the idea I had in mind - and here it is finally revealed - Happy Birthday Fran - hope you have the best birthday ever - ohhhh and looking forward to joining you next weekend for birthday celebrations with the OT girlies at Milsoms.
Next week it's my mum's 70th birthday and I wanted to make something really very special and personal for her. So, with great assistance from my sister Becky, who emailed me some photos that were lurking in my mum's house I set to work. (Thanks Becky - some of those piccies were HILARIOUS!!). Anyway, this photo was taken YEARS ago - that's me sitting in the middle, holding my baby sister Becky, with my sister Rachel and my sister Lisa holding her Teddy. My own two daughters often complain when they see piccies of themselves as little girls in matching outfits, well here is where I got the idea for doing that to them - my mum often dressed my sisters in matching outfits as they are very close in age, just like my own two daughters are. Sorry girls!..... .....ohhhhh no I can't show you what I've made yet - I don't want to spoil the surprise!! Here is just a little glimpse of what I was doing with fabrics and threads and vintage lace and buttons and such-like. The big reveal will happen on my mum's actual birthday, July 3rd. I've been searching for ideas of what to make one of my friends for her birthday. Last year I made her a make up bag, so this year I thought I should try something different..... .....I raided my collection of cream fabrics, printed off a photograph onto fabric, added some vintage lace and a few old buttons from my button jar..... .....and lots and lots of quilting - as well as some regular common-and-garden cross-hatch quilting, I even quilted some very arty free motion angular spirals!..... .....and of course it just wouldn't be complete without one of my very own www.nicolaforemanquilts.com labels to the back (just in case she ever forgets who made it for her)!! I secured this by sewing all around the outer edge by machine - and a little bit of hand sewing to secure the binding to the back and it was finished..... .....and here is the completed pillow. I've filled it with a feather pad. I'm certainly going to make some more of these cushions. (My mum has got a special birthday coming up, and I've got a few ideas of crafting her something with some piccies of her and my dad from their younger days). Anyway, Happy Birthday Claire - hope you like this! And no your cats CAN'T sit on it!!! When I went to the Autumn Quilt Festival at Chilford recently, I bought some "Miracle Fabric Sheets" - it's fabric that is suitable for printing pictures onto. I couldn't wait to have a go at playing with this. Anyway, one of my colleagues, Sherry, asked me to make a small bag to use as a gift for Christmas. She emailed me a photograph of her mum taken when she was a little girl, and I had a play with the fabric - and voila!! I am really pleased with how this has turned out - it really was soooo easy - I hope Sherry is pleased with it too :) I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this fabric - now, let me find the photo albums hehe!! |
About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! Archives
July 2023
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