Yup - right from the minute you wake up, you just know it's going to be one of those days. Do I really need to say any more??
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This absolutely GORGEOUS selection of Kismet fabrics, designed by Sharon Holland Designs for Art Gallery Fabrics, arrived in the post yesterday from a very special friend. Available from Cross Patch as a roll of 10 assorted fabrics of 6.5” by 40” My head is buzzing with ideas about what projects I can make with these delicious fabrics - my brain feels like a computer with all the tabs open!  Ohhh my Bernina 570QE is going to have a posh new coat! This Bernina fabric (by Benartex) has been lurking in my sewing studio for such a long time, and it's about time I put it to good use. The sewing machine cover is a byAnnie pattern called Undercover, avaialble at Sew Hot - along with other byAnnie bits and bobs. Now I just need to curl up with a nice cup of tea, watch the assisting video and be inspired. I'm hoping I have enough fabric to make a cover for BOTH of my Bernina machines - so watch this space!  Drum roll please! This is the second cushion that I've made using the Cosy Home Cushion pattern (by the Australian designer Gail Pan Designs) and it certainly won't be the last! This was made with fabrics that were leftover from a quilt I made for my mother-in-law many years ago...  ...this cushion has been hand embroidered with Cosmo stranded embroidery thread and hand quilted with a variegated green Valdani perle thread. Embellished with vintage buttons and lace and the final flourish is a hand embroidered "label" on the back...
..and this is the actual quilt that I'd made all those years ago, back in 2006. I hadn't taken a photograph of it before, so just had to get a quick snap of it for my blog. These fabrics are from the Lilac Lane collection by Timeless Treasures and this pattern is called Lilac Lattice - it's still available as from the Patchwork and Quilting website. This was probably the first quilt that I'd made at home on my own without going to a workshop and was machine quilted very simply with my Bernina 230PE and a varigated YLI quilting thread. I was thrilled to know that my mother-in-law is still using it on her bed and although there are a few mistakes in it, it was definitely made with lots of love.  I was sorting through a box of embroidery bits and bobs a few days ago and found a very small Eva Rosenstand counted cross stitch picture that I'd made back in 1985. I was so surprised to find it after all these years! All it needed was a quick press, machine stitched onto a piece of grey Tilda fabric and wadding, popped it in a Hobbycraft frame and it's finally finished! Now it's displayed on the wall of my sewing studio along with a few of my other crafty pictures. 
I really love this pattern, Cosy Home Cushion (designed by Gail Pan Designs and bought last year from Poppy Patch) and I just couldn't resist making another one. So over the past couple of weeks I've been playing around with some scraps that had been carefully pressed and packed away YEARS ago! These were leftover from a quilt that I'd made for my mother-in-law and although I can't remember the name of this fabric collection, I do know that it was by Timeless Treasures...
...once the design was traced onto a green spot background fabric, the hand embroidery was stitched with a mauve Cosmo thread. With some very carey careful cutting, I managed to squeeze out the patchwork pieces from the scraps to piece together the cushion front. A piece of cotton lace was machine stitched into place...  ...the cushion front was layered with cotton wadding and a calico backing and a variegated green Valdani perle thread has been used for the hand quilting, which I've kept to a very simple design. A quick rummage in my button tin and a couple of vintage buttons were found to embellish the front...
...a few more scraps were pieced together for the back, and a "stitched by Nicola Foreman label" has been hand embroidered, using a Gail Pan Designs motif. Luckily I had a zipper in the perfect colour and the perfect size for the enclosure. Usually I fold my backing fabric double for a cushion back, but due to only having scraps for this one, I used some calico for the extra layer..
...a plump cushion pad has been inserted and it's ready for a proper photoshoot. Here's just a little peek at the finished cushion - well, just a little peek at the back - all will be revealed once it's been gifted!  Well another cushion has been completed! This pattern is Cosy Home Cushion by Gail Pan Designs and was bought last year from Poppy Patch. This has been hand embroidered iusing my favourite Hiroshima Tulip needles and a Cosmo stranded embroidery thread. These fabrics are from the Little Sweetheart collection by Edyta Sitar (bought from Cross Patch) and were leftover from a Turning Twenty quilt that I made last year. Embellished with lace and vintage buttons as usual and there's a zipper in the back of the cover...  ...rather than machine quilting, this has been hand quilted with a selection of variegated Valdani perle threads in colours to coordinate with my fabrics (also bought from Cross Patch). I.m beginning to enjoy this style of big-stitch quilting, and like the textured effect it gives. The zipper in the back has been hidden and I have handembroidered a small "label" using one of Gail Pan's sewing machine motifs too.
Mr F keeps "suggesting" that as I have a sewing machine (well 2 machines actually) I could make new seat cushions for the sofa and chairs in the conservatory. Well after carefully unpicking the original covers to use as a template (and to re-use the zippers) I've done it! The cushion class from Quilter's Question Time was invaluable! I used some old curtain fabric for a trial run, now I just need to buy some "proper" fabric! One of my nieces has suggested that maybe I should get Mr F on one of the machines and teach him how to make them!  Once the embroidery was completed, pressed and trimmed to size, I picked out some scraps of fabric for the patchwork pieces. I've used fabrics from the Little Sweetheart collection by Edyta Sitar for Laundry Basket Quilts, that were left over from other projects - my plan is to have a pile of pretty cushions using these fabrics on the bed in my spare room, along with the matching quilt. This cushion top just needs to be layered ready for quilting, which I plan to do by hand, using variegated Valdani perle threads.  Early morning when everyone else is asleep is the perfect time for some slow stitching. I'd prepared this several months ago, so I just needed to thread a needle and sit down with a cuppa and stitch away. I'm using Cosmo stranded embroidery thread shade 506 along with my favourite Hiroshima Tulip embroidery needle for the embroidery and as you can see I like to work with a wooden hoop. This particular pattern is called Cosy Home Cushion by Gail Pan Designs.  |
 About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
 
 
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