Recent makes

Had a few months of on/off creativity, alongside some trouble with my hands/arms- thus very difficult to actually make anything, but I have achieved a few things, different to my usual crafts - as always forever trying new things!

Hooks - I brought plain wooden hooks and turned them into this...

I used paint, stamps and cuttings from an old Narnia book I had. I will be glad when the bedroom's ready and I can hang it up!!




Quilted Cushion Cover - this is my second quilted cushion cover, made with Downton Abbey fabrics. This will be proudly on display in my bedroom, my first blue themed cushion is downstairs, alongside another cover I made at a Guthrie&Ghani workshop.

Patchwork Blanket - I will be moving on from quilted cushion covers to create a full quilt, as an 'in-between' step, I had a go at making a patchwork blanket. I cut all the squares from scraps of unused fabric and pre-cut squares, after sewing them all together I attached to a fleece.

 

As a first attempt at anything like this, particularly on this scale, I felt I did well and the colours are very cheerful. It's not perfect- mainly the squares ended up various sizes...but I will learn from this and remember for the next one I try! Still to finish the edging yet.



Hand Painted Photo Frame - I brought this as a plain white frame, then painted very carefully the roses red! I think it looks really effective - can't wait to hang it up!

 

 

 

 

Downton Quilted Cushion Cover

My first attempt at quilting, I've been meaning to try it for a while, but finding the time has been hard and whilst I have plans to make a blanket (or two) that was too big a project to start!

So with some of my lovely Downton fabrics I decided to go for a cushion cover. This was ideal for a first attempt at quilting and it's something practical that can sit in the living room for people to see (and hopefully comment how nice it is!)

So I started with this:

I went for colour theme of blues and greens



I sewed by hand all the squares together, the best way to start is to decide on a layout, move the squares around until you are happy, then sew together each row, then attach the rows together

So this is the finished item (minus a cushion!) typically I brought a cushion, but it's too big. Luckily I have other covers that fit, but I just have to wait (and measure accurately) till I get my cushion - or I could stuff it with toy stuffing, but that would use a lot of stuffing!

The back is just plain with the Downton Logo, but would look good if left like that - so I guess it's a two sided cover!

My next lot of colours - all from The Dowager Collection

I love purple, so this will be a nice cushion cover to have

I feel for my first attempt at quilting and making a quilted cushion cover I have done well, although there are a few lessons - I'm not overly happy with the closing, I don't think it'll show when I have a cushion inside, but the quilted front isn't too neat at the edges, so I would work on that and ensure that you have enough fabric round the edge to cover the wadding. I would also try and measure/leave extra space for seams as I think whilst I will be able to get a cushion to fit, it's a little smaller than the standard size so I would need to think about that.

Also on the closure of the cover, I think I could have made it neater with perhaps a different closure. I have used poppers (snap fasteners), this is the first time attempting a cushion like this, previously I have used buttons, it would be nice to have buttons but I would need to see if I could make it in this style or might have to try a flap type back so I would cut x2 pieces for the back piece, I guess it's all experimenting!!

My next cushion I will try sometime, I think might be just be a patchwork cushion cover - perhaps without the quilting if I can get the basics right then on another one I'll try the quilting again (I might end up with lots of cushions!) Mind you, there are lots of Downton Fabrics for me to play with!!