Friday, 9 October 2015

Not a straight line in sight!


Daughter number two has gone off to Anerica for the year, so after giving her room a thorough clean, I moved in my sewing machine. It had been downstairs on the computer table, but there wasn't room or sufficient light, so I'm borrowing her room for a while. I have never been much good at sewing - I think my craft skills lie elsewhere! To be frank, my mother could barely sew a button on so wasn't the best example either. Undeterred, I decided I wanted to give it a go. I love patchwork, but quite sensibly realised that starting with a quilt was going to be beyond me, so my first project was a more realistic cushion cover.
After multiple false starts and a deepening sense of stupidity at my inability to understand the basic principle of placing the squares right side together before sewing, I managed a very higgeldy piggeldy first attempt. I don't think that any of the seams meet up properly and the border is slightly skewiff but I like it all the more because of that - it's jolly, imperfect and handmade by me.



Many moons ago I bought a wicker chair from a certain Swedish superstore to go in one of the bedrooms. It has then been moved from pillar to post before ending up in the conservatory. With two settees and two armchairs in there already it was somewhat unnecessary. Daughter number two had requested a very striking cushion for her birthday, but it needed a neutral backdrop, so the chair had a spray paint makeover and is now residing in my new sewing room. 

Before 

After in its new little space in the corner. The cushion is designed by Ian Snow, in a style similar to that of the artist Frida Kahlo.

15 comments:

  1. love your new sewing room. The cushion is lovely . I must get some sewing done.( easier to sit and knit) Recognise the eyebrows on that cushion in the last pic.

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    1. Thanks - I will certainly enjoy having some space for my crafts without having to constantly tidy up after myself. It's a lovely light room too.

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  2. That is a good start, nice colour, I have made 2 quilts, I knew nothing it was all self taught, it took a while to do but kept me busy.

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    1. Yes I certainly learnt some lessons just from doing the cushion cover. I should probably continue now before I forget what I've learnt! I'd love to make a single quilt for my youngest daughter next.

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  3. There is a large number of quilters out there who revel in the "wonkyness" of their sewing. You are bang on fashion.

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  4. Great use of space, your cushion is lovely, if we wanted perfect we would buy mass produced stuff, the more you sew the more your confidence will grow and your skills :-)

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    1. I agree - the imperfections are the exact reason we like home made so much. I enjoyed making the cushion cover and will certainly continue.

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  5. I rather like your wonkey pillow !
    Very charming. It means more since you made it.

    cheers, parsnip

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  6. I think you did jolly well! It turned our really nice. Lovely colours too. Pam in Norway

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  7. I love that cushion......I like things to look homemade because it gives them a priceless charm. Well that's my excuse for never being able to make something which has perfectly matched seams. I have just finished a skirt for myself...to make it look interesting I decided to sew a band of fabric in it, which meant cutting the skirt horizontally to get the band sewn in. I didn't notice that I had not matched the side seam on the top part of the skirt to the side seam on the bottom part until the skirt was finished and I was doing the final press. The two seams mismatched by a good two inches! Not to worry....it is 'designer skirt' because there is only one of it, and the non matching seams are all part of the design!

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  8. I love your cushion!! Your seams will get straighter with practice, but do you want them to? Half the beauty of homemade is in the wonkiness and originality.

    It's lovely to get a bit of space to call your own and sew isn't it, when I used to sew for Farmers Markets I always found if my machine was left out it was half the battle in making me decide to spend an hour actually getting on with something.

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  9. I love what you have done to give the chair new life, cute cushion. Must be great to have a sewing room, then you don't have to 'tidy up' in the middle of a project. Your quilt cushion looks lovely and fresh with all those blues. Keep at it.

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