New projects…

Last year, I made the stupid mistake of declaring my New Year's resolution would be to make a cushion a month. I managed four.

Two of the cushion covers on my list were small bolsters, which for the last I don't know how long, have been living together, in one hastily made cover. There is nothing wrong with the current cover, but it is rather uninspiring, and reminds me of a beige, velvet sausage, so an upgrade is long over due. In keeping with their log like shape, the new covers will be made from a log cabin patchwork of linen, kimono silk, Liberty lawn, indigo dyed fabric and some dotty quilting weight fabric that I can't put a name to.

Kimono silk at the centre,
then some white linen,
then some liberty lawn,
then some quilt weight fabric,
then some indigo dyed cotton.

Running out of indigo!

As I don't have much of the indigo dyed cotton, and only a limited amount of the dotty stuff, the log cabin element is restricted to 9 blocks per cushion. The rest will be a mixture of white linen, kimono silk, and Liberty lawn, and I'd like to try a different design on the ends of the bolsters, perhaps something like wedding rings–something circular anyway. All of it will be worked in EPP, as this is my current sewing obsession. I just love the portability of EPP–seriously, sewing you can take to the pub, what could beat that?

Because of its portability, the covers are coming along quite quickly, and I've already finished one of the log cabin tops, and made a start on the second.

Typically, although I like the front side of the blocks, I much prefer the back where the construction is more obvious. I like seeing all the frayed and overlapping edges, the tacking, and papers–it's a bit like going back stage at a theatre and getting a glimpse of the ropes, pulleys and scenery close up. The reverse, or unseen, side of things also tells you a lot about the maker. In my case, you can see I'm very wasteful with fabric, on the plus side, the stitching is fairly neat and not all gnarled, which reflects how therapeutic I find hand sewing.

Coincidentally, I've been looking at a lot of rag quilts recently, and something tells me it won't be long before I'll be making one. Then I'll be able to look at exposed seams and frayed edges to my heart's content.

Elizabeth,
x.