Gosh, November already. Another Le Challenge, and this makes it my 13th Le Challenge. This month the gauntlet thrown out was "cross" - cross stitch, cross face, hot cross buns, cross. I had had in my mind for a while I would like cushions with a cross of some sort on them. I made my aunt a throw last year based around a green and black cross and had been pleased with it. My bee blocks as queen bee in the Modern Irish Quilters stash bee were wonky crosses, plain kona with a clashing wonky cross.
The husband had been asking me for a while to make some cushions. He had seen some in Roche Bobois, a French furniture company with a showroom on the King's Road, London. We have some of their white leather furniture, but the cushions are extortionate.
And so the design began. I planned on a 20" cushion, with 2" stripes (inc seam allowance) in graduating kona solids. I began with a white cross in the planning. Didn't like that. Tried a black wonky cross, looked rather threatening. So back to the drawing board with a straigforward black cross, set off centre. All went well, except the dark purple looked rather lonely on its own and when I had finished my cushion was 2" too skimpy. Bad maths again I suppose. Out came all the fabric, upended on the floor in case there was a long 2' strip of kona I had somehow forgotten about.
And, there was! Unbelievably I found a 4" strip of light purple, or what in the old days was known as "mauve". Perfect. Except as I had used a quilt as you go method, I had to pick practically the whole darned thing to fit in the light purple. And, you know what, the light purple gave a cohesive pulled together look to the cushion and just made the sizing that bit more generous. Perfect.
The backing is some Irish linen I had bought in the summer. We went to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and I had coffee with Katy Cameron, aka The Littlest Thistle. I had brought her some off white Irish linen as a "hello, pleased to meet you" gift. I had kept back just enough to do the cushion back. I found a cream zip, bought goodness knows why, and bob's your uncle as they say. I'm pleased with the first time zip though a longer zip would be even better. Bit of a wrestle to get a 20" cushion through a 12" opening.
The husband had been asking me for a while to make some cushions. He had seen some in Roche Bobois, a French furniture company with a showroom on the King's Road, London. We have some of their white leather furniture, but the cushions are extortionate.
And so the design began. I planned on a 20" cushion, with 2" stripes (inc seam allowance) in graduating kona solids. I began with a white cross in the planning. Didn't like that. Tried a black wonky cross, looked rather threatening. So back to the drawing board with a straigforward black cross, set off centre. All went well, except the dark purple looked rather lonely on its own and when I had finished my cushion was 2" too skimpy. Bad maths again I suppose. Out came all the fabric, upended on the floor in case there was a long 2' strip of kona I had somehow forgotten about.
And, there was! Unbelievably I found a 4" strip of light purple, or what in the old days was known as "mauve". Perfect. Except as I had used a quilt as you go method, I had to pick practically the whole darned thing to fit in the light purple. And, you know what, the light purple gave a cohesive pulled together look to the cushion and just made the sizing that bit more generous. Perfect.
The backing is some Irish linen I had bought in the summer. We went to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and I had coffee with Katy Cameron, aka The Littlest Thistle. I had brought her some off white Irish linen as a "hello, pleased to meet you" gift. I had kept back just enough to do the cushion back. I found a cream zip, bought goodness knows why, and bob's your uncle as they say. I'm pleased with the first time zip though a longer zip would be even better. Bit of a wrestle to get a 20" cushion through a 12" opening.
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| the finished cushion There was just one problem, apparently this looks nothing like the Roche Bobois cushions, they seemingly had circles or squares or some such.... Whatever.......... Helen x |
Who cares if it looks nothing like the Roche Bobois cushions, yours looks stunning against the white sitee.
ReplyDeleteExactly...whatever...it looks great and not a copy but a Midget Gem original!!
ReplyDeleteV x
I love it and the way it looks against the sofa, very professional looking. So much work went into the making, I can't believe you unpicked it after doing a QAYG method, wow!
ReplyDeleteVERY STRIKING!
ReplyDeleteLIKE TO MAKE ONE SIMILAR!
msstitcher1214@gmail.com
Love it -- even if the road to cushiony perfection was a long one!
ReplyDeleteLove the cushion! Very striking against the white sofa - I love Roche Bobois as well, but really those prices! Thanks for participating in le challenge (your 13th, whoohoo!)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun cushion! Well done!
ReplyDelete