rose hip :

...just like leap day squeezes in between February 28th and March 1st every four years to give us a bonus day, I thought I would squeeze in this pillowcase update post between my recent cuffed cushion posts as a little extra... Even though I may be working on other projects wholly unrelated to pillowcases, putting together new crochet-trimmed pillowcases somehow always seems to be in the back of my mind; I guess I just love making them! So while I've had my hands in many different pots lately, I've eked out some time with my pillowcases in the last week or so...

One of the pillowcases that has been waiting patiently for me to trim is the one above which, as you may have guessed, is also made with Liberty fabric from the Bloomsbury collection just like these; in fact, as you can see below, it is the same print as the pinkish one but in a cooler colour palette. So since I named the pinkinsh one Hint of Summer, I figured that the blueish had to be called Hint of Spring, especially given the time of year right now!... Just like all my Liberty pillowcases and, for that matter, all my recent pillowcases, I trimmed it with a lovely linen yarn, this time in a pretty shade of light silver.

I love crocheting with linen yarn, but I'm starting to feel like I might not be in the majority judging by the feedback I've been getting at some of my local yarn shops and the fact that there just isn't that much linen yarn available to buy out there; it seems that working with linen yarn frustrates a lot who try it out because of its lack of elasticity and stiffness and its tendency to do "its own thing" and not be as forgiving as, for example, wool is. I'll admit that making perfectly even stitches with linen yarn might not be the easiest, but that doesn't bother me in the least because I find that it doesn't take away from the finished look of an item made with linen; in fact, I think it actually enhances it by giving it more of a natural look which matches the natural look and feel of the fiber itself. Because I'm becoming so enamoured with linen yarn, I've even started trimming pillowcases I originally trimmed with cotton with linen yarn to give them a new look, just like the blue and violet one on top in the photo below...

I loved the color of the linen yarn which I paired with this pillowcase so much so, that when I spotted it at a yarn shop, I bought the yarn without knowing what I would use it for. (I bet you've never done that before, right?!) It's in an absolutely stunning shade of what I would call a smoky lavender, and I was thrilled when I first tried it against the blue-violet pillowcase... In my mind, it's definitely a keeper...

The effect of this yummy blue, violet and smoky lavender pairing immediately evoked in me lovely images of delphiniums and blueberries in high summer, so naming this pillowcase Blueberry Hill felt just right!

As you see above and below, I also put together a ditsy floral pillowcase together, also trimmed with linen, but this time in a grey-blue colour; as far as I'm concerned there is always room for more ditsy florals!...

While I have listed Hint of Spring and Blueberry Hill pillowcases in my Etsy shop here and here, I have yet to do so with the still nameless ditsy floral, something I will probably do in the next little while. I plan on posting next about the cuffed cushion below unless, of course, I get distracted again by pillowcases! Thanks so very much for popping by...

...I thought I'd be back a bit sooner with my cuffed cushions, but I've been dragging my feet for the last two weeks because of a very stubborn winter cold... Yesterday was the first day in what seemed like an awful long time that I finally felt like I was starting to see the back of my wheezy, sneezy, mucousy, dopey self and ready to come out of my cold-induced hibernation! And so, here I am, back at it with my cuffed cushions... 'Remember these?...

Well, a closer look at the one with the pink blowsy flowers that you can see in the forefront above and below is the subject of today's post. As you can probably tell, the floral fabric which those gorgeous lush pink flowers adorn is as vintage as they come, and very deliciously so I think, with its romantic flowery pattern and its perfectly harmonious palette evoking the best of nostalgic feelings; you know, fragrant overflowing end-of-July gardens, the sweet hum of busy bees and never-ending perfect summer days... Wouldn't you agree, or am I just dreaming of summer right now as I look out of my window at another bleak and grey February day?...

When I first spotted this yummy piece of cloth, peonies came to mind because of those full-blown pink booms but, as I looked closer at these lovely ladies, I realized they had to be roses of that most delightful old-fashioned variety. (The graceful pink buds are what gave them away as they have the very distinctive look of rosebuds!) The fabric itself is a cotton of duck cloth weight and appearance, still in great condition, probably meant to be used for draperies or light upholstery I would think.

When it came to choosing a backing fabric for this cushion, I was immediately drawn to a piece of tweedy wool I had in my (ever-growing!) stash of wool fabrics and without any further ado started happily cutting into it; this, I might add is not usually what I do, as I am prone to lots of humming and hawing, pulling out all possible options before finally making a selection.... But in this case, it seemed a perfect match to the vintage floral in that very imperfect way I can't help loving these days. The wool fabric is of a rather indeterminate colour, which seems to change a lot depending on the lighting, but I guess if I had to put a name to it, I would call it "dusky lavender".

What I think makes this woolly fabric particularly lovely is what also probably makes its colouring rather vague and changing: sweet little woolly flecks of colours woven into the cloth, so common in tweedy textures. As you can see when you look at the photos, especially at the closeups below, the flecks come in quite a colour range, from violet and black to, most fortuitously, pink and caramel as I think these two colours harmonize rather nicely with the cushion front's colour palette..

There are also aqua green flecks embedded in the weave here and there which might have helped me choose the light minty blue colour of the crocheted ribbing's edge; I say "might" because my favourite go to colour nowadays always seems to be minty blue or aqua and I'm sure I tried it right away, possibly even before spotting these flecks and especially given the pinks, browns and lavenders already playing a part in this cushion's design.

The main yarn of the ribbing is a lovely mellow heathery yarn, also of a somewhat indeterminate colour which tends towards taupe; as an added bonus, its wool content is complemented by alpaca which gives it such a luxuriously soft handle. When putting together the ribbing yarns, I try to pair a rustic heathery or tweedy yarn in a neutral earthier colour with a yarn bolder in colour and often in a solid shade for the edge, and I have to admit that I'm quite pleased with how this pairing turned out and how it works with the rest of the cushion...

...which you can see well looking towards the bottom of the ribbing in the above closeup and towards the top of the ribbing in the one below...

...and don't you just love those lovely flecks sprinkled all over the place!...

And now, once again, for that favourite part of mine, have a peek inside the cushion...

...for a glimpse of the cuff lining made from some dainty vintage sheeting I had in my reserves; to see how it works with the front of the cushion, have a look below...

I included the photo below just to show you how the colouring of the wool fabric changes with the light; as you can see below, it becomes more violet in brighter light and more muted, duskier and browner in darker conditions as in some of the photos above. Undoubtedly, those little multicolour flecks once woven into a lovely homespun cloth play a key role in this fabric's chameleon nature, don't you think?... When working with fabric such as this one, I realize why I always seem to gravitate towards woollen fabric: they are so wonderfully rich in texture and deep in colours. I also love how beautifully natural they are as far as content; I recently read an article about a Donegal tweed mill and its owner, while extolling the virtues of his finished wool product said that, if set outside, it will melt back into the ground without doing any harm to the environment. How positively perfect.

I do hope I haven't rambled on too much about my cuffed cushion... While I will be showcasing another one shortly, probably the one with the olive background that's hiding in the shot below, I'm also working on some new crochet-trimmed pillowcases which I'm looking forward to showing you as well. Thanks for popping by and I do hope you visit again soon!...