...I'm not quite sure yet, definitely some kind of cushion, although I still have to work out the details... I'll have to leave it for now though as I'm off very soon on a rather sweet little family spring break holiday...
I'll tell you all about it upon my return in just over a week or so; I'll be closing my Etsy shop while I'm away but I'll reopen it as soon as I get back. I hope you all have a wonderful week and thank you so much for popping by!...
...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!...
...in the next few posts, I thought I would focus on the pile of cushions below, zooming in on each one at a time so you can get a closer look at the details...
In today's post, it's all about the top one in the pile above and the first one in the row below which is made from a very vintage floral and a lovely woven woolly.
I bought yardage of the vintage floral on Ebay, definitely several years ago as it's been a while since I've bought any fabric on Ebay; I did go through a phase of buying lots of vintage fabric on Ebay, but I eventually had to stop myself because it was just too easy and tempting, therefore becoming a bit of a drain on the budget! I do remember being thrilled when I spotted this bit of yardage and even more so when my bid won because it looked so lovely. I wasn't disappointed when I received it as it is even lovelier in person; it has a nice weight to it, probably meant for drapery, beautiful vibrant colours and a distinct texture as you can see in the photos below. Of course, the floral pattern is striking and speaks for itself...
The fabric also has a lustrous quality to it which made me wonder what it is made of. I decided to try to identify its content with a burn test and, based on how it burned, I think it is a cotton fabric made with mercerized cotton which gives it its sheen.
The backing fabric, I bought recently at a small local fabric shop that has somewhat of an eclectic selection of fabric, but always seems to have a good stock of wool and wool blend fabric. I actually don't remember whether this particular fabric is a 100% wool or a wool blend and when I went back to the shop recently, they no longer had any of it in stock; whatever the case may be, I think there is a solid wool content in it.
I was particularly drawn to this fabric because it reminds me of the back of a knitted garment done in a purl stitch. I also find that the little multicolour specks which dot the fabric all over (and which I hope you can see in some of the photos) are absolutely irresistible! You can't see these if you don't look at the fabric close up or if there's not enough light, but when you do see them, it's a delightful surprise; I'm such a fan of such sweet little details which, while not immediately apparent, bring a smile to one's face as soon as they are spotted. What makes these sprinkles of colour especially appealing is that they offer a nice contrast to the subdued colours of the weave, off-white and mauve; the shop clerk who cut the fabric for me said that it's as if a bag of Skittles was sprinkled all over the fabric!
As with all my cuffed cushions, the cuff at the back is finished with crocheted ribbing, inspired by thoughts of comfy, well-worn sweaters and socks. I have to admit that the process of choosing yarn for the ribbing, while a lot of fun, can be tricky. As usual, I'm aiming for a look that's not "matchy-matchy", but where all the parts which make it up blend well and bring each other out without one dominating over all the others. With this in mind, I think that finding suitable yarn for the ribbing is crucial to the success of this look, because if the choice of yarn is too bold with respect to the rest of the cushion and draws the eye too quickly to the ribbed band, the band appears to stick out too much and looks as if detached from the cushion as a whole.
After playing around with a few different yarn choices, I opted for a lovely wool in a shade of stone grey which I think harmonizes well with the off-white in the woolly backing and the creamy background colour of the vintage floral, without being a perfect match to either. As far as a choice to edge the ribbing with, I immediately gravitated towards a soft tweedy yarn in shades of greens and turquoise; in my eyes, it is bold enough to make the ribbed band stand out just the right amount as its mixed colouring blend well with the blues and greens of the cushion front. I also think that its tweediness, enhanced by it being a rather eclectic mix of llama, wool and silk, looks lovely against the rustic look of the woolly backing with its little nubs of colour. And now, for my favourite part of the cushion, have a look inside...
...and you'll find the hidden detail or the lining of the cuff made from a sweet bit of floral vintage sheeting...
To see how this lining works with the outside of the cushion, front and back, I though it would be best to show you the two photos below next to each other; what do you think?...
I included the photo below because you can see some of the colourful specks in the backing fabric, blue and green ones at that! Can you spot them?
I think the next cuffed cushion I'll feature is the one with the blowsy pink flowers; this should be my next post unless I get distracted by something else in the meantime!...
I hope you've enjoyed this little peek at a cuffed cushion and I do hope you come by again... Thanks for the visit!
...I hope 2016 has started well for you; have you made New Year's resolutions that you're trying hard to stick to?... I guess I can say that the last two weeks has seen me focusing on one of my New Year's goals which is to write more patterns and actually finish them; you wouldn't believe how many unfinished patterns I have lying dormant in my computer files! I'm rather excited about the one I'm putting together now and I hope to show you what it's all about very soon... In the meantime, I thought I would show you the back side of my deer cushion as I promised I would; I backed it with a wool fabric from my stash that I've just been dying to use because it's so lovely! It's in a subtle shade of grey, green and blue (unfortunately, my photos don't do it justice...) and I think it harmonizes well with the colour of the snowflakes on the front...
Initially, I thought I would only line the wool back with the brown ditsy floral cotton so you would only be able to see it if you peered inside the cushion. However, I really felt that the cushion needed a velvet bow, which then led me make a visible panel out of the brown cotton as a way to sew the velvet ties to the backing; I do like the fact that it's visible as I think it mirrors the browns in the cushion front rather nicely. I will be showing you more cushion details in the very near future; right now though, my pattern-writing is beckoning me... Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you'll pop by again!
I thought I would ring in the New Year with these pretty vintage trims, one of my favourite thrifted finds of 2015... Although you can't really see it in these photos, there's a lovely metallic thread that runs through all of them and glams them up very sweetly... Now, I just have to figure out what to make with all of this gorgeous yardage... Any ideas?
I guess that for now I'll just have to put them on my list of crafty ideas to explore in 2016... (I don't really have such a list -- it's all in my head in one very big messy jumble!) Anyhow, I do hope you will join me right here throughout 2016 as I sift and work through this crafty jumble... Now, I can't forget my main reason for writing this post: to wish you all a very happy and magical New Year! Most importantly, I hope it brings you lots of happiness... and, of course, lots of yummy crafty inspirations!! Have a great weekend and I hope to see you back here in January 2016!
...I hope this post finds you enjoying a lovely and cozy Christmas Day with all your loved ones... I just quickly nipped away from Christmas dinner-making to post these photos of, yes, you guessed it (very good!), my Rudolph Christmas cushion... ta-da...
...and to post the winner of the pillowcase giveaway as picked out by random.org:
Mrs. Robinson who pens the lovely blog, Carefully made by Mrs. Robinson (Yay!)
Now, I was also so impressed by Amanda who commented as follows after only seeing the snowflakes and the reindeer eye, "Oh! I think it must be a reindeer! Maybe Rudolph? I think this is part of the reindeer face, with a blinking eye.", that I've decided to also gift her with a pillowcase of her choice; I think the photo of the eye was the trickiest clue to figure out so that was a great guess, Amanda! Thank you again for playing along, and I hope you pop by again when I show you more detail photos of the cushion in my next post; I'll probably do so in few days or so, because I feel like I need a little bit of downtime after my frenzied lead up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve itself which was a lot of fun, but a very, very late night for me!... In the meantime, enjoy the holidays!...
...yes, you're all on the right track!... Hmmmm, what could this red felted ball possibly be?... Thanks again so much for joining in -- you have certainly put a very big smile on my face with all your great comments! I have to run now because we have guests coming very soon for our Christmas Eve dinner, or Wigilia, a very special Polish tradition. I hope you have a magical Christmas Eve and please do come back tomorrow for the grande finale...
...So, are you having fun yet? I hope you are because I am! Do you see it now with this third clue? I had the most fun making tomorrow's clue so I hope you'll pop by to check it out... Thanks so much for playing along -- I am so enjoying your comments! See you tomorrow...
...as you can see, I'm stingy like Scrooge with my clues today, but I'd like to keep you scratching your head for at least one more day if at all possible! I can't tell if this photo will mean anything to you because I obviously see something very different when I look at it then when you will look at it...
However, I do think this photo is the the tip of the iceberg; once you see tomorrow's photo and definitely, most definitely, Christmas Eve's photo, the pieces will quickly fall into place... I'm having so much fun reading your comments! Thank you so much for joining in and I hope you will have fun with this one...
