Thursday 1 May 2014

A Cushion For Agnieszka

A little while ago I blogged about the cushion that Agnieszka made for me, and I am - unfortunately - really late in getting one finished for her. There is no secret about this cushion as I gave her a choice of projects a little while ago. I started Sunrise/Sunset for her, and then second guessed myself and started this one instead. For once, I was right to second guess myself.


This cushion was an experiment. I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and make something a bit different. It didn't all go to plan but nothing happened that I couldn't adjust too. And I learned a few things along the way. Ideally every project we did would allow this to happen.

The tear drop shape is a porthole as learned from Lu Summers at the first FQ Retreat. She told us to stay clear of points and there is a good reason for this. I wrestled with this bugger but ultimately I believe I won the battle. The curve worked pretty well, better than hoped, only the linen got all wonky and out of place so I had to trim the cushion top quite a bit to get it square again. Next time, if there ever is a next time, I would cut the linen wider and longer than required to allow for any twisting of the fabric from my less than perfect sewing.


I backed it with a bright green corduroy. And I  made a feature of the zip because (a) I like the way it looks, and (b) it is so much easier. (The truth will always get out.) I used Aurifil 50w 2600 - a very pale grey - for every aspect of this project. It is almost chameleon like the way it disappears into different colours. The quilting was as you go - obviously - for the cotton sections, and then I matchstick quilted the linen.

The hand stitching was with perle cotton 8w. I used a stem stitch to give each line enough definition against the heavily quilted linen. I like the way these lines are almost like narrow cording.

As this whole project took me out of my comfort zone I am really happy that it came together cohesively in the end. I hope Agnieszka likes it when it reaches her home because I was so lucky to receive a very beautiful cushion from her and would like to reciprocate in kind.

Susan

32 comments:

  1. Lovely to see the complete project, it really is fab.

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  2. Stunning! What a compelling argument that encouraging us to move beyond our comfort zones! I LOVE it!

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  3. I love it already and I can't wait to see it in person! You already know how much I admire the front, but yay, you've backed it with the green cord I've been ogling for ages :)

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  4. Beautiful Susan, really well executed :)

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  5. It's fab! It's so original and that's not easy when everything has already been done

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  6. It is absolutely gorgeous, I am sure she will love it. I haven't tried portholes yet, but I will note the tip of avoiding points.

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  7. Going out of your comfort zone was worthwhile... It's a great pillow. Fun, differing and vibrant. Me like :)

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  8. It turned out really gorgeous! Love it.

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  9. gorgeous and I love the combination of hand sewing/embroidery and quilting

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  10. Lucky girl!
    It turned out great, as always!

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  11. I'm sure it will be treasured for always.

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  12. Perfect! I'm sure it will be loved.

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  13. It's completely brilliant! You should step out of your comfort zone more often! Jxo

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  14. Yep- I think you just shattered your comfort zone completely. That cushion is utterly brilliant !

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  15. It turned out absolutely beautifully and yay for breaking out into new things!

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  16. Very cool. Good for you pushing though.

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  17. Agnieszka is a lucky lady. Beautiful cushion

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  18. It's seriously gorgeous Susan. Dove is my go to aurifil colour - describing at a chameleon is the perfect description!

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  19. I think it's just fabulous. So many techniques involved too, it must have taken a long time, but well worth it. I love a project that includes machine and hand stitching. I've made heart port holes before, and they can be a bit of a pain too, but if you can get it right they look great, and yours looks fab. What a lucky lady your friend is.

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  20. What imperfections?! This truly is stunning, really really inspiring!

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  21. Beautiful! Such lovely stitching :)

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  22. so pretty, and very unique :-)

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  23. Such a fabulous cushion Susan

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  24. Fab and I love the way you have overcome the challenges on the way

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  25. It's absolutely gorgeous Susan! I'm sure your swap partner will be over the moon x

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  26. I think this is perfect in every way!! So gorgeous!

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  27. This is gorgeous, I love the quilting and the very funky zip :-)

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