Colourful Inspiration

On my adventures to the market this week, I was happy to pick up very cheaply some lovely Springy flowers, ranunculus and anemones, which are some of my favourites. I think the flower colours of the moment are dictating my choice of fabrics for sewing, too. I couldn't be more pleased about that! Be gone sludge.

I've been slowly adding to my stash of gorgeous 1930's reproduction cottons, the next best thing to sewing with vintage, certainly more affordable! When I made this cushion last year, it caused a little ripple of delight. It happily went off to be rehomed straight away with a lovely fellow V&H Fair lady (hello!), but I had some disappointed customers thereafter. Much as I thought it was lovely, it was time consuming to make so it's taken me a while to get round to making some more.

This technique gives you the look of painstaking English paper pieced hexagons, (many of you knuckling down with your own will know they have to be hand sewn), but by cutting half hexagon shapes, you can then piece by machine. So yes, it is much quicker than hand piecing but not as quick as patchworking squares, for example. I lay them out on a piece of mount board (all mod cons here!), to get a pleasing arrangement...

I am hampered a little, space-wise, by some rather large ginger furry friends!

There was also the not-so-small matter of the cake I had to decorate for Sunday which made making the cushion feel like, well, a piece of cake! (Sorry!)

But finally, it all came together, pretty cottons, delightful Springy colours, cute designs, all hand tied with lustrous perle cottons onto cosy quilt batting.

Oh dear! I love this! It is really very pretty and very me! It looks very nice, nestled there on that bed...

I inevitably had quite a few strips of the pretty fabrics left. I have put the longer ones to one side for another project but there were lots of dinky pieces I couldn't just throw away.

Oooh, a bit of mini log cabin maybe?

You see, I needed a pin cushion to have up in my quilting room...

Goodness me, I so enjoyed myself, log cabin-ing away, that I have made a pin cushion of gargantuous proportions!

I have resigned myself to the fact that I must be satisfied with the world's largest pin cushion; meanwhile, the decidedly desirable hexy cushion awaits hopefully here for a new home...