Fixing Suff

Most of my craft time lately has been spent "Fixing Stuff".

There's been some Pattern Writing for Captain Fizzlepop, that wonderfully colourful clown...

And some Sketching and Planning for our December Challenge...

But mostly I've just been Fixing Stuff (or trying to)



This cushion was in fabulous condition - except for those buttons.

Poor thing was starting to look MOST bedragled - that star was definitely losing its shine!

Of course I didn't actually HAVE the ones that had dropped off - so I improvised with some round buttons instead.

As always, it took more work than I expected - about 20 buttons needed to be stitched on.



And I think it works.

In fact it worked better than I anticipated...

You kind of get so caught up in the overall pearlescence (is that even a word?) and shine... that you lose track of the individual shapes of the buttons.

Love.

Finished.

Looky at what's sitting on my armchair...

Yep - That's right... I finally FINISHED the Freeform Cushion.

Remember I was aiming to have it finished by Wednesday? 

Well guess what?

Today IS Wednesday!

Here's the cushion front:

and the back:

Although it probably doesn't matter too much which was around it sits...

Out of Hibernation

So I pulled this Freeform Cushion out of hibernation about two weeks ago... and was working on it at the last Crochet Meet at my place.

My plan was to have it finished and sitting casually on the armchair when The Gang rocked up for our Next Meet...



That gave me a fortnight to work at it - which seemed like PLENTY of time...

Only I got distracted by other projects, and I haven't done a thing with it at all!

You can still see the original cushion cover peeking through in places - plus there needs to be some more embellishing to soften some of the edges between pieces.

So I'm giving myself a deadline.

I want it finished by Wednesday.

When The Gang arrive - there will be a new cushion on my armchair!

I started it when I was pregnant with Charlotte, and I'm sick of it lingering around unfinished...

(oh, and next time I start a Freeform Cushion, please remind me to only Freeform ONE SIDE of the cover, and add a plain back)

Merry Christmas To All...

Just wanted to wish everyone here a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year…

May you all experience only the Good Things this Holiday Season!

You guys are all such a wonderful inspiration and encouragement to me… without you, I would just be “that crazy craft lady who can’t throw anything out”

but with your love and support, I am LAUGHING PURPLE GOLDFISH :)

I’ll be taking a weeny break over the next few weeks… taking the kiddies to the beach for a well deserved holiday! Unfortunately Mr Goldfish has to keep working, but we’ll do our best to enjoy the sun and surf without him…

Safe travels to everyone here xx

And see you back here again for more QUIRKY CRAFTING in 2012

Sharon

P.S. Here's a quick peek at a couple of the gifties I've finished in the last 24 hours...

The Blooming Flower Cushion is done:



And I made my First Ever Fabric Softy... a Unicorn for my New Niece:

Square Peg - Round Hole

They say that you can't fit a square peg in a round hole...

But I'm going to try!

Or a Square Cushion in a Round Cover, that is...



I have searched high and low for a round cushion - and not been able to find one anywhere!

First I was checking the Op Shops... then moved on to look for a Brand New One.

But still there was nothing in the Craft Stores or the Home Decor Places.

Apparently ROUND cushions are not IN!

So I'm having to improvise a little



I've taken a square cushion, and pinned out the corners... so it sort of rounds out a bit.



Fortunately it doesn't need to be perfect.

And I've made a cover for it...

Still need to attach the Blooming Flower to the cushion cover



In other news, the Creeper Cozy is complete:

That BLOOMING Flower Cushion

Can I just say that if you are planning to make this cushion, PLEASE be very careful with your increases!


I was working on my flower during a crochet meet and obviously wasn't paying nearly enough attention to the pattern. Too busy gossiping, or something like that I suppose...

Anyway... I was increasing in the correct rounds... but increasing far too many stitches in each.

There's no excuse for it. In her pattern tutorial, Lucy is VERY clear about the number of increases to make. In fact, she uses red font to highlight the numbers. Oh, and there are stitch counts for the end of each round.

And still I got it wrong!

Annoying part is that I didn't notice until I was up to the sixth colour change. If you look at the photo below, you can see just how wavy the outer round is - that's because of all the extra increases I was making. And of course it was getting worse and worse with every round.



Of course, I had that niggling feeling that the piece wasn't sitting quite right... but I didn't listen to that inner voice early enough.

So NOTHING wrong with the pattern... just needed to focus on it properly...

And now that I'm READING the pattern correctly, it is turning out beautifully!

Another Day - Another New Project.

How cool would it be if I actually FINISHED every project I started???

But that's just not how I roll - is it?

There's something intoxicating about starting a new project. Choosing a pattern and yarn... imagining how it will turn out... and working up those first few stitches is a real buzz.

You don't want to put your work down.

Just one more row... then another, then another...

Well, as you might have guessed - I have started ANOTHER new project!

This one will be for Little Miss Seven for Christmas, so I will HAVE to finish it...

I'm working on the Blooming Flower Cushion from Attic 24.

Have any of you made this yet?

If you haven't visited Lucy over at her Attic yet, then GET OVER THERE NOW!!!

It's full of all things bright and colourful and delicious. So much inspiration, and lots of tutorials too.

Just make sure you come back and see me again when you're done exploring... Or I'll have to send out a search party.

if one is good, then two must be better

So I suddenly realised that I didn't have a plan for the back of the granny cushion...

Option 1: I could leave it plain... but then I know it would drive me insane everytime it flipped over on the couch (and believe me - there is a whole lotta cushion flipping that goes on at our place!)

Option 2: I could work a different square for the back, and then I have the option of intentionally flipping for a different look... but then I know that I will end up favouring one side more than the other... and my least favourite side will be the one it always ends up on.

Option 3: Is the winner. The back will be EXACTLY the same as the front, so that it doesn't matter which way the cushion sits!

Now, I'll be the first to admit... it's not too often that I make two pieces which are an exact replica of one another... remember those socks I made? Even they didn't match!

the granny treatment

Did you notice the cushion on the couch in my last blog post???

There's nothing wrong with it... except that it is a bit, well, too BEIGE for my liking!

So I've decided to give it the granny treatment.

One nice bright granny square coming up...



I've always been reluctant to use granny squares on cushions, because of the sewing involved... I mean... you simply MUST line them, they're too holey not to.

And the very thought of having to line them, has sent me running... because if I wanted a removable cover, then I would have to insert a zipper... and that's just all too scarey for my liking!

But this time I'm going to cheat a little.

Because the existing cushion cover is in good condition (well... it will need to be soaked for a few days in some napisan... but apart from the general grubbiness, it's in good nick) I can simply attach the crochet to the cover. I'll probably make a square for the front and the back, and then just stitch them into place.

That's the plan, anyway... and I'll try and remember to take some progress photos as I go... although sometimes I just get so caught up in the moment that I completely forget!

finished object friday

I love the way this looks on the couch!



Pretty pleased with myself for sewing a zipper in, too!

For the first time ever...

Usually I would just sew the cover closed around the cushion, but I really wanted this one to be removable for cleaning when necessary. So I just unpicked the zip from the original cover, and handstitched it into this new one...

Here's a link to the 'pattern' details

out of hibernation

Remember that cushion I started working on a while back?

I loved the way it was knitting up, but man - it took forever to get through! I thought I was never going to get it finished...

Then I was so fed up with it, once I finally had it off the needles... I packed it away and started something new.

Well - now is the time. This week I will be finishing the cushion, and putting it to use on the couch. There's not an awful lot to do. Just add a zipper and finish the bottom seam. More than likely I will be trimming the tassels a little, but I'll decide that for sure as the week goes on.

Best thing of all?

This one isn't going to require much thinking - unlike that exasperating bag from last week which drove me insane.

Check back on friday for the finished results.

what's in a name?

One thing I have noticed about kids... is just how much they LOVE seeing their own name printed on something... maybe it's the MINE factor, but whatever it is... they love it.

So a gift with a child's name on it, always goes down a treat. Something that is clearly just for them. Not for sharing... MINE... MINE... MINE... MINE... MINE...

This cushion makes for a simple gift idea. I have used a ready made cushion with a removable cover, but if your sewing skills are up to it, you could make it from scratch.



It's just as easy as it looks. First I cut my stars from some scrap fabrics. Then I embroidered the name on to the large star. I used some iron on interfacing to position the stars on the cushion cover, then worked a blanket stitch edging around the outline - securing the star in place.



It's really that simple!

I've made quite a number of these... sometimes I'll cut the individual letters from scrap material and sew them on to the cushion... just for something different.