My Tree Cushion

Hello everyone - yes, I know I'm very early, it is only three days since I posted and I really wanted to show you this cushion then but including it would have meant my post was going to be much too long and I am mindful of not overloading you all when you have so many other calls on your time. 

But now I can't wait any longer, so here is my Tree Cushion:

I really love this cushion! Well, you know how my stories go - I found another book, yes really, it just jumped off the shelf at me and I wasn't about to put it back. It's called 'The Quilter's Appliqué Workshop' written by Kevin Kosbab, and inside, as well as many other lovely projects, is this darling cushion which the author calls his 'All Seasons Pillow'. I love the way this guy sews and writes - "Why should your work look like it was sewn by a robot? If you're sewing by hand, let it show!"

So off I went - nine squares of white cotton fabric; nine lovely modern-look tree shapes; some basting glue to lightly hold the shapes to the squares; white cotton thread in needle to 'needle-turn' the shapes in place, (which basically means to turn under about a quarter of an inch of fabric with the point of the needle, as you stitch it on); then black embroidery thread to work the trees in various stitches. 

Looking at the pics above, second down, on the right, is one of the appliqué shapes being sewn in place and above that is the little pile of already sewn on and embroidered trees - you can see from their unpressed appearance that I used a hoop while embroidering, which made the job a lot easier. Third down on the right is where I was sorting the best arrangement for the finished project, and of course in the bottom two pics you can see the backing I used - you've seen this one in previous projects I've done.

After prepping each square I then sewed them all together - nine trees on nine white squares - then backed the piece with another layer of white fabric with wadding (batting) sandwiched between. Then came  the quilting which consisted of stitching another square a quarter-of-an-inch inside the final block seams and then free-motion stitching around each tree shape to give them a bit more dimension.

With the front completed I then made an envelope-style back with the 'little houses' print and sandwiched a lovely lacy tape trim around the edge. I made the cushion insert with some lightweight cotton fabric and filled it with toy stuffing, nice and fat and squishy!

The embroidery stitches I used were varied: stem stitch; backstitch; running; fly; fern and French knot.

I know I've said it already, but I really love this cushion and wish I could have come up with the design myself - what a clever man Kevin Kosbab is! It offered a variety of activities and I really enjoyed each one!

I want to make mention too at this time that I have been so inspired by Gill and the cushions she

creates - they are so beautiful and each one different to the next. Gill's workmanship is impeccable - if you haven't visited her place then I would encourage you to go have a look and say hello, she's a lovely person!

I also wanted to show you something else last post but at the time the gift was in the mail on its way to my daughter, Tracy, in Perth and I didn't want to spoil her surprise. She has now received it so I can now show you the new table runner made from some of the Japanese fabric I bought recently. Oh, and by the way, the backing fabric was one I already had .. .. 

 And then with some off-cuts I made some little hearts - these were inspired by the lovely Helen Philipps from her book "Pretty Patchwork Gifts". I have made slight changes, and the heart shape is a wee bit different to that in the book but Helen is without doubt the inspiration behind these - thank you Helen, your work is fab! 

So now my friends, apart from showing you a strange pic from my back garden, that's it for this time; I say 'strange' because although I think it may be termed as a 'bad' shot, I'm showing it because there's just something about it that attracts me - perhaps you'll let me know what you think, and don't worry, I can take criticism and hope to learn from it! I got this shot a few mornings ago when we had a very red sky which was irresistible!

I guess I should show you the red sky too and you'll see that the background to this 'strange' pic is the clump of fir trees behind our place .. .. .. the sky colour was changing so rapidly I had to be quick ..

So now I'll be off until next time - take care and be happy and thank you for being with me once again!

With my love,

❤Joy xoxo