Peek-a-Boo ...

...I finished you!   This project involved crochet and knitting, using up some  bits of yarn and fabric from my stash.
The pattern to make your own "Peek-a-Boo Pillows" and can be found in Knitting Loves Crochet by Candi Jensen.  Lots of lovely projects in this book.  You will be inspired to pick up your hooks and needles.

I started out thinking that after I made the first cover in this pale (rather uninspiring) green, I would dye it.  The  original colour is so bland.

Even the moss stitch patterned pillow back looked lackluster, so I was getting ready to dye it.

 Then, I discovered a couple of small skeins of  cotton yarn in Rowan's denim hiding in my stash.  Hmmm... perhaps pairing the blue and the pale green would jazz things up?  Unfortunately, I found I did not have enough of the lighter blue yarn to make the front and back of the cover.  I opted to redo the back in the larger skein of darker denim coloured yarn and used every bit of it.  Whew.

Thinking there was so much potential in the openwork design of the crocheted front, I began searching for the right fabric to make the pillow form.  I stumbled upon some off cuts of pre-quilted cottons I received from a friend (thanks, Jacqueline!).  Stitching those pieces together so that the seam would be in the middle of the front, I thought I could hide it under the seam that joined the crochet motifs together.  Yes!  It worked.

The bright blue of the pre-quilted cotton really shows off the pale green crochet  and better, yet, gave the pillow form a firmer shape.  Perfect!

Now, when it came time to sew a pillow form for the blue cover, I did not have enough scraps in one colour.  I was just able to make the front by piecing two scraps together and hiding the seam under the mid line of the crochet pattern, but had to use a cream colour to sew the back of the pillow form.  Thankfully, it also worked well and you don't notice that the form has two colours.

Paired together,  I'm quite happy with the results and surprised at how much better that pale green yarn looks now that it has the bright blue behind it.

Happier still, that I used up some small bits from my stash and that the newest pillows should go quite nicely with that king-sized quilt I have planned for our bed.

Simply Gorgeous Day

Mother Nature has gifted us with a mild winter this year (the past few days especially), so I took the opportunity to head out of doors to see if I could  capture some better pictures of some of my quilts.  Nothing beats natural lighting, right? On our walk home, I couldn't resist looking at the sky and admiring the winter blue, with the bright slice of moon showing.

I love the contrast in colour that the winter months bring.  The palette of this season can seem stark at times, but then there's something so pure about it.  Softer, somehow.  Clear and clean.  Beautiful.

Back indoors, I'm slowly working away on a new piece of bright patchwork.  I had hopes of being nearly completed, but somehow this weekend I got caught up in other things first and today I'm thankful to have spent some time soaking up the beauty in a simply gorgeous day.

Wishing you a week of gorgeous days!  Happy sewing....

Granny has a happy ending...

It took me some time, but I have figured out how to finish my crocheted granny squares.  I now have two brightly coloured cushion covers!

Initially, I played around with crocheting the two to one another, but thought it would be nicer to have two cushions instead of one that was reversible.  Then I started considering backing the crochet  with a fabric back, but was concerned that with all the stretch crochet has, it would be an issue (plus I would have to finish the edges of the fabric to prevent fraying). 

Finally, I came up with using felted sweaters to make an envelope style backing for the covers.  It has proven to be the perfect solution!  I was able to incorporate the bottom hem of the sweater to make the lapped over edge and used single crochet to form a band with button loops.  Ta-da!  A removable cover and it even gave me the opportunity to use some vintage buttons on the back of one cushion.    Love, love, love it!

For the back of the second cover, I determined that 5 rather than 3 buttons, would work even nicer.  This time, I made some pretty self-cover ones to complement the colour of the cushion's back.

Joining the crocheted front with the felted sweater for the back was super easy.  I simply placed them right sides facing and whip stitched them together with yarn.  The stitches are visible, if you look for them, but I think it adds a homespun look and that's okay with me.

I'm feeling pretty happy that I was able to use not only left over bits of my yarn to crochet the granny squares, I made good use of some felted sweaters and buttons from my stash.  Pretty satisfying, I must say and well worth the time it took for me to figure out the best way to finish them! ;o)

How lucky to discover that the bright yarns in my new crocheted granny cushions go so well with the beautiful quilt I received from my lovely and talented friend, Nicolette.   Don't they look made for one another!

 I'm a little high on the success of this project and with my fingers crossed, I'm inspired to give another crochet project ,  it's own happy ending this weekend.

Wishing you a happy, creative weekend!