A Quilted Double-Sided Butterfly Cushion

The other day I was scouring the ether for simple, sweet and modern quilt block ideas to spruce up a cushion, when I came upon the cutest butterfly charm block paper-piecing pattern by Lillyella. While not quite what I'd originally had in mind, I just could not ignore those adorable flutterbys. The charms instantly warmed my cold cold heart and before I knew it, I had pieced a "Gidget" for my cushion.

Lillyella's Gidget butterfly pattern was easy to follow and, even in the hands of a novice paper-piecer such as myself, it turned out imperfectly sweet. What's more is the pattern is 100% free and included in it are instructions and templates to make three distinct butterflies: Gidget, Cricket and Pepper! How nice is that?

Since I used her utterly free pattern to grace my cushion, allow me to return the favour with a tiny plug, won't you? Lillyella has a blog and a store with beautiful paper-piecing patterns. Go check her out, goshdarnit.

Oh and by the way, here's the back of the cushion which I drew out and English paper-pieced.

I'm smitten with the whole double-sidedness of this creation. It's like a mood cushion. Sometimes I'm in a butterfly mood. Sometimes I'm in a squarish-flower mood.

Because you never know when a butterfly mood will strike - not to mention a squarish-flower mood - so it's best to always be prepared.

♥︎M

Crazy Heart Cushion

Don't know if you remember the Quilted Heart Rug? Well here's its companion piece, the Crazy Heart Cushion.

Forgive me, but I couldn't resist making another heart-themed quilted thingie... Looks quite fetching resting in the great outdoors on my wooden bench, doesn't it?

♥M

Colourful Quilted Cushion. Check!

Hey there. How are ya?

It's November eh?

I finished my cushion.

Remember I mentioned it back here? The photo up top is the front and down below is the back. It's got a zip and everything so I can take it off and wash it clean. Fancy eh? We're doing it, and we're doing it right, man.

The cushion is the first tiny step in my quest for a more colourful life - or living room at least - because as you know...

I NEED COLOUR!!!

Sorry. Yelling again.

More colour to come...

♥M

HERE's a helpful bow-tie block tutorial just in case you're interested in whipping up your own colourful cushion courtesy of Twin Fibers.

I NEED COLOUR!!!

Sorry there.

Didn't mean to yell at you in the title.

It's just that I'm desperate for more colour in here. This place is so drab and blaaaah and oooh sooo ho-hum with the beige couch and the beige cushions and the white walls and the light grey-green carpet. Laaaahhhhh.

Small, strategic pops of colour. Zero budget. Using stuff I've already got.

That's the plan anyway.

First stop: cushion.

I've made a start on the above cushion design with Malka Dubawsky-inspired quilting. I've commenced the piecing. See below.

Sure hope this works.

♥M

The Boy's Bedroom Reno: Softscape

A quiet post for today... Some of the soft things that will make The Boy's room cozy. Above you see his denim pouf, the scrappy quilt "City Streets", and two refurbished cushions. The cushions are briefly explained below.

First, a newly corked cushion. This is The Boy's own very old cushion. First, I re-stuffed it. He then took a length of corking (spool-knitting) and placed it as he desired on his cushion. I hand-stitched his design in place.

And another old cushion that I re-covered in a thrifted baby blanket.

A quick and quirky transformation!

Next up, The Boy's bedroom reveal in full. Can't hardly believe we're almost there... Goodness gracious me!

♥M

Corked Cushion "Safe To Dance"

Eight months in the making and it's finally here. Yay, me! Why eight months? Heaven knows... I got distracted or something.

Slow though it was, this cushion was inspired by Men Without Hats "Safety Dance", so I'm calling it my "Safe To Dance" corked cushion. Corked because I made the knitted tubing embellishment with my own two hands using a new-to-me method called spool-knitting or corking. I'm doing a little jig right now in celebration of this pillow's completion! Dance with me now... Come come, let's see your moves.

Nice.

This is my first attempt at doing the "invisible-zipper thing" too. I installed it without the fancy-special invisible zipper foot and it turned out pretty well. I may invest in the fancy-special foot because, from what I've read, they are quite inexpensive. But yes, it can be done without it. Amy's got some helpful installation hints, and there are countless YouTube videos and tutorials on the subject. I googled "how to install an invisible zipper" and was inundated by the 34 600 results. It seems I'm not alone in my quest for zippy stealth.

Oh, and find out how to cork or spool-knit HERE. The resulting tubes are just nifty and can be used in a plethora of ways. Have you ever made anything corked? Do tell.

♥M