Tuesday 2 August 2016

Secret Santa in July swap

We did a Secret Santa in July cushion swap at the East Midlands Modern Quilt Guild.  We were each given a person to make for and a list of their likes and dislikes.  When I discovered I'd got quilting professional extraordinaire Trudi, I begged our swap mama Moira to make a new rule that the cushion couldn't have any quilting on it.... she refused.

I went from not having an idea, to having a pretty much fully formed idea overnight and I got started, this was back in June, or maybe even May... I think it was before I became ill again this time.


I didn't follow a pattern, I just made it all up.  I drew the outline of a sewing machine, improv pieced some aqua scraps, then traced the shape onto Bondaweb which I fixed on the back.  Not until I'd actually quilted it did I realise the sewing machine is back to front!  I sewed round the edges and added the details in free-motion thread painting.


Trudi loves Aurifil, so, despite my ambiguity towards the brand, I made Aurifil spools in her listed preferred colours. Each area is quilted differently.  Some are geometric square designs and some are curvy.  I did four and then struggled for ages to think of other designs to use!


The middle section had loops and hearts and the borders were matchstick quilted.  I did a simple ribbon pattern in the spools.  The aqua borders are left unquilted.



One of these pictures should show the segment I did in pebbles.  It took FOREVER.  It can't be a very big area, the overall cushion cover is 22", so we're talking 6-7", but I was quilting those pebbles for hours - so it felt.  Never again.


A quick shot of the back where you can see the quilting pretty well.


I used a tutorial by Ms Midge to do the lapped zip which I've never done before.  It was really easy so I'll be doing that again.


See, there really is a zip under there!


And my cushion?  I knew it would be a bunny!  This is by the very talented Gillian.

My apologies that all the links (except for Ms Midge's tutorial) are to Instagram, my intrepid fellow guild members have all abandoned blogging for the instant gratification that is Instagram.  I go on Instagram every now and then, but I find after about 2 minutes I'm just flicking and the images are flying past.  Much like how I felt about Flickr in its day, there's not enough depth to Instagram, it's just photos and no real stories.  

11 comments:

Oops-Lah said...

My gosh, I love the cushion you've made for your swap partner! And your FMQ is fantastic. And I totally agree about IG, it just isn't the same than reading a proper blog post with several pictures. I hope you are feeling better again. xx

Anonymous said...

I love all the different types of quilting on your cushion cover and the design is gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

lovely cushion covers both given and received.
I totally agree with you about Instagram - I much prefer to read blog posts and hear the story behind the photo.

Kerryp77 said...

The quilting is amazing, The colours are fab and I love how you have quilted the spools.

Shirlee Fassell said...

Wow! I can feel the work you put into your wonderful creation!

Bethany said...

Wow, that's great!!!! No biggie on the sewing machine--you're just looking at it from the other side that no one sees and appreciates (all about perspective :)
Also--I'm glad I'm not the only who's kind of "whatever" about Aurifil.

Rachel said...

I'm with you about instagram. I post on it, but I do all my thinking and explaining on my blog!

And I think you did a great job with that cushion - it's a great success!

Joy from Days Filled With Joy said...

You've designed an awesome cushion cover! Your quilting also looks great! xx

Jane said...

love the cushion you made, and I'm sure it will be well loved. Great idea for the zip too

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Your machine quilting is wonderful! I'm very impressed. You made a beautiful cushion cover, and the bunny cushion for you is beautiful too.

I've never looked at Instagram. It's true though - most people seem to have abandoned blogging for Facebook pages or Instagram. But I need the words!

Sarah in Stitches said...

Great job! I'm sure she loved the cushion. It looks incredibly well made! :D