Thursday 24 May 2018

summer cushion - Cross Stitcher 332

On Tuesday, issue 332 of Cross Stitcher hit the UK shops, with my summer animal cushion on the cover - but before I show you piccies of that, first here are two cards that I made (I`m actually so excited that I stitched something just on a whim that I have to start with these):


The first one was the free gift with the latest WOCS (269) and the AOY card I found in my stash. I have a big bag where I chuck in the cover kits and the other day, I suddenly decided I`d do one card a day (after I`d claimed in my last post that I never do cards). Predictably, my determination lasted 2 whole evenings, so I`ve got these two cards to show for it, but that`s me covered for all the birthdays in the family for the next 2 years (usually, I settle for a phone call or a Facebook message).


Anyway, the summer animal cushion. I have to say, I`m rubbish at flora & fauna, so I`d sooner associate ducks and squirrels with autumn but the flowers might be summery...? And the strawberries definitely are. 😉



Designed by Rebecca Spencer, this small cushion (26x26 cm) took 34 hours to stitch and I thoroughly enjoyed how quickly it grew - as daunting as the amount of backstitch might seem, it actually sped things up that I could finish each mini motif (or, more like, 3-4 of them at a time) before moving on to the next group. I think it boosts "stitchy morale" when you know you don`t have to return to a certain bit ever again because it`s done and dusted.


That`s a photo about halfway through the project, and here it is completely finished:


Although I don`t often take a pic of the back of my work, I did with this one because I liked the effect of the black "dotted lines". 😊


And here is the finished cushion, complete with summery props - hope you like it, happy stitching!







4 comments:

  1. The cushion is wonderful! I agree with you about the 'stitchy morale'.....each little bit is like a mini finish which is a great feeling. The cards are great too - always handy to have for that birthdays etc that creep up without you realizing!

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    1. Thanks, Rhona! I plan to make more of them (before my stash bag bursts) 😃

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  2. Nice cushion! A bit overwhelming for me all together, but I take it two motifs at a time, thinking how good it would look on a... card. :) I like your girl with the umbrella, it is so neat and colorful. A card bug, in my experience, is much like a stitching bug. Mine lasted a little over a year, I even invested in a card stock cutter - and then it suddenly went away. Hope yours lasts, so we all can enjoy seeing your awesome results.
    Happy stitching!

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    1. Thanks, Katya - haha, if my drawer full of blank cards is anything to go by... although they`ve been sitting there for over a decade so I don`t know when my enthusiasm for cards plans to return...? ;)

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