Sunday, December 1, 2013

A Cushion For Christmas Blog Hop Kicks Off Now!

Ms Midge
I hope you all have your Christmas lists ready to tick off!  Because the Cushion For Christmas Blog Hop starts now - and over the next two weeks, you WILL get lots of inspiration for lots of cushion-y gifts this festive season!  Let's kick it off here…

I'm going to share with you all the cushions I have made this year......so far.... I can guarantee that each and every one of them took less than a day!  Cushions truly are the projects I turn to when I need a quick and easy gift, and something that will be treasured and looked at.  I'm hoping these will get your imagination bursting!

Although a cushion can be a small gift, it can certainly pack a punch with its delivery.....  Much to my horror and confusion - not one of these is in my house.  In fact, I am yet to make a cushion for our very own home!

I've included the links to the original posts of these Cushions, so you will find more information about the process of making them there, as well as links to any tutorials I used.

FLYING GEESE
This was made for my teenage god-daughter, who loves everything "Night before Christmas". She is not a flowers and roses kind of gal, so I went with the black background and was able to pull this together with a bunch of Terrain scraps. She absolutely adored it!

TERRAIN PAPER PIECED
Another paper pieced project, using the same bag of Terrain scraps.  I think this was actually my second ever attempt at paper piecing, and I was hooked.  This is a good example of how fabric placement can change a pattern.  And this cushion now resides at my Mum's house!

DRESDEN
The dresden cushion was a gift for my brother in law and his fiance for their engagement.  This was my first foray in to free motion quilting on a cushion.  THIS is what gave me the "uh-huh moment" for how beneficial cushion covers could be in honing my FMQ skills!

LITTLE RED STORYBOARD
A gorgeous little girl gift for my two year old god daughter in Japan.  Another "scrap" project, it was my first attempt at free motion quilting flowers.  By fussy cutting the different Little Red scenes, it ends up looking a little like a story board.  You could use any kind of fussy cuts to make up a story on a cushion.

9 PATCH MASH UP 

The mash up was another gift in a hurry project.  I had no idea what I was going to do with these prints, but knew my sick work mate would love them.  There is a tutorial for this on the original post in the link above.  FABULOUS and super quick project!


WONKY STAR AUSSIE MEMORIES  
Made for a Japanese student who came and stayed with us for a few nights earlier this year.  A great way to use a feature fabric and something to remember for someone special!


9 PATCH PERSONALISED

This delightful 9 patch cushion was an order for a customer - she bought it for her Mum for Mother's Day.  SUPER quick and easy, and a bit of FMQ in the borders to personalise.

PAPER PIECED PERSONALISED

Personalised cushion covers are awesome for kids!  Kristy @ Quiet Play has great paper piecing patterns HERE with both upper and lower case letters.  Find out a child's favourite colours or theme and you have an instant hit!  This one was for a One Direction fan - the original post has more photos with the British theme on the back.

STARGAZING

And this one?  Well, it has to be the simplest and quickest cushion cover to put together of all!  It's literally a basic wonky star surrounded by a solid colour.  Then, it's all about the FMQ!  It is also a very personalised cover in its own way.  There are five stars in total - the largest is for my friend's husband who was killed last year, and the four smaller stars and for herself and her three children.


 PAPER PIECED STAR
Well - this was the cushion that started a blog hop!  It was whilst loving every single part of making this that I decided more cushions had to be made and gifted this Christmas!  I originally made this to gift to my son's teacher, however, a friend loved it so much that she bought it!  Looks like I have another cushion to make......

So - there's just a few ideas to get you started!  I've made two new cushions for this blog hop, and will be back to share them and a couple of tutorials.  Now, go and grab that Christmas gift list, and get ready to fill it up!  Here's the schedule for the coming weeks...


Sunday 1st December - Me!  Now!
Monday 2nd December - Gemma at Pretty Bobbins
Tuesday 3rd December - Kristy at Quiet Play
& Me
Wednesday 4th December - Joshua at Molli Sparkles
Thursday 5th December -Rachel at Little White Dove 
Friday 6th December - Fiona at Finding Fifth
Saturday 7th December - Abby at Things For Boys

Take a breath……

Sunday 8th December - Lauren at Molly & Mama Makes
Monday 9th December - Jodi at Tickle & Hide
Tuesday 10th December - Adrianne at On The Windy Side 
& Me
Wednesday 11th December - Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts
Thursday 12th December - Gina at Party of Eight
Friday 13th December - Jane at Quilt Jane
Saturday 14th December - Round up of Blog Hop and link up YOUR projects!
Wednesday 18th December - Winners Announced!

Remember - this is all about YOU TOO!  I would love you to get involved and  I have some wonderful sponsors on board with fabulous prizes up for grabs!  Take in all the hop stops this coming fortnight, and make sure you sew up a storm of cushions!  Then from the 14th of December, the linky will open up for you to share your projects!  And my esteemed bloggers and I will announce the winners on the 18th of December!


Patterns Only - $20 Voucher

The Oz Material Girls - $20 Voucher


Fat Quarter Shop - $50 Voucher!

Polka Dot Tea - Fabric Bundle!

Intrepid Thread - $25 Voucher!

Blossom Heart Quilts - Ornamental Quilt Pattern!


Quiet Play - Winner's choice of 3 Paper Piecing Patterns!
If you are joining in, feel free to grab my button over there on the right of my blog.   You don't have to have a blog to join in, if you would like to email your finished projects, you are more than welcome to!  I have also set up a Flickr group for those interested - HERE.

Go on - what are you waiting for???

14 comments:

  1. I LOVE that dresden cushion, though the 9 piece mash-up looks like a lot of fun too! Feeling inspired ...

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    1. Thanks! I hope you're inspired enough to join in!

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  2. So many beautiful ideas and so many wonderful projects to come! Looking forward to it all!

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  3. I love all those beautiful ideas! Cushions are great gifts.

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  4. I have added your button to my blog and I hope I'll make some cushions :-)

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  5. Your cushions are wonderful! I love them all. Especially the paper-pieced star. sooooo pretty!

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  6. That dresden cushion is beautiful! Cant wait to see everyones posts :)

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  7. love all these cushions. You definitely whip them up faster than me, but I do really enjoy making cushion covers too :-)

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  8. So many gorgeous cushions! How is it possible you don't have any at your place? That must be remedied! Cushions for everyone for Christmas?!

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  9. All the pillows are beautiful! I'm down visiting my grandson for two weeks so not sure if I'll get a chance to sew but I will be enjoying the hop and making a to-do list, hehe. Can't wait to see more!

    usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com

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  10. Lovely cushions!! One of my favorite things to make. too!

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  11. This is such a great idea! No blog but I uploaded to Flickr....my "cheats" cushion....a feather (always) insert is tightly covered with Commercial prequilted wadding from spotty etc,(no opening) than a cover made with a stand-out interior designer hard wearing thicker fabric like Marimekko and emphasise the back opening (concealed zipper) with 2 co-ordinating quilters weight fabrics . . . and always do a piped or bobble edge around cushion. If the cushion insert is 50cm (say), then make the cover 48cm.....a tighter cushion is more luxurious to look at. Not strictly "Patchwork or Quilting" . . . . but still a cushion!
    Cant wait to see them all in the blog hop.

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  12. What a great line up of cushions!! Thank you for sharing with us

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Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment - I read each and every one of them! xx

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