Sunday 18 January 2015

Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew Link Party - A Christmas Cushion

As regular readers will know, at the beginning of 2014 Paula and I decided that we were going to be organised for Christmas for a change, so we started our monthly Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew Link Party. Well, we so enjoyed that feeling of being organised in December that we have decided to enjoy it again this year. So welcome to the first monthly Link Party for 2015, and because it is a New Year we have a new Button!


grab button for Celtic Thistle Stitches


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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGQXFN-EJ5N2a2HrlSaDsJD2wiHD5V55AEepQaHf6AQRZTllr6KF2jIPWbqhtkB05VlfTcEksaIsNy4K4iG7hZl7Clp5_ANMRxAPxb1liKNwlbUyKUffV833alD8h33yfSSUa_sHeQ-I/s128/Ho%20Ho%20Ho%20button%20photo.jpg" alt="Celtic Thistle Stitches" width="125" height="125" />
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Needless to say we couldn't keep all the fun to ourselves so we invited our fellow bloggers to join and guest host the Link Parties throughout the year.


JanuaryCeltic Thistle StitchesFionahttp://celticthistlestitches.blogspot.com
FebruaryThreading My WayPamhttp://www.threadingmyway.com/
MarchWonky PatchworkSallyhttp://wonkypatchwork.blogspot.co.uk/
AprilSLIK stitchesBentahttp://slikstitches.com/
MayPractically PippyKarenhttp://practicallypippy.blogspot.co.uk/
JuneCharly & Ben's Crafty CornerRuthhttp://benandcharlyscorner.blogspot.co.uk/
JulyWeekend DoingsMarthawww.weekenddoings.blogspot.com

Patch the GiraffeChelseahttp://patchthegiraffe.blogspot.com/
AugustSunshine Through the RainDeborah http://sunshinethroughtherain-deborah.blogspot.co.uk/
SeptemberPractically PippyKarenhttp://practicallypippy.blogspot.co.uk/

Party of Eight: Our StoryGinahttp://partyofeightourstory.blogspot.co.uk/
OctoberElla and Nesta's Little RoomNesta http://ellaandnesta.blogspot.co.uk/

Sandra Sews :)Sandra http://suddenlysandra.blogspot.co.uk/
NovemberRose & DahliaJoannehttp://rosedahlia.blogspot.co.uk/
DecemberMud, Pies and PinsPaulahttp://www.mudpiesandpins.com/


 As you can see we have gathered together a great bunch of bloggers!

Each guest host will provide a tutorial for a Christmas or Holiday-themed gift or Home Decoration item, so not only will you be given a gentle nudge every month to tick off something on that Christmas to-do list, but also inspiration for some great Christmas makes, should you be struggling to come up with the perfect project!

What more could you ask for??

Well, how about a few giveaways throughout the year??

The winners of December's Link Party Giveaways were

Quilting Book - Katie at Good Golly Ginger

Gift Voucher   -  Carla at Grace and Favour

Thanks to our lovely sponsors we also have random giveaways for some lucky linkers throughout this year too. I know we are spoiling you, but let's face it we all deserve a treat now and then :)





Crafty Trimmings

http://www.patchworkelephant.com/



Quilting Fabric at the Fat Quarter Shop

This month's giveaway prize is this lovely Christmas Felt Bundle


courtesy of the lovely Sarah at

 

If you haven't already come across Sarah's store you are in for a treat, she has the most delightful vintage notions and trims and I have completely fallen in love with these Red Robin Buttons. I think they may just feature in some of my Christmas crafting this year :)

So, if you want to be the lucky winner of the Christmas Felt Bundle all you need to do is link up your Christmas / Holiday makes for this month here. The winner of the bundle will be randomly drawn when the Link-up closes at 24.00GMT on January 31st.



To kick start your Christmas crafting, how about a Christmas Cushion to make now and tuck away for December?


During their recent house move my mother came across some fabric that had been hidden away in her craft cupboard for years (it's in the genes obviously!) and passed it on to me.


Needless to say I did nothing with it before Christmas, but then I got to thinking how I could use the fabric other than for the Advent Calendar for which it was intended I think. I decided that a Christmas cushion was the way to go! I fondly imagine being able to change all of my cushion covers to appropriately themed covers for the Season, but there is a long way to go so it was definitely time to make a start :)

If you share a similar ambition, here is what you will need for your own Christmas Cushion.

1 F8th Christmas Label fabric - you will need enough fabric to have 6 complete motifs
1 FQ Solid White Fabric    - Fabric A
1 FQ Backing Fabric          - Fabric B
1 FQ Contrast Fabric for binding
16"/41cm nylon zip
Fusible Fleece or wadding - 12.5" x 19" ( I used fusible fleece because it was the whitest wadding that I had)
Cushion/Pillow Insert - 12" x 18"

N.B. Seam allowances throughout are 0.25"

Cutting Requirements

Christmas Label fabric - 6 Fussy Cut 3.5" squares

Fabric A

3 squares 3.5"
6 rectangles 5" x 3.5"
3 rectangles 6.5" x 3.5"

Fabric B

2 rectangles 2" x 3"
2 rectangles 19" x 6.5"

Binding Fabric

4 strips 2.5" x WOF

Step 1

Join the fabric pieces in the following order

Rows 1, 3 and 5

  1. Fabric A 5" x 3.5" rectangle
  2. Fussy Cut 3.5" square
  3. Fabric A 5" x 3.5" rectangle 
Rows 2, 4 and 6

  1. Fabric A 3.5" square
  2. Fussy Cut 3.5" square
  3. Fabric A 6.5" x 3.5" rectangle



Step 2

Join the pieced strips together, alternating the strips so that the fussy cut squares are offset.


Step 3

Fuse the fleece to the reverse of the pieced cushion front. Quilt as desired. I quilted parallel horizontal lines on the solid white fabric only.


Trim the quilted block. Set aside

Step 4

Fold over 0.25" at the short ends of each of the 2" x 3" Fabric B rectangles and press. Fold the pressed zip tabs in half lengthways and press again.

Sandwich the zip ends between the folded tabs, stitch across the folded edges to secure.

Make sure that the zip and tabs measure 19" in length in total


Step 5

Matching the top raw edge of one Fabric B rectangle 19" x 6.5" with the top raw edge of the zip, and with each Right Sides Together, attach the zip to the cushion back piece.

Repeat with the other Fabric B rectangle 19" x 6.5" on the opposite zip edge.


With the zip Right Side Up fold both cushion back pieces back so that they are also Right Side Up and press. Topstitch on each side of the zip to secure.


Step 6

Place the cushion back and front Wrong Sides Together and baste around the raw edges.

Join the 2.5" binding strips to make one continuous binding strip, fold in half lengthways and press. Matching the raw edges, stitch the binding to the cushion front, fold over and hand or machine stitch to the cushion back.


Give your cushion cover one final press. Insert the cushion form and pat yourself on the back for completing a Christmas project in January :)

Now, it's your turn to Link Up your Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew projects and maybe win that lovely Christmas Felt Bundle to kickstart this year's Holiday makes :)


15 comments:

  1. The pillow is really cute and looks so easy. Love it.

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  2. It will be Christmas all year! Fun

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  3. YAY I'm so glad Ho Ho Ho is running again this year - it really is a fantastic and gentle kick in the behind to get and stay organized - it sure helped me last year :)

    I'm already planning what my tutorial project will be - so far I've come up with 4 different ideas - "final answer!" - but I keep changing my mind, LOL. I think I'll keep track of my ideas and watch to see what others do before my turn in October :D

    Love the pillow - the red binding against the white background is striking! I wouldn't have thought to use labels as little mini panels - that's such a great idea :D

    To one and all - get ready because - Ho Ho Ho .... On We Sew! ;)

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  4. Fun cushion!! I like the design and your use of the advent calendar fabric!

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  5. A beautiful cushion, Fiona!!! What a difference the quilting makes to the white fabric - really ties it all together. One down, how many to go? I'm determined to join in each month this year. Yeah, I know I said the same thing last year, but the first present is almost done. Yay!!!! And next month is covered, so I'm off to a good start.

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    Replies
    1. I am on a roll - first to link up for the year!!!

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  6. This is really fun Fiona. I got sent an advent calendar panel after Christmas this year and have been pondering what to do with it! This could be the way to go :-)

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  7. It is great that you are getting a head start on Christmas projects! It is so hard to get things done during the holidays! The pillow is so cute. The offset squares are really fun and I like how you quilted in the solid white only. It really makes the Christmas fabric pop!

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  8. Your cushion is a great idea. I love how the quilting makes the little Christmas panels stand out!
    A lovely start for this fun blog hop!

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  9. Love the cushion design Fiona and I love how you could easily use the same design for any fussy cut fabrics.

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  10. Cute cushion. What a great use of the fabric that your mum found. It looks like the front of cushion could be easily modified to make a cute placemat, too.

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  11. Oh I really like that Christmas pillow cover. I'm going to have to go through my two drawers of Christmas fabric and see what I can find that I could use. Thanks for the tutorial and the link up.

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  12. Oh it is going to be a great year. And so much inspiration already. Thanks for the tutorial. Your cushion is beautiful.

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