Zesty

I think I might be on a roll. Maybe I shouldn't speak to soon though. I'm working on another project, and I have a feeling I might finish it.

It's only a little cushion cover, nothing major. It has a slightly different palette than I would normally go for. It's kind of...zesty. I don't know why, I just wanted watermelon and primrose shades, together with a sort of greeny gold... some brown and cream to balance it out. I think I like it though.

The idea for this came from one of my favourite blogs, which I first discovered through Pinterest - IDA Interior Lifestyle. I love the things she makes - they are always simple, but so beautiful. Showing that you don't need to do anything complicated to create something effective. I think the colour palettes she uses are one of the things I like the most. I love the way she pairs bright colours with neutrals, and that the bright colours are always selectively chosen, and not just the whole rainbow thrown in (not that there's anything wrong with throwing in the whole rainbow - I've done it myself!).

It was the cushions shown in this post that really inspired me: http://www.idainteriorlifestyle.com/2013/04/thursday-pics.html. I have it pinned on my Pinterest board and whenever I see it, it lifts me. So simple, but so effective. I also love the colour blocking throw seen on the foot of the bed. Hmmm, maybe one will have to made at some point.

Starburst cushion love

I've finished the second of my starburst cushions - this one colours on a white background.

I actually started this one before the pale blue background cushion that I had made, but then got over excited about the pale blue, so that one was finished first!

I am planning to post a tutorial for how I made both the Starburst squares shown above and also the Starburst hexagons I mentioned the other day - as soon as I have time!

Anyway, I think I need some more Starburst love!...

Ok time for some facts and figures to break up the crochet love a little!

Yarn used for the white starburst cushion was:

Rowan Pure Wool DK Shade 013 Enamel
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK Shade 042 Rose Pink
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK Shade 045 Mauve
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino DK Shade 060 Hot Pink
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino DK Shade 010 Lilac
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino DK Shade 069 Lilac Pink
Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK Shade 002 Cuddle

Phew, didn't realise how many colours I had used!

I used a 4mm hook. The white starburst cushion is slightly larger than the blue one, it was made for a larger cushion pad so each side consists of 25 squares (it was 16 for the blue cushion)

Well that's all for now folks, hope you enjoyed all the colours!

Starburst cushion cover

After a gap of a week while I finished the Ripple throw, I've turned back to the Starburst cushion and completed it yesterday. The colours of my old fabric cushions now don't match my lovely new ripple throw so I felt the need for something brighter!

The starburst motif is made by working trebles into the spaces between stitches from the previous round rather than into the tops of the stitches.

I gave the cushion a scallop edging to finish off and hide the closure a little.

Each cushion panel is made from 4 rows of 4 motifs (16 squares for each side). After stitching the motifs together I worked 2 rows of granny treble around the edge to made each side up to the right size for the cushion pad.

I used dk yarn and a 4mm hook.

The yarn used was:

Debbie Bliss Cashsoft Baby Shade 076 Plum
Sublime Cashmerino Silk DK in pale blue
Debbie Bliss Rialto DK Shade 042 Pink
Debbie Bliss Rialto DK Shade 034 Fuschia
Debbie Bliss Rialto DK Shade 001 White

Flower patch cushion

I've started yet another new project (whilst still with the ripple throw on the go). The problem is, the ripple throw is too big a project for me to take with me when I go to stay with boyfriend at the weekends.

I'm calling it a flower patch cushion - its made of granny squares with little flowers to stitch onto each square.

So far it is still in the early stages. I couldn't decide which colours to go for to start with. At first I thought of pink and green, then maybe pink and purple and green, but in the end I settled for a purple and green 4 colour scheme - 2 shades of purple and 2 of teal green:

I think these colours are so pretty together. I designed the flowers myself again, 2 sizes, so that I can layer one flower on top of another and then stitch on to the sqaures.

A small project like this is much easier to cart down to London on the train - the joys of being a commuting crafter! I'm normally at boyfriend's from Thursday - Sunday, and let me tell you I just can not go that long without some kind of knitting or crochet (he's really very patient, never complains about my constant crafting on the sofa while we're watching a film).

So you see why, at the moment, I have a need for a smaller more portable project to take with me at weekends, so I can still get my craft fix! Trouble is, as soon as I come up with my idea for the smaller project, I get so excited about it that I can't wait until I'm at his to start and end up doing it during the week too!

I realise on a scale of world problems this is not a big one, but it does mean progress on the ripple throw is slow!