Wooleater Cushion Cover

Unbelieavably, we've just had another stomach bug: 3 weeks ago, we all had novovirus, and now sick again with another bug - I don't remember these bugs having this frequency when I was a child. So it has been a tricky week with lots of thought of blogging but no action.

On a nice note, I have a new little project, a little green cushion cover. It is done in the simplest of crochet stiches - double UK or single US - but I like the texture this gives. It does make it a bit of a wooleater though. I bought the wool in Valognes in Northern France last summer. Only a true woolie could understand the possibility of shreiking "STOP! I see a WOOL SHOP!" whilst driving in the height of the summer heat, but there you are. Using all of my powers of school french lessons: "Huit, non, neuf s'il vous plait madame" I said with certaintly, not having a clue what I was going to make with 9 balls of green wool. I started a cardigan, but it didn't turn out ok, and I'm not 100% convinced that crochet clothes look ok, so I frogged it. Nice frog green it is too, lol. I'm happy with the cushion so far. Once it is finished it is going to snuggle up on the sofa next to a little green french fabric cushion, a toile de jouy - I like the connection, wool bought in france plus french toile design fabric.

I have some tartan and gingham fabric for another couple of projects I want to start soon - green tartan curtains for the master bedroom and red curtains for the toddler's room. Plus gingham for pillowcases, since it seems to go with everything. I hung a piece of the green fabric over the curtain pole just to see what it looked like and I'm pleased with the look, so as soon as I remember where I put the green thread I bought a while ago, I'll start. I buy fabric, and it takes me months to cut into it, to work out exactly what to make, but once I decide to start I'm usually ok.



Bye for now,
Primrose.

How Not to Cut a Feather Duvet in Half

So having burst the budget buying hugely expensive feathery duvets for everyone a couple of years ago, what do I decide to do with one of them?

Yep, you've probably guessed it from the title. Cut it in half with a big pair of scissors. Looks easy. There are what look like pockets on the duvet to contain the feathers. Easy I thought. Sew another line close to one of them, and then cut along the middle. Ta da! Two small duvets, just the right size for a baby bed.

Nope. Not that easy. The pockets are not sewn right through both layers of duvet cover. That would have made the duvet too flat. So when I cut through: Ta da! Explosion in a feather factory!

Much muttering and stapling of edges (temporary) and binding with ribbon (permanent) later, and I am now the proud owner of one nice fluffy baby duvet and one slightly less fluffy baby duvet.

In the picture, you can see the little duvet with its nice spotty cover I made from an old piece of fabric I've been saving. In the foreground is the lovely vintage stripe rescued from the cat and now given a new home.