The Cushion Comfort Zone

Made using an outfit my Grandma wore to my Uncle Ted and Aunty Grace's wedding when I was 7 years old. Don't ask me how I remember this, not from the day (although I remember the day and my aqua dress and hair bun), but Grandma did tell me. Or was it Mum?
Gorgeous colour!
The ribbon was a snippet I've had for years and years. European, silk and now only a few centremetres left. The embroidery ground is vintage kimono silk.

The Wedding. I'm the little girl on the left, to the right is my brother Glenn, then a little girl named Judith whom I never knew. My Dah (left and behind me) died not so long after. Then is Grandma (not such a great shot) in my cushion dress.

All stem stitch using perle 5.

The new (old) lounge suite required new colours. It looks washed out here but isn't. Note the old rag rug on the floor. I bought 4 at a market for $20 each. I would have bought more but had no money. An older lady had made heaps and heaps and I'm sure her husband (she wasn't there) didn't appreciate why anyone would want one, let alone four or more.

Corded piping.

Hopefully you can print this out and it will be the same size as mine. Not that that matters.
Just in case you want it.

In situ. Soft and filled with feathers.

The inspiration.
From HERE. It's an old butter stamp.

 

New Cushion.

Kim from l'uccello gave me this amazingly beautiful wool embroidery, and the colours look gorgeous with our new lounge suite. Mum had this velvet in her stash. It's big, nearly 50cm long, and squishy with a super-fine down filled insert (possibly complete with vintage mites). I haven't finished sewing the cord around the edge... it's a pain and has to be done in stages.

Backs MUST be velvet! Cushions are to lay your head upon. It's my rule, unless it can't be avoided.

New Old Footstool

I've been collecting old tapestries from the Op Shops for ages now. I can't pass them by. In the past I've made cushions or just stashed them, until I saw these! Well, not these particularly, but this type of thing. Amazing!

The stool was covered with funky pink and grey vinyl, but had ripped and degraded conveniently. It took about 2 hours! I couldn't be happier, unless I owned one of the chairs in the link!

Had to sew a bit on the side of the puppy (in blue)... might need to embroider over the seam. It looks a bit odd.

Our staple gun couldn't cope with the Masonite so I ended up using a thick nylon cord and pulling it in. The braid is old too.

Schulim Krimper Lounge

We won this at auction a week or two ago! Couldn't believe it! Got a great price and even had a dealer come and tell us so before we drove off (he'd just bought a house full so didn't bid).
Now I'm on a complete decorating bender. I've been drawing cushions for ages, and whilst we already had most of the furniture (hence the colour scheme partly accounted for), the couch was the last note and so I am FREE to make my cushions. Got a couple of pics to take tomorrow...
It's sooo exciting!

Cowboy Bee Cushion Revamp

I made this cushion cover some years ago, but the silk/metal fabric wore out in the middle, so I cut it out (it was over the top of the orange) and just now added the couched cording in a Yugoslavian style. It looks gorgeous on our new 1955 Shulam Krimper lounge suite.
Look here for the old and the pattern.

The Garden, Feb 2013

Before the arbour went up

They got even bigger than this!

From the other side of the road

Fish tank, protected by beans and pumpkins. Another two babes this year too! In spite of slimey water (that we can't seem to fix)

A fern tree trunk for the orchids.

Ferro cement pretend branches (inspired by a Victorian aviary we saw years ago).

Topped with Polonia tree branches we have been cutting from Dad's trees. Every year we coppice them and get these long shoots. Light, insect resistant wood.

Not gonna use the bamboo.

Shed No.1, or The Cubby Otherwise Known As The Bus Stop

Here it is! Our first of many sheds on the property. The tin came from a bloke down the road who was re-tinning his own shed and throwing this away. Notice the ends of the roof-caps. Cute huh? We did one each. I did loads of the lackey stuff... carrying stuff up the hill, cups of tea, holding the thing in the right place... important assistant things. The One True did the thinking, the planning, the cutting and the knowing. It worked out well between us.
This is at the centre top of the block and is the perfect place to sit and have a cuppa. We were already doing that, on the concrete base (which was laid some time ago, you may remember our hand-prints and RM2 in a heart).
We felt all secluded and hidden there, but when we popped over the road to look up, we saw that it's the first place you look. Your eye is drawn straight there! Ha ha ha!
It'll be ok when the garden grows up.
I'm lucky to have such a great gardener/builder/cook. Not sure how even we'll be once the place is finished. I've been smug because my investments bought us the house in the first place but I'd better get cracking with the best-seller if I'm to feel like I've contributed as much by the time it's all built!
Go Gumby!!