Matching Pegs

This is a project I designed ages ago, but have never got around to finishing.  In fact I was a little surprised to see that it was actually January 2009 when I started.

I have had the whole design drawn up on Illustrator for over a year, but am only now nearing the finish line, as it has been put away in a box for ages.

Initially it was going to be a cushion, but I am leaning towards the idea of turning it into the centre of a medallion quilt.  Once I finish the applique I will reassess my plan.  The design is called “Tea in the Garden”, you can see it here on my ironing board.  I only have three more butterflies to work, before I have completed the whole block.

So what do you think?  Can you imagine this better as a quilt centre, or as a cushion?

Would you buy this, if it was a pattern for sale?

A whole month ago I went with some girlfriends (Debby and Julie) to visit the last annual Quilt Hanging in the little Victorian town of Loch, in the South Gippsland region.  Every year I have taken a photo from the same place, outside the Public Hall, looking towards the distant hills.  This year there was a cute little car parked in “my” spot.  Isn’t it lovely.

I was very taken with this quilt, which according to the notes is called “Inspired by Morell” by Jenny Coates.  There were too many people crowding around it to get a better picture of the whole thing.

This was the centre square.

I really liked this block.  I assume the quilt was inspired by the original quilt that this one seen on the Quiltsmith site was also inspired by, or perhaps it is a whole chain of inspiration, with the Quiltsmith Quilt as a link in the middle.

This block was another favorite.  The quilt had Broderie Perse Applique, Hand and Machine piecing.

Both the quilt above and the one below conspired to obscure their numbers from my photo.  I didn’t realise until I got home.  I can not deduce which ones they are from my booklet of notes, but I liked them both.

This one was hanging up vey high, from the second floor balcony of The Royal Hotel, where we had a very plesant lunch.

This Quilt is called Rainbow Whirligig by Clare Brown, machine quilted by Patchwork of Essendon.

Loch is a very pretty little town, with lovely street plantings of fruit trees, and flowers.  The end of the Quilt Hanging will leave a sad little place on my calender next year.

It has been some time since my last post, as I have been pretty sad all week.

On Tuesday I took part in a very painful family meeting at the hospital, about the health of my twin brother. Julian is still, after 9 months, not really improving.  None of us know where things are heading, but slowly our hopes and his future are being crushed under a terrible illness and the hospital’s mismanagement of his treatment.

As always, eventually I turned to creating something, to help me feel more positive, in this case, a spot of mending.

Michaela has this little outfit – a singlet and skorts (skirt/shorts) which she managed to get permanent paint onto (at kinder).  I ruined it further, in my attempts to get the paint out – you can see where I have removed more than the paint, in the photo above.  This is actually the underside of the skirt (which sits over the shorts) and you can see the circle of stitches from the patch I have already applied, to hide the damage.

I thought that three circles of a coordinating print would be more interesting than one, and I am very pleased with the result.  If only everything was as easy to mend.

Do you bother trying to mend clothes like this, or just move on?

Anyone that has even a passing knowledge of my wardrobe knows that this colour is one of my wardrobe staples.  I suspect even the crossing man at school (the friendly Ken) could tell you that this colour pops up in my personal palette all the time.

Long time readers will know that we had a soft, apple-green feature wall in our old house that was a backdrop to many a photo – I still miss it.

When I saw this bag out of the corner of my eye the other day, my feet changed direction to check it out before the thought had even formed.  The sign that said “50% off already reduced price” sealed the deal.  I didn’t even check out the dimensions and make-up of the internal pockets.

It was almost the same story when I spied this necklace on Janelle Wind’s blog the other day.  It had my name all over it.  She too was extolling the virtues of Apple Green.  Before I knew it I had clicked the link (to Fresh Metal) and purchased my own little piece of accessory happiness.  There is another beautiful aqua one there now,  don’t you just love etsy!

Clearly I needed a stylist when this photo was taken.  Mr Matching Pegs (behind the camera) sure didn’t notice that the ribbon was twisted.  I think I know how it happened though.

I was heading out for the evening, and Miss Michaela was less than happy.  So this photo was taken to cheer her up.

It worked!  I also took the opportunity to catch Rory with his much more normal haircut, looking like himself again.

So, I’m interested, what colour is your wardrobe riddled with (and you can’t say black, or white, it has to be a colour )?

For the last two weekends we have had nothing but childrens parties, all of which have been lovely.  I have made several different gifts, but finished them all at the last minute, so I don’t have much to show you.  For the lovely Miss Elena, I embellished a lavender coloured tee with the letter “e” similar to Michaela’s one above, which I have made since.  I think Michaela must have just slept in it when I took this photo, I really should have ironed it for the blog shot.  I simply needle-turned the M in place on a tee from Target.

I did actually manage to get a photo of Master Mason’s Robot Apron, before it was wrapped.  It was the second present I have made featuring the lovely Robot fabric I picked up at Candleberry Country in Yarragon, on our trip to Loch for the quilt hanging, a few weekends back.

I have been on the lookout for a feature fabric for boys presents, so I bought a whole metre of it.  I rarely buy that much of anything.  I wish I knew more about this fabric, it looks Japanese, but there is no information on the selvage, and I could not find it online in my rudimentary search for “robot fabric”.

Speaking of boys………………….

I never thought I would be a party to this.  Not only did I allow it – I cut it!

This was for a “silly hair day” at school, and we cut the mohawk on the condition that it was temporary.  Funny part is that we had the date for the “silly hair day” wrong – it’s next month!  Rory is going to keep it until Friday, which is school photo day – there is no way he is having it in his school photo.  He wants to keep it until he can show his mate Hayden, who is away in Queensland.

This cushion is really a large version of a Lotus Biscornu, and used May Britt’s Pincushion Tutorial as a starting point (with her permission).  I thought it ended up looking like a cut piece of Star Fruit, hence the name.  This cushion is about 14 3/4″ in diameter and about 7 1/2 ” high.

You will need:

15 x 6″ squares, in three different colours (it looks great if the 3 colours are similar, but progressively darker).  If you have fat quarters on hand, you will definitely get 5 x 6″ squares from each fat quarter.

Approx 1/2 kg of stuffing (enough for an middle sized cushion)

3 buttons – 2 Large ones for the top and the bottom, and a third one (of any size) that you will use temporarily to hold things in place.  My large buttons measure approx. 3 1/4″ or 3cm.

30″ of 6 stranded embroidery floss (or 60″ of dental floss, doubled over)

A very long needle (such as those used for doll making or upholstery)

A Pencil

A quilting ruler with grids marked in 1/4 inches.

A Sewing machine with a quarter inch foot.  Thread your machine with polyester thread which is stronger than cotton, the firm stuffing will put the seams under a fair bit of stress.

General sewing supplies.

1) On the back of each square, in every corner, mark a dot 1/4″ in from each side.  These dots will show you where to start and stop sewing.

2) Locate the 5 squares of fabric you have chosen for the top of your cushion (if you are using fabric with stripes, read step 6 before continuing).  Place 2 of the squares right sides together, and stitch along one side, between the dots, with a 1/4″ seam allowance.  Make sure you back stitch about 5 stitches at the beginning and end, but do not go past the pencil dots.

3) Sew 4 of the squares together with 3 seams, so they look like the photo above.  Finger press each seam open as you go.

As you progress with this tutorial, sometimes you will need to hold other layers out of the way, as you stitch close to the starting and finishing dots.

You should be able to pull the other fabrics far enough out of the way, unless you have stitched past the dots.

4) Pin the fifth square to one side of the gap in the other four, and sew together between the dots. 

5) Pin this fifth square to the other side of the gap – it will help to fold the top as I have done above.  Sew up this last seam and you top should end up looking like this below……

6) Now it is time to locate the five squares of fabric that you have chosen for your underside.

Repeat steps 1) to 5) with these pieces.

A Note About Stripes.  I have used striped fabrics for the bottom of my cushion.  If you are using them for the top or bottom of your cushion, a little attention to the stripe direction can make all the difference.  As you sew the squares together, make sure that you orientate the stripes so that they run perpendicular to the stripes on the other square of that seam.  e.g. If one side of the seam has horizontal stripes, turn your square so that the other side will have vertical stripes.  If you do this for each of the first 4 seams, you will find that the final 5th seam works itself out, as you can see above.

7) Lay out the bottom piece as you see above.  Pin the first of the side squares in exactly this position, and sew it in place (this is one of the stages where things can go awry with the shape).

8 ) Lay it down again on your table top in the same position.  The arrow above indicates where you will be sewing your next seam.

You will need to fold the bottom like this to sew this next seam.

You cushion bottom should now look like this (above).

9) Orient your cushion bottom in the same way as the photo above, and pin the next side-square in the corresponding place.  Sew this square in place, from dot to dot.

10) The arrow (shown left) indicates where you will be sewing your next seam.  You will need to fold your cushion bottom like this, (see below right) to sew this seam.

After you have completed step 10), your cushion bottom should look like this (above).

11) Add the remaining 3 side squares in the same manner, as indicated by the arrows above.

The result should look like this (above).

12) Find your top piece, and place it right-side-down on your table in the same position as I have.  On the bottom right square, mark a line 1/4″ from the bottom edge, that runs from the left dot, and is 1″ long.  Do the same on the other side, from the right dot.  These are sewing lines, and the space in between is a gap you will leave for turning right-side-out, and for stuffing the cushion.  The gap will be 3  1/2″ wide – if you think your hand will need a wider gap, mark slightly shorter lines.

13) Joining the Top to the Bottom.  Place the Bottom/Sides component of the cushion on your table, with the right side in, as shown above.

14) With the top part right-side-in, place it on top, so that the “points” of the squares meet as shown above.

This will mean that the seam between the squares on the top piece is meeting the intersection of three squares on the bottom pieces.

Pin the top and bottom/sides pieces all the way around, like so.

15) Sew around the top in 5 sections.  Follow the photo above for each section, back stitching at the start and end of each square segment.

When you sew the segment that has the gap-for-turning marked on it, follow the picture above.  You will be sewing two separate sections with 4 lots of back stitching.

16) Once you have finished sewing the Top and Bottom/Sides together, turn the cushion out the right way through the gap.  Use the wrong end of a paintbrush, or other similar tool to push all the edges out.

It should look like this (photo on left).

17)Finger press back the 1/4″ seam allowance of the opening in the cushion, to get a nice clean edge (see above).

18) Start stuffing three of the “petals” furthermost from the opening.  Pay particular attention to getting stuffing up into the points of the “petals”.  Once half you cushion is firmly stuffed, put your cushion aside and locate you three buttons, embroidery thread and super-long needle.

19) Thread your needle with the 30″length of 6 stranded embroidery thread.  Knot the end.  Take the large button you have chosen for the underside of the cushion, and bring the needle through one of the holes, from the back of the button to the front.  *NB: If you are worried about the stress on the stranded cotton, you might like to use doubled, knotted dental floss if you have some*

20) Near the knot, split the thread so that there are three stands on each side, and pass your needle through this gap.

This will form a secure knot on your button.

21) Turn your cushion face down on the table.  Take the needle through a point just beside the 5 seam intersection, and draw it right through to the front of the cushion, bringing it up in the middle of the 5 seam intersection.  While the cushion is only half stuffed, this should be easy enough to do.

22)  Thread the button you have chosen for the top onto the thread, and tie off your third temporary button, at the very end of the thread.  This will prevent your thread from disappearing back inside the cushion while you continue stuffing.

23) Keep stuffing the other half of the cushion.  Before it gets too firm you will need to pass the needle back through the cushion to the back again.  To do this just cut off the small temporary button, and take the needle back through another hole in the top button and out through to back button again.

Take two more passes with the needle – back through to the top and again to the back.  Don’t knot off the thread, just leave the long tail and tie that extra button on the end of the thread again.

24) Keep Stuffing until the cushion gets really firm, remembering to stuff the “petal” points as firmly as possible.

25) The last “petal” will be difficult until you start closing up the gap.  Take a small needle and thread (polyester for strength) and start ladder stitching up the gap, starting from the pointy end of the “petal”.  As you sew, stop every few stitches to stuff more of the “petal” point.  Melly has a great tutorial for Ladder Stitch. Keep stuffing and sewing until your cushion is very firm and your gap is closed.

You are nearly there!  Your cushion should look like this (above).

25) Cut off your extra button.  Thread your big needle again, and take the thread to the underside of the back button, but not through the cushion again.  Pull on the thread.  Carefully and gradually, draw the two button closer together, changing the shape of the cushion.

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If the worst should happen, and you thread breaks, I have a little tip for you.  Insert the needle into the cushion.  Place a very small tin, under the cushion, where you have just inserted the needle.   Use both hands to push down on the cushion, to send the needle back through the full width of the fully stuffed cushion – something to avoid if at all possible!

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26) Take your needle off the thread and wrap it around the underside of the button a few times.

27) Split the thread into two lots of three strands (see left).

28) Tie a knot with these two lots of threads.

29) Take the two threads to the other side of the button and repeat (above). Do this 5 or 6 times, alternating sides each time.

30) Bring both lots of threads together again and thread them back onto the needle.  Send the needle through the cushion and out again nearby, hold the thread taught and cut the thread, where it exits the cushion.  This will bury the thread tail, out of sight.  Phew.  Finally, you are done.

Now you can sit back and enjoy looking at your sculptural creation.  Please send me a picture of any Star Fruit Cushions you make with this tutorial, I would love to see them.  Don’t hesitate to drop me a line if you have any questions.  claire (at)matchingpegs(dot)com

If you would like to make one in another size, try May Britt’s tutorial for the pincushion size, or follow these instructions using 4 1/2″ squares for the middle sized cushion.  In the near future I am going to try scaling it up even further and making it with upholstery fabric for a kids floor cushion or foot stool.  Enjoy.

Making this tutorial is revealing a strong family trait that I inherited from my fathers side of the family.  Trying to make the clearest tutorial possible is bringing out my pedantic, wordy, particular behavior.  Why make a tutorial with 6 photos, when you could use 50?

This is also why it is taking so long, but hopefully it will be really clear and easy to follow.

I think the finished product looks pretty cool.  I’m calling it the Star Fruit Cushion Tutorial and I’ve nearly finished it.  Stay tuned.

The light has been terrible for the last few days, so I am not making much progress with my tutorial.  I decided not to make you wait until it was written to reveal what the sneaky peek was of.   It was actually two things, which I have since found out are called Lotus or Tulip Biscornu.

The word Biscornu is derived from a French adjective, meaning skewed, quirky or irregular, and usually refers to an 8 sided pincushion or ornament made with 2 embroidered (or cross stitched) squares, which are joined after one is rotated 45 degrees..  You can see some here and here.

These are a variation on 15 sided Biscornus, which, when joined slightly differently, result in the Lotus Biscornu.

I first came across these when Whip Up linked to May Britt’s tutorial for a pincushion back in April 2007, using a paper piecing method.  When I tried to make one back then, I made a construction mistake and got that doughnut shaped thing you see there, that I have just found out is actually a 15 sided biscornu (Thanks Melanie).  The other day, I finally got around to trying again with some scraps (although I made mine on the sewing machine) and made the small flower shaped thing you see above, so my ability to follow instructions has improved!

I was completely smitten with the result.

Immediately I knew that I wanted to make a bigger one.  May Britt’s tutorial calls for 2.5″ squares, but I made the small one above from scraps I had on hand, so they are 2″ squares.  I scaled up to 4.5″ squares and made the larger green one, which is roughly 10.5″ across.

I wrote to May and she was kind enough to give me permission to write up a tutorial with measurements to make a larger one, so I have been working on one that starts with 6″ squares, which I calculate will end up about 14.6″ wide.  I am using the pink fabrics that you see in this photo.  If you would like to make one too, you will need 15 identically sized squares, out of two or three fabrics.

I will be away this weekend at the 10th annual (and sadly final) Loch Quilt Hanging, and then on Monday the delightful Lily is coming for a visit – she has just moved to Melbourne.  This full schedule means that you will have to wait a few more days for the tutorial.  I hope you can be patient with me.  In the mean time, why don’t you check out May’s tutorial and make a small one.

Before

After.

My friend Debby and I went to IKEA yesterday, I tagged along rather than doing all the boring errands I had on my list.  I picked up a few little things, including the handles above, which are slightly less orangy-red than they appear in the photo.  I have been eying them off for quite some time.

IKEA in Richmond seemed to have way more fabric this visit, and I could finally see what all the fuss was about.  I bought some linen/cotton and some thick cotton in a natural linen colour, with red and pink stripes.

Regarding the sneaky peek – I will reveal all, once I have finished writing the tutorial.

What is that thing?  Lovely fabric, but I can’t see what it is….

Do you know?  All will be revealed in due time…..