I was typing an email one evening and realized that my desk chair is really very hard. It's an old kitchen chair; one of a set of four that I'd painted random shades of blue in university. I really like it but it isn't in any way cozy. Soulemama recently made a chair cushion with a log cabin piecing pattern and I really liked it so that was my point of inspiration. I like the old fashioned-ness of the log cabin pattern and the whimsy of the random width scrappy strips.

I wanted my cushion to match the shape of my chair (a trapezoid) so I started off by tracing the chair seat onto a piece of freezer paper - it was just what I had around but turned out to be useful later on - and then measuring in from the edges to create a little trapezoid for my centre block. I didn't want to cut my seat pattern so I held it against a window and traced the block shape. I then cut strips from my various fabrics ranging from 1" to 3" wide.

I didn't worry to much about how strips were pieced together except to use the shorter pieces first and to try not to create any repetitive patterns. There was a lot of sewing and getting up and pressing and sitting down and sewing again. I think on a larger project I'd want to do all the blocks at once so I could chain piece each step; doing each block by itself would involve too much getting up and sitting down.


I used just one layer of batting. It would have been nicer to have two but I didn't have any more pieces that were big enough and thought a seam in the batting (even with the edges just butted against each other) might be uncomfortable in a seat. I didn't want any binding so I cut my top 1/2" larger all the way around than my seat pattern (this is where that freezer paper was really handy - I just pressed it on lightly, without steam, and it stuck well enough for me to cut accurately and peeled off when I was done) and did the same for the batting and backing.

I had marked on the pattern where the back supports were so I'd know where to put ties. I transferred those marks to the backing piece once everything was pinned together and then stuck in my ties (1" strips double folded and sewn shut) so they'd get sewn into the seams. I sewed through all the layers with a 1/2" seam, turned it rightside out, blindstitched the opening closed and got a cushion that fits the shape of my chair perfectly.

I don't know if something this size really needs quilting but I thought it would be sturdier because of it. I took my inspiration from this coaster pattern in Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. Once again it was a nice combination of structure and whimsy. I marked with a hera marker (my favourite for small projects) down the centre of each strip and then sewed along my lines.


When I got to the ties I realized actual ties would probably not last long around Abby so I did snaps instead (plus I love the way they finish things off). In keeping with the whimsical-scrappy look I didn't match the snaps. One is pale pink and the other is navy blue.

I love the way this little project brightens up my space. Now if I could just get my desk clean ...

A random picture of some fabric because I've been taking pictures of stuff today and my battery is dead and charging so I can't upload them yet. I got this little stack sometime in the summer. They are all fat quarters (except the black - that's a quarter metre) that I found at the quilt store when I was looking for something else. I like the shiny circles. They make me think of Star Trek. I took a picture of them when  I got home. It's been in my blog pictures folder since then. I don't know why I never blogged it. They now live in a box labelled "tv quilt". One day I'll get around to making them into a quilt and it will be great for sitting under to watch nerdy movies.

When we decided to get a puppy there were things I was expecting: getting up and going outside at absurd hours and frigid temperatures, discovering whole categories of 'edibles' that I had never considered, pockets that smell like dog treats, less craft time, etc.  It had not really occurred to me that a puppy would inspire large amounts of new sewing but I've finished another dog project and am planning more.


This is a blanket for Abby's crate. She sleeps in her crate at night and anytime we are out of the house. It's plastic (the kind of crate you can put on an airplane) and we keep an old towel in the bottom to make it a little more comfortable. The towel works but gets pushed around when she scrabbles at the crate floor when she's anxious to get out (around 6:30 am) and I usually have to straighten it out again before we go to work.

This blanket should stay in place (or at least fall back into place) a little better. It's another old towel on top and two layers of cotton batting with a piece of cotton quilting fabric on the bottom. I used Anna Maria's Puppy Love applique pattern again so Abby's blanket will match her hot water bottle (plus, it's so cute). I cut the layers to the same length and width as the crate and just rounded the corners by hand. I followed (roughly) the quilting and binding instructions for the patchwork table runner project on The Purl Bee because it used also two layers of batting. I like the look of the diamond quilting pattern. It was really easy to do. I thought the binding would be difficult around the corners, because I didn't have enough fabric to cut the strips on the bias, but it worked just fine and actually went very quickly.


I finished sewing down the binding this morning and gave Abby her blanket. She immediately went for the applique and tried to get the puppy off but it held on nicely. The blanket has stayed on the floor all day and been the go-to place whenever Abby comes into the family room.


[That's a lump of snow from a trip outside. Rob had to do a bunch of shovelling yesterday so we'd be able to open and close our side door and Abby loves the lumps of icy snow to chew on. We've had quite a few of them come inside today. Does anyone know when puppies start teething?]

But really ... why lie on a blanket when Mum is sitting on the floor with her camera and you can just crawl in her lap.