Firstly a quilt-as-you-go gentle crazy cat lady cushion for my sister. All the prints were chosen for sentiment as well as colours and it elicited a shared understanding of why they were selected as it was opened which gave me an inner glow of happiness. This is a large cushion, 22" square with soft and squishy cushion form. This method takes a long time but the texture and end effect are worth it. There's an invisible zip across the top seam.
Next, a requested cushion for my nephew. He likes one each year so has quite the collection and my design task is to include his name/initials otherwise, I have free rein. He is adventurous with colour which is tremendously helpful. This cushion started with the Cotton+Steel pop bottles and flowed from there using stash fabrics. The letters are from a fabulous Japanese alphabet patchwork book, 'Moji Patchwork' by Kumiko Fujita and Kazue Nakaima. Amazon Japan, Yesasia or Etsy are the most likely places to find this title.
Finally, my brother requested a denim apron. I've made quite a few aprons like Japanese cross-back designs and children's aprons so I really enjoyed this challenge. It's good quality denim in blue/black. The tape is cotton webbing traditionally used for finishing carpets. I found a series of apron designs that I liked online and fused my favourite elements to make a one-of-a-kind design. The top pocket is large enough for a phone and pen, the lower pockets can fit hands or a tea towel and the cross back ties threaded through bronze grommets give an adjustable fit.
When it's been dry we've headed to the beach for breezy walks which is always my happy place. It's been a hard year, saying goodbye to our sweet dog Lottie, welcoming gorgeous Joni but also finding she had many complex needs- I am so grateful to our vet who is amazing. There have been other challenges as ever to deal with but ultimately I am grateful we are here with each other to start a new year.
