One or two people may remember that way back in the early autumn I started to make my first-ever quilt, using my Four Seasons Bunnies pattern based on drawings by Nakisha Elsje VanderHoeven. I haven’t mentioned this project for a very long time as I have been trying to forget all about it.
Initially all went well – I had great fun choosing the fabrics and enjoyed piecing the top … but then difficulties set in. I had a ripple – no, not a ripple – a great big tidal wave – in the sashing. I decided to ignore this and persevere, but as I am sure more experienced quilters could have told me – I was only heading for even greater disaster. Of course in the end the whole thing became a dreadful mess, so I simply chucked it into the back of my fabric cupboard and tried to pretend it didn’t exist. I succeeded for a very long time, several months in fact, until I went hunting for fabrics to put together this Dandelion Patchwork cushion for April’s issue of the Bustle & Sew Magazine …
The dandelion is a deco-style design from a vintage 1930s transfer. And don’t you love those herons – that’s from the “Across the Pond” collection from Cloud9 fabrics. While I was rummaging around in my cupboard for the fabric, I came across my poor sad discarded quilt – and thought to myself, “Those bunnies deserve better than this!” So I took my shears and cut the embroidery out of the quilt. When I’d finished trimming and squaring off the edges I was left with four 7 1/2″ squares – a really awkward size. So I decided to use a log cabin design to make two rectangular cushion covers, Spring and Summer on one, and Autumn and winter on the other …
I mostly used fabrics from “Across the Pond” and Lotta Jansdotter – and set myself a challenge – to make the spring and summer cushion – well – summery, and the autumn and winter cushion – yes, you’ve guessed it – wintery(!) whilst still looking like a pair. So some of the fabric strips are the same, but others are different to create a different feel to each one. For example, they have the same Lotta Jansdotter print (Florine) in the first top strip, but the winter cushion version is in the grey colourway whilst summer is in the golden colourway. The same – but different.
The finished cushions measure 16″ x 24″ and turned out OK. Definitely triumph arising from adversity – well at least I think so?
I love your little pillows!!! What a wonderful save of a project gone wrong. Very, very sweet. Good job!!
So nice to see the Four Seasons Bunnies again! I had wondered what had become of them, but being a relatively new quilter myself, I knew better than to ask. 😉 I love the cushion covers and would say that the bunnies have become happily reinvented in this new project. I’m now inspired to dig out some of my own “projects gone awry” and create something lovely!!
Definitely triumph arising from adversity!!!!!
X Linda
Your cushions are lovely, I love those bunny’s, they are so cute!
All the pillows are so cute – great combination of stitched motives and patchwork blocks and fabrics!
Hugs,
Tatyana
Oh Dear, I thought there for a minute you were talking about the quilt I am dealing with right now. I too am dealing with a tidal wave border and am about to pull what little hair is left out. It is a quilt for a customer, I do not know what went wrong but I am pretty sure the stretching gremlins visited my sewing studio one night. Irregardless, we all know it was something I did and i am an intermediate sewer/quilter. The quilt has to be in the frame tomorrow and to the customer in two weeks and I am not sure what I am going to do but I have a plan formulating and I think I may be able to put this “tidal wave” to good use. I think your solution was so ingenious and wish I could do that but I cannot. Good job and fabulous rescue of your darling bunnies. Is that pattern available to purchase? I love them and know a 16 year old who would love to have a couple of those pillows.
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne, hope your quilt turns out ok – yes you can purchase the Four Seasons Bunnies, just click on the link in my original post.
I dub the bunny rescue a resounding success! What is it they say? ” If life gives you lemons, mak…” umm… wait… I mean, “If life gives you wavy boarders, make pillows!” Beautiful solution, very cute.
Ahhhh – thanks Laura, and everyone else too, for your kind comments.
The cushions are absolutely adorable! And I love the herons on the new pillow… very clever you are! :->
Wonderful cushions! The bunnies have got to be happier now that they’re not shoved into the back of a cupboard. 🙂 Excellent way to repurpose a project that hadn’t worked out quite as you’d planned.
Don’t worry about your quilt hiding in a cupboard for several months before you rescued and reworked it …… quilters like to boast about how many years projects languish at the back of cupboards, waiting for the quilting fairy to finish them!!
I love your cushions!!