Kaffe Fassett: Shells needlepoint cushion

 Lockdown allowed me to finish the queue of finished needlepoint cushion covers that had accumulated over several months.  This is the first one, an old design, Shells, by Kaffe Fassett.

The design in itself didn't appeal to me very much, but I bought it because of the designer.  I like the colours.  It is large, 40 * 50 cm.  I always enjoy the stitching.  The shape is not a standard size for cushion pads, so I did the same as with the pansies cushion - I added a strip of backing fabric to top of bottom.  I like the way the colours go together.

When it was finished I found I liked the cushion more than expected, so it still sits on my sofa where I enjoy the large size.

Stitched  9 June to 25 November 2019; finished cushion 20 March 2020

Chunky bias squares blanket C50

My next bias squares blanket

Solid square crochet blanket C49

A blanket crocheted in aran weight cottons and cotton blends.

Broken rib 2 blanket C47

The Ravelry entry for the second Broken rib blanket, this one in Sirdar Big Softie.

The next blanket

I have decided to write about my knitting in Ravelry rather than here.  Here is the entry for the next blanket, #213.

Joanna Allen: Primavera Pansies needle point cushion

It has been a while since I wrote about my tapestry cushions (or needle point as they may be more correctly called), but that doesn't mean that I have stopped stitching.  I somehow got behind with doing the backs.  Now I have done several.

The first is this one, designed by Joanna Allen, a Primavera kit.  I got just the canvas from a charity shop because I liked the design so much.  No yarn, no picture, no chart.  There was a list of the Anchor yarn numbers and how many skeins needed from each.  So I selected yarns from my store.  I did have the correct shades for several.  For the rest I went by the shade in the picture and selected similar ones.  It was useful to know the amounts needed.

The good thing about needle point is, that once you have done the stitching, it is impossible to tell if you used the correct shade, unless you have a picture to compare against and have the patience to.  I searched the internet for a picture to help with the stitching, but didn't find any detailed enough.









I enjoyed the stitching.  I am very pleased with the result.  The design is oblong, so rather than altering a standard 35 cm square pad I stitched a strip of backing fabric to top and bottom.  A plain fabric might have been better; I used what I had.

If the canvas looks bumpy it is because I hand washed in an effort to block it because I didn't use a frame.  It is not noticeable in the finished cushion.

Stitched  14 November 2018 to 7 June 2019; finished cushion 4 February 2020

Blanket #212

The next blanket, #212, is another standard dark blanket using up black, brown, green and navy yarns.  I would like to introduce burgundy and purple, and one day I will.  In this blanket I use another Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Astrakhan yarn as a regular stripe for texture, this time in brown.  The three balls nearly covered the whole blanket.  I like the texture.  There is more navy mohair as well.