Birdy Cushion

Winter is well into its swing up here in the Highlands and the recent strong winds have left the trees all but bare.  On one hand it's a shame as the beautiful colours covering the glen are no more, but on the other hand it does make the birds all the more visible and noticeable.  I've been so inspired that I decided to make a cushion with some appliqueed bird shapes on it, and after picking up a remnant of beautiful charcoal-coloured fabric and getting some pretty floral FQs from my mother-in-law to use for my birdies I was ready to go.  I'd never used the appliquee stitch on my sewing machine so was a bit apprehensive but a practice session revealed that it was actually really easy to use and very forgiving - my few mistakes were virtually undetectable. So I got to work putting each bird onto my fabric, and when I came to the last one I was feeling quite nervous, not wanting to ruin it at the last minute.  But all was fine - again I made one or two mistakes but the stitch was so dense you couldn't really tell at all.  Putting the cushion fabric together took a bit of thought but was straightforward enough, and I'm really pleased with the result.  It looks perfect in our bedroom and has pride of place on the bed, where it cheers me each time I see it.

I've got some more ideas for appliquee, so watch this space for other projects.  Now that I've realised how do-able it is I will definitely be back for more!

Jen x