A cushion for Amiee

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You wouldn't know it from the dearth of content on this blog, but I've been busy.

Some friends decided to get together, and a Secret Santa was proposed. The last exchange we had, when we traded cowls, was a smashing success. Our handmade exchange, just this Saturday, was a good one, too. It was a pleasantly sunny day; Japanese maples shed their gorgeously vibrant mantles as we drove through town. As I walked along a garden path, you could swear we were in New England, for all the crunch-crunch-crunch of leaves everywhere. There was yummy food and gossip, not much knitting, as this was catching up with each other's lives more than anything else. And time went by. So fast. It always does, around these knitty friends of mine!

Amiee was my Secret Santa giftee. She's an übercrafty girl, so I had to make something that would definitely wow her. I picked a sewn project—I had too many knitted projects on my plate already—and I had always wanted to try string quilting, or at least, the idea of using a foundation piece for sewing. I had my sister-in-law's sewing machine. Plus, I just wanted an excuse to go fabric shopping! Hee!

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In addition to string quilting, I added contrast and texture: A contrasting running stitch on a strong peacock blue. A strip of light blue. Endless gathers of lime green. I made a rough sketch of dimensions, nothing more, and went with gut instinct. Truthfully, I'd add time to that equation: my sister-in-law wanted her sewing machine back and, well now! You have two days before you return it!

Nothing like a deadline to inspire those creative juices! Yup.

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The pattern print is Foliage cascade in aqua, from Art Gallery Fabrics' (AGF) Color Splash collection. I really like Pat Bravo's color sensibility and use of geometrics. (And here's a post showing how those beautiful fabrics made.) The 3 solid colors I used were taken directly from the print. The backing was peacock blue. Any high quality fabric store should have a good collection of solids from different companies, so I just picked what I felt would go with the print. And what Amiee would like.

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Do you think she liked it? I think she did! More pictures of the meetup here.