The Snowball effect

When we made our move up North my lovely friend N sent us a gift that has caused a snowball effect not only with my gift giving but also with my crafting. This one gift re-opened a whole area of my life that I had pretty much forgotten. That might sounds a tad dramatic, but really it's not. I really had forgotten how much I enjoyed sewing and making gifts for people, how it feels to see someone's face light up upon receiving something that you have sat and lovingly made, just for them.
This gift was a cushion to mark the start of a new chapter in our life, and I don't mind telling you that when I opened it I cried buckets! I was so genuinely touched that N had sat and made it just for us.

Our 'Family' Cushion

It soon became a treasured item and one that would often be fought over, not what N had in mind I'm sure!

One day it occurred to me that I could actually make a cushion like that. True, it had been a very long time since I'd used my sewing machine, but I did have one. I'd even left it at my sisters when we moved as I didn't think I'd ever use it again. So I collected the machine from my sister on my next visit and started planning cushions I could make for my family. One each, so there would be no arguing. I decided that I would make them and not give them out until I had made them all so that no one got theirs 'first'. I ordered fabrics to suit the individual personalities of the family members and took inspiration form N's Blog post about Cushions she'd made. Being the good friend she is she also gave me advice on embroidery and things I might find useful to have/know.
I was all set. I'd even managed to track down a little Sewing Machine Shop in Warrington who ordered a replacement cotton reel spool holder thingy that had snapped off the top of my machine.

Here are the results..........

This is M's cushion. Butterflies, shoes, bags and gardening themed fabrics

This is L's Cushion. Butterflies, bright flamingo's, flowers and garden themes

MB's Cushion Very Bright and a patch with a little red head in the bath!

R's London cushion was a little larger and made up of pre-cut patches. It was the only way to get all the fabrics I wanted to use without breaking the bank!

Mr P's cushion had to have this Campervan Fabric. I chose the other fabrics on a 'Natural ' theme as at the time he was studying a Natural Sciences course

This is the back of Mr P's cushion. I usually keep them plain but I just loved this fabric and cutting it into patches would just have been wrong somehow.

A family of cushions

No more arguing over cushions. All these new cushions meant that the original cushion made my N became mine by default! (Sneaky, I know!)

A fair few people have since received cushions as gifts from me. Friends, family and last week I was actually asked to make one for a friend of a friend to mark a special event. More on that another day.
I do make other things apart from cushions like the Notebook Covers here and Roll ups, which I'll also save for another day.
I'll leave you with a few more cushions that have been given as gifts. I doubt any of them have had the same effect that N's cushion had on me. So much more than a cuddly cushion, it was a bundle of inspiration, a truly priceless gift x

For My Sister

A friends significant birthday

New baby in the family 3 become 4

A new arrival to another friends family 5 become 6

Purple cushion for my BFF

For a nephew

and another nephew

for my friends daughter

For my niece

and another nephew!

I made two cushions last week and have a few more planned too, along with some other projects. All this snowballed from that one gift. Amazing!