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| Louis sporting my latest cowl |
I have a habit of doing knit projects in clusters (or obsessions - potatoe/potato). This year has been the 'beanie' cluster, then the 'cowl' cluster & now we have the 'cushion' cluster.
Now to be fair I have been meaning to replace all my manky cushions with stylish knitted ones for ages, but the recent purchase of a new sofa made the manky old cushions look even mankier - so I have pulled finger & have just completed my third cushion for the collection.
I know I used the word stylish before - I fear that might me a touch optimistic. I am sure a true dedicated home interior stylinesta would have themes, colours & textures that you would follow to complete a prescribed look. Me, well I am more of a wing & a prayer kinda gal - so my cushions have been inspired by so far: Gorgeous yarn, recycling & necessity.
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| Simple, Stylish - I hope! |
The first of the 'Cushy Triptych' is a simple garter stitch cushion knitted on the bias. Starting with 2 stitches & then increasing into the first stitch of every row until you have the diameter required & then decreasing by knitting the last two stitches together on each row. The yarn that inspired is a buttery fine micron Merino that you usually don't find in hand knitting yarns, but this
Briar Patch Merino is divine & worth hunting out (oh & the 'most experienced knitter' in the quote - 'tis Moi). It begs to be cuddled, fondled & caressed - so perfect for a cushion.
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| If you look closely you can see some of the shaping from the original project! |
The second foray into the cushion craze came out of a fit of recycling. I frogged my only UFO project for some time - the Ombre Shrug. I had completed the back, however the thick & thin nature of the yarn meant when I started frogging the completed front half it caught & snagged, driving me crazy. So what to do with the completed back portion? Simple - unravel back to live stitches - knit up some additional length & with some cleaver mattress stitching to disguise ( as best I could) the shaping - voila one re-purposed cushion!
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| The 'Necessity' Log Cabin - my latest creation |
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| I opted for some vibrant striping on the back |
Then there is the 'necessity' cushion. What creates such urgency that necessitates the creation of this cushion? Rugby, more importantly, All Black rugby watching. Have you ever tried knitting during a test match? The the test match itself - it's not easy, you have to select a project that is a) simple in design, so there is no risk of losing your place when crucial points in the game are being scored. b) a project that can sustain knitting after multiple glasses of wine. c) a pattern that is easily memorized so no pattern referral is required otherwise distracting you from the game.
With all these factors in mind I dragged out the scraps bag & cast on a log cabin cushion. The result has been fabulous - so much so I will be entering it into the local A&P Show this year. So a cushion that has been incredibly successful in fill my necessity, as well as providing me a great level of joy.
Lastly...
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| I'm really enjoying the little wedges of happiness. |
On the sticks at the moment I have finally cast on Spectra by Stephen West. I have had some Rainbow Kauni burning a hole in my stash since KAN:3 & managed to get the perfect contrast yarn from Skeinz a few weeks later. So far I am thrilled with the progress & I have even learned a new refinement to the short row technique I was using - so far a very satisfying knit! If I get it finished in time it could also make the short list as a show entry, assuming of course I don't cast on another cushion!
