I seriously have the cleverest of friends. Not only are they exceptionally hardworking and, as a direct result, incredibly successful they are now pushing the envelope even further and becoming published authors. I am seriously so proud right now.
My lovely friend Lauren from Molly & Mama contacted me earlier this year asking if I would be part of her blog tour for her upcoming book Pretty Handmades – the answer was of course Hell to the YES! I have known Lauren for a couple of years now and she continues to blow me away with all her creative prettiness. Let me tell you her new book is absolutely NO exception. I mean doesnt the front cover let you know immediately the inside is going to be super delightful.
I poured through the book when it first arrived and immediately decided I wanted to make the Hoppy squares table tidy as a cushion. Poor Miss Hannah routinely sees pretty things being photographed in her room and then them immediately taken out and wrapped to post so I decided I wanted to make it for her and give her a new floor pillow for her reading corner.
She was pretty excited being a long time bunny lover and immediately raided my fabric stash to choose her fabrics. Her fave colour is turquoise so it was no surprise she automatically chose the Abloom Fusion bundle by Art Gallery Fabrics – my girl is not at all girly. She asked for the bunny to be in velvet because she is about all things soft to feel and she was pretty adamant about their being minimal pink involved. I was happy to oblige because I was excited to see the fabrics would match perfectly with a Japanese chambray in navy dot I have been obsessed with from Ministry of Fabric. Alisha was happy to send me lots of pics through to make sure everything coordinated well. That girl is one brilliant business owner! I also added in a turquoise chambray as well – it just matched so perfectly to the Abloom range.
And the end result – stunning! Now this is a large floor pillow measuring 65cm square. I love this size cushion because it is so useful. My kids drag them all over the house to lean against and sit on. I always make my covers removeable because the need a LOT of washing.
To make the cushion I used the template provided in the book to true size and put it on a piece of chambray measuring 15.5 inches. I machine stitched that all on so it was super quick to assemble considering how detailed it is. I then quilted 3 inch squares around the outside until it reached the correct size. The back is also the dot chambray. I quilted the squares pretty simply and did some hand quilting around the bunny – I love how it added a small detail. Now as for my hand embroidery. Not perfect but I am pretty impressed with the overall look. And Hannah loves it which is the most important thing.
There it sits prettily in Hannah’s reading corner with her bunny trug from Bear & Sparrow which holds her current favourite books. Such a nice addition to her room and suits her age perfectly.
Now the thing about this project was that I ended up using hardly any felt. And let’s be honest, Lauren is known for her work with the textile. I knew I had to branch out and have a play so a second cushion was in order! I was really taken with the little felt flowers Lauren uses on a couple of her projects and wanted to go a bit rogue and have a good play with them. I ordered my felt in from Rose Petal Collections and got to work. 2 days and 160 felt flowers later I had very numb fingers but was ready to go.
Initially I had an idea to create a rainbow of flowers but I have to be honest, it sucked. It looked so so bad. I immediately scrapped the idea and decided to simplify to a simple heart. I used the turquoise chambray and went stitch crazy. Hannah was heavily involved choosing which flowers went where and after a few hours she was finished. A true labour of love but it turned out perfectly! I used a 50cm duck down pillow so it is lovely and squishy and has some weight too it. Not sure I will ever make one again but when she gets home from school she will be happy to find it on her bed considering she has been trying to steal it since it was finished.
Now when photographing these cushions I decided to remain true to Hannah – hence the furry one-eyed monster in the image. This crazy little thing repeats what you say and has been the cause of much laughter. We ended up with 2 (long story but lets just say I got sucked into buying a present she couldn’t part with) and they are funny little beings. Hannah is not a pretty dolly girl, this is what she loves so this is what needed to be photographed with her cushion. She keeps them on the swing hanging from the tree in her room. I love that in her whole life she has never once thought inside the box.
So there you have it – 2 new cushions sitting pretty ready for her to come home and love. Hopefully I get a photo of her to share later on. But in the meantime they are in her room waiting patiently for her.
Thank you so much for asking me to be part of the tour Lauren, I am thrilled to be part of this with some very clever girls. If you want to follow the tour along yourself you can use the tag #prettyhandmadesbook on social media. The quality of work has been outstanding! And Lauren has a giveaway at the end so stay watching for that too. For a list of all bloggers please see below.
xxx Sarah
- 1 Sept 2017- Lauren Wright www.mollyandmama.com.au @mollyandmama
- 2 Sept 2017- Jemima Flendt www.blog.tiedwitharibbon.com @tiedwitharibbon
- 3 Sept 2017- Sharon Burgess www.lilabellelanecreations.com @lilabellelane
- 4 Sept 2017- Lauren Nash www.transientart.com @transientart
- 5 Sept 2017- Sarah Edgar www.alittlehappyplace.blogspot.co.uk@sarahedgarprettyfabrics
- 6 Sept 2017- Ange Hamilton www.alittlepatchwork.wordpress.com@alittlepatchwork
- 7 Sept 2017- Elea Lutz www.elealutzdesign.com @elealutz
- 8 Sept 2017- Sarah Scott www.piccolostudio.com.au @piccolostudio_sarah
- 9 Sept 2017- Martina Bahre www.avaandneve.com.au @ava_and_neve
- 10 Sept 2017- Heather Andrus www.quiltstory.blogspot.com @quiltstory
- 11 Sept 2017- Faith Essenburg www.saranaave.wordpress.com@faithessenburg
- 12 Sept 2017- Alisha Orlando www.ministryoffabric.com.au @ministryoffabric
- 13 Sept 2017- Bev McCullough www.flamingotoes.com @flamingotoes
- 14 Sept 2017- Stacy Olson www.stacyolsondesign.com @stacyolsondesign
- 15 Sept 2017- Ali Phillips www.arabesque-scissors.com @arabesquescissors
- 16 Sept 2017- Mollie Johanson www.wildolive.blogspot.com @molliejohanson
- 17 Sept 2017- Kristyne Czepuryk www.prettybyhand.com @prettybyhand
- 18 Sept 2017- Xanthe Grundy www.wife-made.com @wifemade
- 19 Sept 2017- Anne Oliver www.lolliandgrace.com @lolliandgrace
- 20 Sept 2017- Larisa Shurupov www.stitchingnotes.com @stitchingnotes
- 21 Sept 2017- Sedef Imer www.downgrapevinelane.com @downgrapevinelane
- 22 Sept 2017- Wynn Tan www.zakkaArt.blogspot.com @zakkaArt
- 23 Sept 2017- Veronica AM www.VividFelicity.wordpress.com @vividfelicity
- 24 Sept 2017- Minki Kim www.minkikim.com @zeriano
- 25 Sept 2017- Elise Baek www.eliseandemelie.com @eliseandemelie
- 26 Sept 2017- Megan Price www.dollyhenry.com.au @dollyhenryau
- 27 Sept 2017- Nadra Ridgeway www.ellisandhiggs.com @ellisandhiggs
- 28 Sept 2017- Ayda Algin www.cafenohut.com @cafenohut
- 29 Sept 2017- Jodi Godfrey www.talesofcloth.com @talesofcloth
- 30 Sept 2017- Lauren Wright www.mollyandmama.com.au @mollyandmama
8 Comments
Arabesquescissors
08/09/2017 at 6:47 amStunning projects Sarah! I love the texture of the bunny in velvet… And your dedication to making all those flowers is amazing! XAli
sarah scott
09/09/2017 at 12:45 amThanks Ali. The bunny is super soft and hannah loves her so yay!
LINDA
08/09/2017 at 4:50 pmHI,Your pillow is so neat! Like to make one similar! Thank You for sharing!
sarah scott
09/09/2017 at 12:45 amThank you so much Linda. It was such a pleasure to make ?
Lauren from Molly and Mama
12/09/2017 at 12:44 pmSarah, Thank you so very much for agreeing to be part of the Pretty Handmades Book Showcase. I’m just so thrilled with the amazing pieces that you made. Your bunny cushion is just adorable and that felt flower cushion is genius! Your daughter must be thrilled to have some new Piccolo Pretties in her room. She’s a lucky girl! xx
sarah scott
17/09/2017 at 12:46 amThank you for having me Lauren. I’m glad you loved my interpretations of your beautiful book
Kay
15/09/2017 at 8:49 amThese are beautiful, thank you for sharing your inspiration. It is lovely to find new blogs on a book tour. x
sarah scott
17/09/2017 at 12:45 amThank you so much Kay. I’m thrilled you found me 🙂