Making Autumn cushions and an acorn embroidery

Hi there, it’s been a while since I last posted, but it is not because I haven’t been busy - in fact I have quite a few projects on the go, and it has taken a while to get one of them finished. However, finished it is, and I am just delighted with this piece of seasonal stitching. In fact, I think Autumn just became my favourite season and I have noticed how in the last few years there has been alot about seasonal living out there and how much I actually like the idea of embracing the change in our landscape and all it brings with it.

Perhaps crafting helps with this. I probably am influenced by the seasons more than I realise, its just that I didn’t think to organise my wardrobe in accordance with it. Of course we all get out warm things at the time of year, and pack away our summer stuff, but actually I’m not all that good about organising my accessories, Last year I embroidered this collar on a supermarket buy (you can read about that here) and thinking about all the appropriate bits and bobs that I have to wear with it, has made me think about organising everything more seasonally.

Extending this to the house too, with touches that highlight the season and mean I can change up some of my makes too.

Picking a few sprigs of berries from the garden and displaying them along with marble fruits in a gorgeous bowl we bought in Istanbul, on a Sashiko sampler (here), conjured up Autumn in our dining room. My maple leaf quilt (here) and my Outlander quilt (here) are the choices for the living room, but I remembered that I had an acorn embroidery kit in my to do box. It was time.

This kit is from Studio Flax (here) and I adore the aesthetic of this Bristol based business. Using vintage designs from Nordic archives, Tanja has brought to life, long forgotten patterns that are just so charming. At any one time, the designs available vary, and I confess to hoarding this one for at least two years.

I mixed in some silk and cotton and wool threads from my stash with the ones in the kit as I wanted a more reddish tint to the cushion. You can have so much fun playing with colour and over the years I have collected some of Studio Flax’s thread boxes too which are treasure laden.

Once I got started it was just a joy to stitch - the sort of project you can easily pick up and put down in between other projects. I was particularly thrilled with the effect of the variegated Valdini thread for the oak leaves, which gave a sort of dusty feel to them as they are on the cusp of changing. We have a lot of oak trees around here and they are so beautiful at this time of year as they gracefully fade and bow down to the cycle of their year.

I’ve been doing some seasonal reading too and on a recent visit to Salt’s Mill, picked up this absolutely beautiful book of tree poems with stunning watercolour illustrations. I could carry this around in my pocket for ever! Here’s an excerpt of one of my favourite poems to add a little seasonal flavour to this post…

The World of Trees

In the middle of the forest the trees stood.

And the beech new the birch was there.

And the mountain ash breathed the same air

as the sycamore, and everywhere

the wind blew, the trees understood each other:

How the river made the old oak lean to the east,

how the felled beech changed the currents of the wind,

how the two common ash formed a canapé,

and grew in a complementary way

Between them they shared a full head of hair.

Some amber curls of the one could easily

belong to the other other: twin trees, so similar.

by Jackie Kay

So finally it was complete and I started thinking about making it into a cushion. I chose a floral print for the backing and quilted this to give structure to the cushion. I backed the linen with some wadding and paper interfacing too, so that the whole of the design would be less likely to crease up and did some simple cross hatching quilting around the wreath shape to hold it all together. In trying to decide on the backing, I had considered a piece of lovely wool check fabric that I had stashed away and decided to actually make two cushions to compliment each other and for this second cushion I wanted to add some floral piping as a contrast. This orange dutch heritage fabric seemed to be just the ticket. With a small red pom pom trim for the main cushion, I was all set.

I am absolutely thrilled with this project. It is a warm and cosy addition to the house and so cheerful. The thought of winter doesn’t seem so intimidating now….

Handcrafted projects like this really make a home a welcoming and happy place and the sense of accomplishment is just the boost I need to get on with the other things stacking up on my sewing table. Hop back soon to see what’s up next.

Ruby xx