A custom order.....

About a month ago now I agreed to make a friend some cushions to brighten up her her couches for an open home. It was a Friday afternoon and she needed them by lunch time the next day (no pressure :-)  I like a challenge and a deadline is always good for motivation. She had given me a clear idea as to colours (bright) and design but otherwise trusted my creative intuitions :-) I was immediately drawn to my stash of colour saturated Balinese batiks thinking they would work well with some modern contemporary designs. Two hours into cutting out, at about 5 pm, I decided to have a break and get dinner on but no sooner had I started, the power went off and didn't come back on till 10 pm so no sewing got done but I did get all the cutting out finished before it got too dark to see. 

So the next morning I worked hard to finish them in time but not to how I had originally envisioned them to look like. I made my friend promise me she would give them back to me after the open homes so I could do more work on them. They looked fine to her but I knew they could look much better. I added the hand-quilted circles to the above circle cushion along with a thin layer of batting on the underside.....

....then to these woven designs I added a line of stitching down each fabric strip to not only reduce fraying on the raw edges but to add a little texture.

Then on the back of each one I added a handmade button and loop enclosure.

To see how these handmade covered buttons are made, the tutorial can be found here on Michelle's blog.