In Good Time: Construction

I did like the red surround on the magazine version of In Good Time,  but I wanted a smaller cushion, reminiscent of a crewel cushion I worked on linen in 1972 - now in need of significant repair.  I considered backing the cushion in red, or dark green or blue, but in the end went for cream, using a remnant of blanketing that I had.

I purchased some red piping and created a brick-like cushion.

This made up part of a birthday present for Jim.  If it proves to be too brick-like I will reduce the depth.

Crewel work cushion

There were two projects in Inspirations 78  that I really liked and wanted to make: Alison Snepp's Men of Skyros and Di Kerschner's In Good Time. I ordered the kits for both and had to wait a few weeks for the threads to come in.  I began In Good Time early in June.

Somewhat reluctantly, I followed the instructions and used water-soluble stabiliser to trace the design, since it is stitched on wool flannel. It fitted well into the 12 inch hoop of my sit-on frame.

The problem with the stabiliser is that it splits as I stitch it - especially, I find, along long straight lines such as the stems. That means I lose the exactness of the surrounding design. To minimise this effect I decided to outline design rather than following the suggested sequence.

Once the design was outlined, I could remove the stabiliser and stitch from the instructions - much more satisfying.

An eagle-eyed observer will notice that I have traced the design in reverse. While I'd like to claim this as a deliberate decision, I did it unconsciously by reversing the stabiliser when I placed it on the fabric. I discovered it after I had basted the layers together - around the edges, the diagonals and the half-diagonals. At that point a reversed image looked great!

There are some really lovely elements to this project - great colours, easy to see where you are going and a logic to it that gives you freedom as a stitcher.










I am going to construct it a bit differently to the original as I want a small cushion, rather than the large one suggested. More on that soon.