AArrgghhh!

Fay, that's so frustrating! I can sympathize, and I hope that you figure something out without too much stress.

morning, Fay, have you by a slim chance got any water soluble thread. long shot i know. if you can find some quickly, maybe spotllight has it, or some other nearby quilting/sewing shop, you could sew up a simple design in machine trapunto. use the soluble thread in the top, regular thread in the bobbin. put a layer of batting behind a cushion size sq of plain fabric, any colour or muslin. i love that look. pin it round the edges. sew once around a simple design, from the centre outwards. a nice one is a flower, 2 inch or thereabouts, circle, adding a row of one inch petals, then another row of alternating petals sized to work (will be bigger obviously than the first row), then a third row, again alternating with the previous row. dont worry if it is perfect, nature isnt, so why worry. once that is done. replace top thread with regular thread. cut the excess batting away around the outside leaving a single layer behind the whole flower. now add another full layer of batting behind the square of fabric and go over all the flower again, working from the inside circle outwards. dont worry if it is exact as the first lot of sewing will disolve when washed (its water soluble). now make that into the cushion as usual. the double layer of batting under the flower will make it 'pop' out and look divine. a simple cushion just stands out and says 'look at me i'm beeeeeeeautiful and dont you forget it'. i hope you can get the thread in time. its not cheap but you only use it in the top for one round so should last a fair while. keep it inside an airtight container so it wont absorb any humidity from the air...it'll just disolve. also DO NOT lick the end of thread to thread the needle, again, it'll just disolve on ya. any simple design you can do in unbroken line of sewing seems to work best, tho to be fair, i've not tried any broken designs. holler if ya dont get any of this. tis early here and i'm not fully coherent yet. groggy across the ditch, j.

"Fay" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@i20g2000prf.googlegroups.com... Firstly Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate the Christian festival. Just spent a very frustrating afternoon trying to piece what seemed to be a very simple cushion for my DIL for her gift. Cut out the templates, cut fabric and pieced it as best I could using the Spartan instructions in the magazine, (Handmade Vol 25 No 9 p 131) but there's obviously something I don't know about piecing long, thin triangles (fair chance there) or the Gods are not on my side today. So, I might have to buy something instead. And it's like 2 days before the fat man in red comes. On the other hand the two embroidered cushions with the ric-rac and buttons came out beautifully. (Not a total idiot then).

Anyway that's my whinge for the evening. Keep up the jokes Polly! Cheers Fay in a rather warm Broadford, Australia.

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Jeanne, I am afraid you have underestimated my quilting proficiency. I have yet to produce a lump of machine quilting I could even let the QI's use for a bed. I understand your instructions, (and it's even earlier here) and would be able to drive into the 'burbs to find the thread, but my efforts could only result in tears and a significant lowering of the Bombaby Sapphire level in the bottle. Believe me, that is not a pretty place. I should not be left alone with a bottle of gin. Heppy Chrustmas,

now if you lived nearer to me i'm pop round to get ya thru that. maybe we can work on that after the holidays, via email or chat msg'r in real time. its really not that hard but i do understand you're be wary of even starting it. no worrys for now. t'were just my first thot. how about some 3D patchwork? fold squares on the diagonal, insert into seams between other squares, then when you open it up, the folded seam (on the bias) can be rolled back over itself enough to give you a pretty curve. then stitch it down by either hand or machine. looks nice on pinwheel blocks. tho lots of different blocks will also work and look as good, even without the curve part done. dont faint, just think about all that and maybe after the holidays, eh. cheers and merry merry etc, j.

"Fay" wrote... Jeanne, I am afraid you have underestimated my quilting proficiency. I have yet to produce a lump of machine quilting I could even let the QI's use for a bed. I understand your instructions, (and it's even earlier here) and would be able to drive into the 'burbs to find the thread, but my efforts could only result in tears and a significant lowering of the Bombaby Sapphire level in the bottle. Believe me, that is not a pretty place. I should not be left alone with a bottle of gin. Heppy Chrustmas,

"jeanne-nzlstar*" wrote:

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