the third one

... as in the third finished project this year, although it is actually made of a few firsts:
- my first serious needleturn appliqué
- my first hand quilted cushion
- the first project from the list

I used the appliqué method from Sarah Fielke's craftsy lessons and I enjoyed it very much.
I tend to avoid special products if I can get away with what I have on hand, but for a bigger project I'd probably cave in and buy a more appropriate kind of glue than my, lets face it, a bit old uhu stick, so that I could stitch on the train without worrying about loosing some of the pieces.
Sarah has a lovely pattern to go with the lesson, but I wanted to try something of my own. Sticking the petals in the right places was a bit tricky I must admit, so I ended up adding one more little petal to bring the poppy back to shape, but I think it's not too bad for the first try.

I'm also quite proud of this little circle stitched totally freehand.

I wanted something red for the back, but not solid red, and I remembered I still had quite a bit of this fabric:

Hope my aunt likes it.

2014 catching up {the cushioning...}

...OK, maybe just {the cushions}.
Anyway, there are two cushions (or pillows if you prefer) I haven't shown you here yet.

The first one is the one I made for Kasia for our almost Christmas swap.
One side is all about spring (sporting my trusty potted sprouts):

The other side is a calmer winter landscape - with an improv take on trees in deep snow:
 

The second cushion, made from a lovely pattern from Julka's last minute Christmas Sampler
was really a last minute Christmas gift for my Mum:

last minute photo, too

2014 catching up {the swapping}

A long, long time ago, about last spring, there was this happy swap.
You might have read about it on Susan's blog, you might have noticed my happy comments but I'm ashamed you have never seen the photos on my blog.
And I got so lucky with what I received. Pieced with the coolest fabrics I've always wanted to see in person, combined with linen and hand stitching it is just perfect, and as so many of Susan's makes, it is a project that seems so happy and full of joy.
See what I mean:

It resides on the "armless armchair" in my sewing corner. 

Happiness / Szczęście

Many things make me happy, but there is something special in private swaps.
The feeling when a person whose creations you admire agrees to or suggests we make each other a gift, the joy you feel when you get to create something for someone who shares your passion for sewing, the happiness (and relief too, shhh) you experience when you learn they like what you've made for them and the jumping for joy when you receive their creation and it's just so lovely - all this is so amazing.
And all this is also what I experienced during our recent swap with Kasia.
{Wiele rzeczy sprawia mi radość, ale jest coś szczególnego w wymiankach.
To uczucie, kiedy osoba, której prace się podziwia zgodzi się albo sama zasugeruje, żebyśmy coś dla siebie nawzajem uszyły, radość z tworzenia czegoś dla kogoś, kto podziela pasję szycia, szczęście (i ulga też, ćśś) kiedy się okazuje, że to co się zrobiło podoba się tej drugiej osobie no i skakanie z radości, kiedy dostanie się swój prezent i jest on taki piękne - to wszystko jest niesamowite.
Tego wszystkiego również doświadczyłam podczas naszej wymianki z Kasią.}

Just look what I got {Spójrzcie tylko, co dostałam}:

This cushion (or pillow ;)) combines so many of my favourite things. I love the fabric choices - colourful plus low volume (and especially dots and text) are just my thing, as are DS fabrics, and the little gnomes are cute but not too sweet, if you know what I mean. I love the economy blocks (still on my list of blocks to try). I'm also in awe of the flying geese - all the points are perfect. Finally, the quilting. I can quilt in swirls and wavy lines but straight lines are really hard for me, so I admire them immensely.
{Ta poduszka łączy w sobie całą masę moich ulubionych rzeczy. Bardzo podoba mi się dobór materiałów - kolorowe materiały w kombinacji z jasnymi (szczególnie kropkami i tekstem) to to, co tygrysy lubią najbardziej, tak samo zresztą jak materiały Denyse Schmidt, a krasnoludki są słodkie, ale nie przesadnie, jeśli wiecie co mam na myśli. Uwielbiam economy block (hm, mamy jakąś polską nazwę na to? W każdym razie w dalszym ciągu jest na mojej liście rzeczy do uszycia). Jestem też pod wrażeniem "gęsi" - wszystkie końce są idealne. No i wreszcie pikowanie. Potrafię pikować w zawijasy i falowane linie, ale linie proste są dla mnie bardzo trudne, więc podziwiam je bardzo.}
Kasia, thank you so very much! Kasiu, bardzo, bardzo Ci dziękuję!

If you want to see what I made for Kasia, she has blogged about it here. (For those who don't know Polish - Kasia's post makes me blush, she likes the cushion and she's much too kind in writing about it.)
{Jeśli chcecie zobaczyć, co uszyłam dla Kasi, notka o tym (która zresztą sprawia, że się czerwienię) tutaj.}