SO HERE WE ARE AT THE END OF THE 2016 MYSTERY CUSHION CLUB! And for all of you who are up to date with the project, you must be excited to know that very soon you will have a brand new cushion-cover to add to your furnishings! But just before we get stuck into Mystery Cushion business, I just wanted to let you see how little Seth has been doing. And as you can see from this month’s photo, he loves his food and is now very happy to be able to feed himself. His favourite food at the moment is olives, but in this photo he is tucking into sausgaes and beans. Oh dear, he’s making me feel hungry…so off for a cuppa and a biscuit as you read on…
AND SO…THE THEME OF THE MYSTERY CUSHION! Many of you did send me correct guesses for this year’s Mystery Cushion, however, I think that some of you are still unsure of the theme. So I am now going to reveal it to you…it is:
GEOMETRIC JUNGLE
The design was inspired by one of the strongest spring/summer fashion themes this year, mixing bright neon colours with neutrals and combining this eighties colour palette with abstract animal prints. I decided to simplify the patterns down to basic geometric shapes which represented the animal prints, rather than a literal interpretation of them. So I chose triangles for snakes, circles for leopards, a striped pattern for elephants and toucans, and a wavy chevron pattern for zebras. Because of the strong geometric element to the design, there is a lot of intarsia in the project, but I was keen to include lots of interesting textures too, with cables, reverse stitch details and garter stitch adding to the complexity of the design.The finished result is a very bright and colourful design, capturing the essence of a busy jungle, bustling with wildlife and energy! Now all you have to do is finish your own cushion-cover to bring the Geometric Jungle into your home!
FINAL PANEL TO KNIT THIS MONTH IS:
Lower Back panel: Jungle Fever!: reverse stocking stitch stripe with cables and beads
I thought I’d give you a nice easy panel to knit in the final instalment, so this is a simple cable involving seven stitches held to the back and beads. The cables are positioned so that they are in line with the buttonholes on the Upper Back Panel – which is something to be aware of when you are sewing on the buttons. I used 30mm plastic buttons which I purchased from Ebay on the internet. This is the reference for them if you fancy using the same ones: “B747 – 30mm 6pcs very large clown 4 hole plastic solid italian buttons”.There are many colours to choose from, so you could have six different coloured buttons or all the same. I chose two colours and alternated them across the back.
THE FINISHING AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE CUSHION is quite straightforward. First you need to sew the lower back panel side seams to the front panel. You will find that the lower panel is longer than half the depth of the front panel, but this is correct as you need a few inches of excess fabric to tuck underneath the upper back panel (to ensure that the cushion insert does not show). I always opt for Mattress stitch, but any neat stitch and the one that you are most comfortable with will be fine. Once this is sewn into place you then need to sew the side seams of the upper back panel to the front panel, making sure that the buttonholes line up with the centre of the front panel. Once the buttons have been sewn on and any loose ends sewn in, you need to purchase your cushion insert (mine measured 45cm x 45cm) and then you are finished!
In previous blogs I gave you some advice on Mattress stitch and picking up stitches. But in case you need a reminder, here it is again:
vertical mattress stitch: with right-sides facing up towards you and the knitting flat, take the needle under two bars at a time, between the first and second stitches. To keep the edges level at the bottom, begin the seam by taking the needle under one bar on the first panel and two bars on the second panel. Then after this take the needle under two bars on each side until you have completed the seam. This means that you are working one row higher up on the second panel, however, the edges of the knitting at the beginning of the seam should be level.
picking up along a horizontal edge (cast-off edge): with the right-side of the work facing, take the needle through the middle of the stitch just below the cast-off edge edge. Loop the yarn around the needle and pull the new stitch through. Repeat this all the way along the edge, making sure that you pick up the correct number of stitches along the edge of each square.
IF YOU HAD PLANNED TO SIGN UP TO THE 2017 MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB: TEN YEAR ANNVERSARY, then I am afraid you are too late!!! All seven-hundred memberships sold out last week and there are no more available to purchase. However, if you are interested in joining then please email Sue at sue@debbieabrahams.com and she will add you to the waiting list. It is inevitable each year that some members will either cancel their membership or decide to sell their kit. And if this is the case and you are on the list, we will contact you to offer you the membership.So you never know – keep your eyes on your inbox and you might be joining me on another adventure next year!
APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2017 MYSTERY CUSHION CLUB will not open until March 2017, and you will all be notified when the signing up begins via an emailed newsletter. At the moment I am undecided about the theme and the yarn, but I will give you some pointers in the newsletter that we will send out in March. And don’t forget that if you have signed up for the 2017 Mystery Blanket Club, you will get a discount on your Mystery Cushion Club membership.
I’ve had tremendous fun with the Mystery Cushion this year, and I hope that you have enjoyed your Mystery knitting experience with me. Thank you for all your lovely emails, photos and comments, and it’s been great to meet some of you too this year! If you are joining me on another Mystery project next year, then I hope to see you back here in February for the start of the Mystery Blanket or July for the first Mystery Cushion instalment. And who knows what will be in store for you???…why don’t you join me next year to find out! Until then, take care and keep knitting, Debbie x
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