Guess I picked the wrong week to start blogging! We’re in the thick of a huge home extension project, and everything is in a state of utter chaos. Witness me last night, groping in the dark hall through box after stacked box, looking for the iron.

No joy. I have no idea where the iron is. Which is … sorry about this … ironic, don’t you think, for a crafter? Get out of my house, builders. (Actually, wait. Finish the job first.)

Anyway, I had to make these cushion covers for my mother-in-law without an iron. Which was OK, once I reminded myself that she’d undoubtedly prefer to have them with the seams unpressed than not have them at all. But it was a twitchy experience: sew-a-bit, press-a-bit, sew-a-bit, press-a-bit is such a familiar rhythm.

She’d bought this delicious Cath Kidston fabric back in March, just before our works began, and I’d agreed to make the covers to replace her old green-and-white gingham ones, which were getting a bit dingy. But I didn’t manage to make them before the builders invaded, and it’s only in the last few weeks that it’s been even vaguely possible to contemplate getting it done.

I cut the squares for the covers earlier in the week, then last night I cut and pinned the piping. This morning I sat down to the sewing much later than I’d planned, less than four hours before we were due to leave for my mother-in-law’s house with the finished covers.

Celebrations

• I did it! I made pretty cushion covers when I could barely see my sewing machine through the swirling clouds of dust. (This is an exaggeration. But I did have to wipe every surface before putting the fabric anywhere near it.)
• I allowed myself to declare them finished even when I wasn’t totally happy with them – I simply didn’t have any more time to fix the glitches. They look great from a few feet away, which is really all that’s required in a cushion cover. I’ll do better next time.

Lessons

• Next time I make piped cushion covers, I’ll attach the piping first. With these, I attached the zips first, and I wasn’t very happy with how the piping on the zip-side corners turned out. And let’s not talk about the piping seams.
• My pins are old and tired, and I need a new blade for my rotary cutter.
• Oh my god I LOVE SEWING! I rarely do any at the moment, because knitting and crochet are so much more compatible with toddlers, of which I have one. But it’s SO GOOD, and I must find ways to do more.

We were invited to my mother-in-law’s house for a buffet meal today, with her sister and niece and grand-niblings. A lovely time was had by all, with lots of eating and chatting and running around. And my cushion covers, though I say it as shouldn’t, went down a treat.