Petal Pocket Pillow...

This month I've joined in the 2 in 1 Sewing Challenge, hosted by Rikka, from Ricochet and Away. The theme of this challenge, is to sew something that can be transformed into a new look or a new item.

I've made a cushion that doubles up as storage space for a few teddies, toys or special treasures. Take the toys out of the fully lined, quilted pocket and you have a comfortable cushion.

To make my cushion, I've used the Pillow Pocket and Petal Pocket pattern by Nova, from A Cuppa and a Catch Up. I purchased the pattern last year, with the intention of making both versions included in the pattern for Christmas. Needless to say, the cushions weren't made for Christmas as intended, but I did actually start on this one. Once I could see I didn't have enough time, I packed the pieces away and thought... maybe next Christmas.

As soon as Rikka announced the 2 in 1 Sewing Challenge, the Pocket Pillow sprang to mind. Even so, I left it till the last week to begin. I think I work better under pressure and with a deadline to meet. 

First up was to make the petals and sew them to the cushion. I sewed the petals by machine and then hand appliquéd them to the front of the cushion. The pattern gives instructions to appliqué by both hand or machine.

Next up was the pocket. All smooth sailing to begin with. As you can see, I've machine quilted the front of the pocket using straight lines. Again, I hand appliquéd the finished pocket to the cushion. 

As the pocket would see a fair amount of wear and tear, I thought I'd better machine stitch as well. I did this with the batting and backing fabric attached. This took my Bernina to the limit!!! At one point, I couldn't even turn the handwheel by hand. I was already using a denim needle, but changed to a new one. The new needle allowed me to sew the pocket on, but the machine struggled. The pattern quite clearly stated to trim the batting in the pocket to reduce bulk. I did trim it, but not close to the seam. My machine was sewing through three layers of batting, plus fabric!!! Next time, I'll trim as the pattern said. I could also sew the pocket to the cushion front, before attaching the cushion batting and backing fabric.

Time to make a mini quilt with the front of the cushion. Having finishing my first quilt earlier this month, I was keen to try some more quilting, but on a much smaller scale. First I did a row of hand stitching, a simple running stitch, just outside the petals. Following the line of the hand stitching, I did rows of quilting, using the walking foot on my machine. I love the effect this creates!!!

The cushion has a simple envelope closure on the back. I've used the same mauve fabric as on the pocket, but I didn't quilt it. I just used two thicknesses of fabric.

Last step was to attach the binding. It's not the conventional way, but I've sandwiched the cushion between the binding and have done a decorative stitch to sew all layers together.

I'm thrilled with how my cushion has turned out!!! I'm tempted to keep it and not give it as a present. This would have to be one of my favourite projects!!!

Once my cushion was finished, the first thing that sprang to mind, was the rhyme, Ten in the Bed...

There were ten in the bed and the little one said,

Roll over, roll over.

So they all rolled over and one fell out.

There were nine in the bed and the little one said,

Roll over, roll over.

So they all rolled over and one fell out.

and so on until there are none in the bed.

Well, perhaps this little bed isn't big enough for ten, but I'm sure we'll squeeze five in the bed and have lots of fun having the toys fall out.

I just grabbed toys and a book from the shelf for the purposes of taking photos. As I was taking photos, I thought I must tell you about the book in case you haven't come across it. Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, one of our favourites, is written by Australian author, Mem Fox, and has been published in Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and French. In fact, we love all of Mem's books!!!

If you are looking for literature related activities to share with your children, check out Integrating Literature and Cooking, based on another Mem Fox book; Possum Magic. And just in time for the Olympics, Koala Lou Scavenger Hunt, based on another of Mem's books.

In case you're wondering, I'm not being paid to endorse Mem's books. It's just the teacher in me. Instilling a love of reading in your children is one of the most important things you can do.

When this cushion makes its way to its new home, there will be a book tucked away inside the pocket.

This is my sixth challenge with Rikka. Not long after I began blogging, I entered my first online sewing challenge with Rikka and Keren, from Ricochet and Away and Sew la Vie! I created a Retro Flower Power Pillow.

Do the colours look familiar? Yes, I've used some of the same fabric for this challenge. I had no idea what I was doing and bought so much fabric, that I still have lots of mauves and purples left... LOL!!!

I'm aiming to make the boy version of the Pocket Pillow before Christmas this year.

Thanks, Rikka, for hosting yet another fun challenge!!! I'm looking forward to the next one.

I'm linking my Petal Pocket Pillow up to our Pillows and Cushions link party.

... Pam

Edited to add:  Voting has begun for the 2 in 1 Challenge, so head on over and vote for your favourite project.