Something new but old

This is something that I haven't posted about before but have been working on for a while. The Princess received a latch-hook rug kit for her birthday last year. We started it just after her birthday. But she wasn't interested for long - it was hard work - especially for little hands. So it sat there, and sat there, and sat there... just started. I have made a promise to myself to drop my number of UFOs so why not the Princess's? So over a few weeks I finished it off. It was hard on my hands too. It seemed that the rug holes were too small for the latch hook. It was a struggle to get the hook through each time. But I did it in the end. But what to do now? The kit recommended making a pillow but I wasn't sure. In the end it was the Princess's decision and she said "pillow" so pillow it was.

Following the kit directions I started to attach the completed front to a simple pink gingham backing. Honestly, this was horrible. Trying to manipulate a lightweight fabric to back a completed carpet verged in ridiculous. Keeping the stitching straight was impossible. After a few disastrous attempts I gave up. And the half finished project sat in a bag for a few months. I didn't forget it - it was in the back of my mind. I was ruminating...

So fast forward to last night - about 3am (so that makes it morning :)). I had a revelation. Make up a cushion and then stitch the rug to it (looking back this seems so obvious!). So this afternoon, whilst the Princess was out at stitching classes (!) I made up the basic pillow. I found a pink zip so added this to the equation. I used the pink gingham to make the cushion back but didn't have enough for the front. Out came the trusty calico. I cut the gingham in half and inserted the zip. I left the zip exposed. Having measured the rug (twice) I calculated how much of a seam I would need to build into the pillow. I stitched up the pillow and was immensely gratified to find my measurements were accurate. I know that there was no reason that it wouldn't be correct but there is something awesome about seeing it happen in reality. Then it was a simple hour's slip stitching the rug to the cushion. Once it was stuffed (with a pillow insert) I flipped it over and gave it a little hair cut - just a couple of longish bits. And then it was done! One less UFO and a nice surprise for the Princess. I bet she'll love it.