The most hits my blog has ever received in its entire life span of 18 months, was shortly after the Commemorative Crazy post, and many people contacted me saying how much they liked the content and story. So I was delighted when Jane called in to Heart Space Studios to show me the finished cushions that she had made in time for Christmas for her 2 children.

They were so beautifully made, using fabrics from her late husband’s sports jackets and ties, and Jane had been able to use the small piece of  tartan fabric, that was her husband’s clan tartan as the backings to the cushions. (did I say that I have a tartan as well – the Hay tartan – all brilliant  red and greens overlaid with a very noisy white check –  nowhere near as tasteful as this one)

She had embroidered “DAD” on one, at her daughter’s request, it is in whipped running stitch, very subtle and almost merges with the tweed background.

And amongst some other memorabilia, Jane found her husband’s  ‘pips’, these are badges usually in the shape of  a star or a crown and worn by army officers on the epaulettes of their uniforms.  These particular ‘pips’ are actually stitched onto fabric in  gilded thread so two of them they were put to good use at the seam joins of the crazy stitches. Usually a star is stitched  at such points by the embroiderers of the  traditional crazy patchworks.

Jane has enough fabric to make another cushion for herself and even some smaller gifts for other members of the family…. and then she may decide to design and make the large throw from the remaining tweeds. I will keep a record of this progress.