Cushion #2

Knitting During TdF – Cushion #2

Of course I wasn’t just spinning this last week. As if! I had to have a bit of knitting on the go too. This one was very much about getting some things off the back-burner. I feel these days that I’m carrying too much “unfinished business”, so finishing up UFOs and getting things off the “to do ” list is something I’m trying to focus on.

I managed a two-for-one with this one. I made a step forward on the goal of changing out my dull grey IKEA cushion covers for handmade ones, and I also picked up yet another project that’s been languishing in a cupboard for multiple years.

This is the pattern that inspired me to buy a bunch of yarn from Baa Ram Ewe when at – I think – Woolfest 2019 (yet another thing that no longer exists….<sob!>). Designed to be reminiscent of the stain glass windows in York Minster Cathedral, with the dark grey being the leaded borders.

Winterburn Aran was what I bought – that yarn is long since discontinued, but the replacement suggested for an aran weight yarn these days is Woodnote. The Landmark Collection Knitting Book is still in print, if you want to have a look at what else was included. I made the Ribbley Cardigan too (and i actually finished that one in the same year that I bought the yarn) – it’s a lovely easy knit with a simple by effective mini patterned yoke.

I knew when buying the pattern book and the yarn that I really didn’t need any more blankets – and that using this yarn and pattern to make a cushion (or 2) would be a more sensible plan – but I bought enough yarn for the large blanket anyway, figuring that I could make my decisions later. Didn’t think at the time it would be 6 years later!!

After my experience with the crochet cushion cover and the putting together of what felt like a million granny squares, I said I wasn’t up for that kind of project again. But that’s exactly what this project is – little squares knitted in garter stitch that all need sewn together. However, this one was already started – with 30-some squares already knitted – and no option for reclaiming the yarn – the bits of yarn would be way too small. So I took a deep breath and decidedthe best course of action would be to just proceed. I counted out what would make the right size for a cushion cover – 5×5 squares – and contemplated construction and options on how to handle the cushion insert.

Based on my learnings with the crochet cushion cover, I decided that shape-wise I would go for a simple overlap envelope thingy, and that the extra section (the overlap) on the back should have a different pattern that was somehow in keeping with the whole design.

Front, back and sitting with his friend

My original thought for the overlap was to do a bit of stranded colourwork with mini triangles. But then I realised that the rest of the cushion was in garter stitch, so it might look a bit funky if I didn’t keep to garter stitch for this section too. And you know how changing colours in garter stitch will give you weird bumps of the wrong colour if you change colours after an odd (right side) row – so I’d only be changing colours every 2 rows (after each ridge) and I wasn’t sure that would look right – so I just went for little rectangles instead. It’s a bit weird doing stranded colour work in the flat (it’s something I normally avoid) and in garter stitch (literally the first time I’ve tried this) – although you’re doing knit stitches you need hold the yarns on the back of the work and only take them forward when you’re knitting them, so that the strands of your stranded colourwork stay on the back. But it’s easy enough once you get your head around it.

I ribbed the end of the cushion cover that is hidden (to keep the cushion snug) and ribbed the end of the overlapping panel. The overlap is only about 1.5″ and was initially thinking I might need to add a button or two to keep the cover closed – but it seems to sit quite nicely with no additional fastening. Overall, I think it worked out pretty well!

Of course, that cushion cover only used up half of the yarn that I had bought. I guess I could make another one., there are still 2 nasty grey IKEA covers that need to be replaced… Not sure how I feel about 2 of the same thing, though. The mini cushions that are currently balanced on the top of the sofa (one of my first attempts at weaving my handspun, and then actually doing something with the resulting fabric) – I guess they’re basically two of the same – but I don’t think sitting on the back of the sofa is their permanent home…

For now, the remaining Baa Ram Ewe aran-weight yarn is going back into the stash pile. Since oftentimes my mindless spinning results in an aran-weight 2 ply, possibly some of it will get combined with the leftover Winterburn in a future colourwork project…??