Making commissions certainly has its ups and downs.

I’ve just completed another.

And I can quite honestly say, I am very glad to see it done and dusted.

These two cushions are for a new baby girl and her older sister.

I’m quite sure the two eventual recipients won’t be examining them closely or tutting over my stitching, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be perfect.

And perfection was very difficult to achieve this time around.

Sometimes there are just days – or projects – for which things don’t go right.

My machine started playing up. The usually-lovely Sapphire had a bit of a dizzy do.

She was convinced that there was something stuck in her bobbin case, despite the fact that I took it all out and cleaned it before carefully reassembling it, numerous times.

Her response was to do this every time I started sewing:

Aaargh!

The problem eventually seemed to spontaneously resolve itself, after I went off and did something else for a while. But I live in dread of it’s return.

And don’t get me started ranting about zips and piping.

I had piping cracked. I have zips cracked. I have made loads of piped cushions recently with no bother whatsoever, and put in countless zips without a hitch. But not these ones.

I didn’t leave myself very much leeway when it came to the length of the piping I made, so it was a bit touch-and-go as to whether it would reach all the way round.

Luckily it did. But I somehow kept sewing it, and the zips, wrong. Wrong, wrong and thrice wrong.

They’re done right now, as you can see. After much unpicking and cursing.

The cushions are ready to go off to their new owner to be given as gifts.

But they will linger long in my memory, as a true labour of love. ♥