I’m reclaiming my evenings and my energy and pouring it into creative work. This morning I woke at 7am on my morning off, pffffffffff… Anyway, I used the extra time to get stuck into some of the cushions I had started during the week and also to try a new experiment with zipped backs.
This is the first scarf I turned into a cushion cover, not a complete stuffed cushion. Honestly, I wasn’t mad about doing it. It took a lot longer, it’s fiddly because I don’t want to actually cut the scarf so I can’t use a serger, and I’ve always found the top end of zips a pain to keep neat. I know that last part is just practice but it drives me nuts putting in a zip.
In addition to the extra work, the finish is not quite as bouncy as I like. Because I’m dependent on the size of an insert, I can’t get the nice roundness in the top that I aim for when I stuff them and close them. Anyway, I’ll work on a few more like this and who knows, I might just find the knack for it…
This one I adore! It’s the old technique, so I stuffed it and sealed it. And it’s HUGE! It’s hard to see from the perspective in the image but it’s about 75 cm wide. Beautiful.
So my stock is growing and I hope that by the time I start doing markets again later in the year I’ll have a decent enough stock to show off… I’ll try to get a few of them up on Etsy too, although my issue with Etsy is how on earth am I going to put these in the post……? All of the cushions I’ve sold to date have been in person, so I’ve not yet had to deal with the logistics of posting one of these monsters! One of the solutions could be just to make covers, but then I’m really going to have to speed up my technique for inserting the zip. We’ll see!
I met with my fellow Etsy Belgium team leaders today too, which was a pleasure as usual. It’s very quiet at the moment and we’re trying to think strategically for September onwards. I hope that with the new change of rhythm in my life I’ll be able to dedicate more time to working with my team and pushing Etsy in Belgium. Expect great things of us this Autumn!
And here’s the monster, as usual, watching me work. We’re having a lot of behavioural problems with him lately and it’s really upsetting. We haven’t changed anything in our lives, except perhaps that we’re working one or two extra evenings but he’s suddenly started doing terrible things like peeing in the plants instead of his box. Today he did a poo in the middle of the floor while I was out in the afternoon. It’s the first time he’s ever done that and I can’t fathom what’s wrong. I’m guessing that maybe he is struggling to adapt to the really hot weather, but perhaps it’s more likely something we’re doing? Perhaps he’s just bored. I really can’t figure it out. Any advice/tips on sudden changes in cat behaviour are much appreciated!
By the way, most of the photos I use are Bazaar Collective Instagram pics. If you’re on Instagram say hi !!
a x
