The Bouquet Cushion :: Ta-dah!

A cardboard box containing fifty eight dinky little balls of yarn in a mouth watering palette of colours. I wonder what passes through your mind when you look at the photo above? Does your heart beat just that little bit faster? Do you start to immediately imagine all the things you could make with those delicious little balls of temptation? Or do you just like to gaze at the colours and sigh with pleasure? For me, it's all of the above. Plenty of contented sighing for sure, but also a fountain of ideas which does indeed make my heart skip a beat or two. So. Much. Potential!!

In case you've not come across this collection of yarn before, let me fill you in. It's a mixture of two popular yarns by the Dutch brand Scheepjes and the yarns are called Stone Washed and River Washed. They are a neat mixture of cotton and acrylic (it's a 78/22% blend, so feels very much like a super-soft cotton with a slightly woolly feel). Both balls come as standard 50g balls which you can find at retailers who stock Scheepjes yarn, and this box contains miniature versions of every colour available.

The balls are quite weeny as there is only 10g of yarn wrapped up here, but as that equates to approximately 26m in length it goes a surprisingly long way. I can tell you that it's wonderful to crochet with, a real delight. It's soft and works up quickly, and the blended nature of each shade means that it's perfection for any type of colour work.

At this point, I should explain that I bought this box of yarn with a very specific project in mind - it was to be used as the starting point for a retreat workshop that I was going to be teaching in the south of France. When I teach these kind of retreats, I like to give the guests a decent palette of colours to work with so that I can include colour theory and planning as part of the creative process. And the project? Well, for this retreat I decided on a circular cushion cover which essentially gave us two large circles to crochet - plenty of opportunity for colour play.

The pattern I settled on is a larger adaptation of the Yuletide Mandala and as you can see it's a super design for colour work. For the centre of the cushion front I deliberately wanted to focus on colour blending to create a soft, graduated circle of colour. I chose to use shades of blue (above), but I also crocheted some alternatives to demonstrate how to use the colour wheel when choosing which shades to blend...

....on the left I blended yellow, greens and turquoise, and on the right I blended orange, reds and purples.

The idea was to create a centre for the cushion that would act as a soft, blended background for some extra decoration.

This is my finished front - a blend of cool blues for the centre, then a jolly mixture of random brights to bring it all to life.

Once the front was finished and I'd written down the pattern and made sure all the maths was working for each round, I immediately made a start on the cushion back. I was in a frenzy of colour bliss working up these bright and cheery rounds...such fun to crochet!

Ooooooooo, isn't it lush? I love love love how the second circle turned out....

....and here they both are together. Eeeeep, such happy crochet!!

I think I used around 40 different colours in total, just in case you were wondering.

Now, remember how I mentioned that the blended blues on the front would have some added decoration? Well, of course it had to be flowers. Yes, a cute little bouquet of pretty blooms!

I designed some new flowers especially for this project, and I think they turned out beautifully.

I hadn't really planned how to arrange them at this point, I just made a collection of flowers, leaves and berries that I thought would work well together and took my time playing with them.

The long tail ends are left on purpose as they are used to stitch the flowers to the cushion....

....which was a really enjoyable part of the process for me. I do love a bit of quiet, mindful stitching from time to time.

Let me show you how it looks once everything has been stitched in place.....

....ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! Look how pretty!!

I tried to keep the flower arrangement from being too symmetrical which is harder than you might think. I wanted it to look a little bit random somehow, as if I'd just picked a posy from the garden and plopped them into a little jug.

The cushion measures around 40cm across, and the joining method includes a very cleaver button closure so that you can pop a cushion pad inside and remove the cover for washing in future. It took me aaaaaaaaaages to work out how to do this, and I'm so chuffed with how it worked out!

I used small 10mm clear buttons which sit neatly in between the two scalloped edging layers. So happy with the neatness of it!

I ordered a 45cm round pad to fill out my cushion and make it all plump (from Amazon here) and I was really excited to take the Bouquet Cushion all the way to France for its official moment of ta-dah-ness.

This is the reverse which turned out so bright and jolly.......

....and here is the floral front which honestly I love so, so much. Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!

Getting to photograph it in the beautiful hotel garden was such a pleasure - the clarity of light in the south of France is something special I can tell you.

I was in France for a week with a group of super-lovely ladies, twelve guests in total. We had four days dedicated to crochet and I don't mind telling you that I was a little bit nervous on that first morning. Nobody had seen my cushion at that point, and the yarn was a surprise too.....eeeek.....I hoped with all my heart that they would like the project and would be happy about being colour designers.

In my next post I'll share my retreat experience with you, so you can see how I took this project from the Attic to Carcassonne, and what the ladies made of my design. Hint- it was WONdeRfUL!!

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ps a little note about the pattern - I created the Bouquet Cushion as an exclusive project especially for the retreat. And so for the time being it will remain with the ladies who came with me to France and won't be published online. Thank you for your understanding x

 

 

Comments

[Janis]

I especially love the flowers too.

[Janis]

I love the colorful cushion I 2ant to try to crochet it. Pattern available? I also love bright colors.

[Helen Squire]

OMG! Lucy my heart certainly did skip a beat. A box of scrummyness indeed. I'll let you into a little secret ... I have one of these very boxes squirrelled away in my ever-growing stash. You have given me inspiration as to what to do with those dinky balls of delight.
I would also love to know when, where and if you are planning any other retreats ... my idea of bliss.
xxx

[Anne]

Hi Lucy, do you do crochet retreats in the beautiful Yorkshire Dale's. So much of your inspiration comes from your local landscape. Some of us don't like flying, but would love to come on a retreat.

[Judy]

Dear Lucy, Yes, Yes and Yes my heart skipped a beat when I saw that box of colour too. How I wish I could of been in France with you for this retreat. I loved seeing your photos...definitely on the bucket list..or you could come to Australia for one. my local wool shop is called Yummy Yarn in Dubbo and they are always having wonderful classes...think you need an australian holiday for sure

[Beverley]

That is a real jewel box of colours Lucy.Your cushion cover is beautiful and the additional flowers and decorations are perfect on it.

[Leslie Susan Clingan]

I know nothing about crocheting but just those colors and the fun size of those skeins was enough to make me giddy. And then to see what you have created. What joy!! The flowers add a bit more magic to the already whimsical fun of this pillow. Absolutely adorable.

[Alexine]

I love those two rounds that make up your cushion. Terrific color combinations. The retreat in France sounds like a dream. Nice!

[CJ]

Lovely cushion, and oh my, the boxes of yarn are an absolute delight. I know exactly what you mean about the excitement of seeing all the colours laid out like that. I could play with them for hours! Lovely to see the cushion photographed in France as well, it looks just right there. CJ Xx

[Elizabeth]

For my money, acrylic is my favorite fiber. It maintains its color and doesn't fade; it is reasonably priced; it is washable and dryable; it doesn't require blocking; it doesn't itch; and, it is fairly lightweight. Wool, on the other hand, is always itchy; heavy; requires blocking; often fades; and, it can be quite spendy. Not so crazy about 100% cotton either as it has a tendency to stretch out of shape easily and it's hard on my hands. I do like cotton blends though. Of course, I tend to make practical things, like afghans; but, even if I made garments, I wouldn't choose cotton or wool, I would lean more toward silk, or cashmere, or alpaca -- but my, those fibers are breath-takingly expensive! Wool and cotton are fine when woven, but not my favorite choice for knitted/crocheted items. I would probably go with wool if I were making a rug (which is actually on my list of things to make). By and large though, my first choice is acrylic. My two cents, for what its worth.

[Kristine S]

L❤️VED the retreat, you, all our ladies the cushion... Carcassonne was a brilliant location. Enjoy your home-time. Hugs 🫂

[Becki]

Ooooh what a gorgeous box of colours and such dinky little balls of yarn.. I love the cushion it’s really pretty and the flowers just add that extra touch. The retreat sounds fabulous and it would be amazing to go on one, such picturesque places too. Have a great weekend, we’ve got our half term here next week so am really looking forward to the rest!! Take care love and hugs xxx ☺️🥰

[Angela]

What a stunning cushion! The colours and design are just beautiful :)

[Claire]

OH GOSH! What I wouldn't give to have all those yarns with me right now :) Beautiful color compositions as always!

[Karin]

Gorgeous, but acrylic!! In this day and age? I know price, but still.

[Winwick Mum]

I love this cushion, it's such happy colours and the flowers are gorgeous :) xx

[Jill]

Love it all! Thankyou so much for the amazing pattern, the yarn, the teaching, the company and the trip in general, I had a blast :)
Jillxo

[Elisabeth]

Oooh that yarn is lovely! I don’t think I could bear to open it though. It’s like having a box of coloured pencils and not knowing which to use first. (I tell you this from experience!)
Your retreat sounds wonderful Lucy, I’d be interested to know the details of something similar here at home if you are planning anything.
Thanks for your lovely blog, all the best to you and your family.
Elisabeth

[Sandra]

Hedy; crocheting a circle is easy,honestly. Just look it up online - 'Ophelia talks' on youtube has an excellent tutorial for making the perfect circle. Everything about crochet is out there ready to be learnt, just go find it or have a play yourself.

[Jacqui]

Wow beautiful!
Yes afraid one of those boxes of yarn would be like an art pieve to put on my wall hehehe

[Kay]

Such a lovely cushion. The box of colours makes me want one just so that I can look at it. It would make a great Christmas present.

[Denise]

I love your cushion - pattern and colours. France sounds a great location. However, Australia would also be good for a few classes too!!!!!

[Susan]

I love this..beautiful colours. Would love details of your retreats please.

[Simon]

I really want to make a round cushion but my only attempt at a mandala/cushion front turned out all ruffly, and I really don't think it would work:( I prefer the colours on the back of your cushion because they zing a bit more than the ones on the front. Looking forward to the next post!!

[Louise]

This cushion is just lovely! What a gorgeous project for your participants to create!