Mixed Textiles Robin Cushion

In the December issue of Pretty Patches magazine, you might find this cheeky chappie making a song and dance of things!

Many of you will know that my first love in 'all things fabric' are recycled textiles.  I have a particular obsession fondess for tweed, linen, wool and corduroy.

The only items officially 'purchased' in this cushion are the background (Tilda) and the berries!

I love mixing textures and textiles!  Here we have sumptuous tweed, soft red wool, tactile cord, a vintage curtain remnant and a few scraps of good old fashioned quilting cotton. Oh what fun I had playing putting these together.

I also love satin stitch applique, but I knew with these thicker fabrics standard thread would disappear into the nap.

So out come the 12wt Aurifil wool threads! These are thick enough to use for hand embroidery, but not too thick to put through the eye of a size 90 machine needle. Win, win! (You can find a great selection here.)

As the design came together, I knew I wanted 'berries' in the corners.  I scratched my head for a few minutes, and then came up with a plan!

I un-threaded some jumbo pompom trim I had leftover from another project.  Then I 'couched' or satin stitched 3 thread stems together to create a little cluster of berries.  This made it super easy to sew them into the corners of the cushion.

A simple envelope backing and you have the perfect gift for all bird and nature lovers everywhere (not forgetting all the tweed & corduroy lovers too!).

My recycled, chirping Robin may be in the Christmas issue, but like the loyal and territorial real birds, I think he'll stick around all year long!

So what type of fabrics make your heart skip a beat?

Happy bird watching!