Cushions on a budget

Judith Kerr's Mog books are a big hit in our house. Partly because our own cat is a bit like Mog - both in looks and character. Just as my sewing stuff is looking a bit tidy, the cat comes along and topples the pile over. Here she is demanding her share of attention while I try and take a picture of a finished sewing project:

Attention seeking cat, Ceylon

Last night marked the half way point of the first sewing course - 2 lessons down and 2 more to go! And, at the risk of this turning into a teacher's report, the ladies are doing brilliantly well. The book bags are finished, and now we're on to bigger bags with pockets (a bit like the one I've tried to photograph above).

Next up, cushions. The design I'll be teaching is a really simple envelope style - one big piece of fabric folded over to create a sort of envelope. I've just made a couple as demonstrations - you can see the back has some contrasting binding added to make it look a bit more professional, and I've put a few, yes you guessed it, fabric roses on the front. 

Cushions for under a fiver

I think the design would also work well with plain fabric and matching roses. Or something else appliqued on. My aim is to teach people the basic techniques and let their imaginations run wild - or for them to see what inspires them at the shops and try and make something similar at a fraction of the price. The possibilities are endless...