Hello everybody and Happy New Year! In one of my latest posts, I have already introduced you to the brand new printed cottons we have been inserting in our catalog for some weeks and to the patchwork art to which they are mainly addressed. And I used purposely the adverb "mainly". Well, if it is true that the printed fabrics you find in the above mentioned links are perfect for patchwork, it is also true that they can be used also for other purposes :-) And, once, in order to suggest you something new, different from the usual blankets for our children or the decorations for our rooms in perfect Amish or country style! I love patchwork, but since my true love is still cross-stitching, the perfect idea is to "marry" these two wonderful ars together :-) Which is the best way to do so? A cushion, of course! For example, a cushion in your house at the seaside (if you don't have one, do not worry... Even the house of your friends or of your parents in law can be suitable! :-)). In order to make a really particular cushion, you actually need a few things. So, here is an ad hoc padding. And just a simple, nice and, at the same time, successfull chart like this one or this one (but there are plenty of them!). Eventually, one cotton fabric of the same color of the sea. Once the embroidery finished, you will just need a sort of frame with the fabric you have choses, just around the embroidery. So, by putting the embedded embroidery "face to face" with another piece of the same cotton fabric, we will sew the pillow case on the four sides. Do not forget to leave a little space in order to insert the padding in the cushion! Obviously, you can also do the contrary, that is cross-stitching the four sides which will form a frame around a printed cotton cut! In order to embroider the hems, you can recur to some nice sentences on the seaside or to some blue hearts , by using one of the many aida or linen ribbons. This idea is perfect also if the house where the cushion will be put is in the countryside or in the mountains. You just need to find an Alps or country chart like the following ones:

• http://www.casacenina.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=18412
• http://www.casacenina.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=33564

And combining a cotton fabric in the shades and decorations you like the most, as the red versions, the squares or the flowers A big hug and Happy Stitching and Patchworking!