french fabric cushions & a sweet bag tutorial...

morning all...
we've woken up to another blustery day & my sinuses are going mad...
so, snuggled up on the couch...laptop & tea in hand...
i've decided to share with you some of the projects i finished before our latest lovely visitor's from Oz arrived...
like many of us...the lure of ebay & french fabrics is almost too much for me at times...
i have my *go to* stores...my little daily *check-in* spots...
&
sometimes i find heaven...
for me french fabrics are hardworking...simple...farm-like...
this is what arrived in the mail from france 3 days before my brother & his gorgeous family arrived from australia...
with so little time to create before they arrived & with so much to still get ready, i really had to come up with a need to start sewing these fabric pieces into something...
my initial response was all want...!

i decided that we *needed* french cushions on our big old kitchen table chairs...
i *wanted* them...but with 9 people living under one roof for three weeks, i kinda figured the kiddos also *needed* them to sit up higher at the table....
so i pulled out some linen glass cloths that i had been keeping for a *spur of the moment* project...
a pile of cushion inserts from my sewing room & the gorgeous french fabrics...
a pot of tea & a quiet house before the busy time that lay ahead...
& i sewed...& smiled...& created many a simple envelope cushion...
no ties...no zippers...no fuss...
simple, farm-worthy & french...

i made as many as i had inserts for, as honestly this was a *want* not a *need*!
i cut the fabrics randomly...
no two cushions the same...

& then i played with them for a while...
well...as much as any lavender-planting-french-countryside-mama would...
i piled them up... & i oohed at them...
i thought how these lovely cushions would make my brother & his gorgeous families holiday all the better...
& then i admitted that no-one would probably notice them...
but i would know...
my little moment of creativity before the household of 9 became my every day for three lovely weeks...

& when i was done...i had lots of lovely little fabric remnants that needed seeing to...really...i couldn't bare to throw them out...
so i made some more little fabric gift bags...
i use these all the time...
they are especially easy for posting gifts, as they give the package almost another layer of protection...
random patters- though all the same shape...long enough to tie with a piece of string...
simple & thoughtful...

these are so easy to whip up...honestly you will go mad making a lovely pile of them...
it's non-thinking straight stitching...!
1. sew any scraps together to form one piece of fabric...
2. make two of these in random pattern.
3. iron these flat & grab your scissors & pins.
4. place *right* sides together & cut your both pieces of fabric to the same size.
{meaning you are looking at the seamed sides of the fabric on the top & bottom- & the neat sides, the *right* sides, are inside the envelope}
4. pin together down three sides of the fabric.
5. insert a piece of string 3/4 the way along the fabric keeping only a small section out to sew into place along the seam
{4/5 of your string is inside the envelope with the neat sides of your fabric...1/5 is on the outside as a loop to be sewn into the hem}

6. turn right side out & iron flat again like an envelope...
7. fill & tie...

so...my french cushions stood the love of kiddos & endless meals at the big ol'table for the three weeks...
they didn't *really* notice them...but i knew they were *happier* for having eaten on them...
everything is lovelier on a cushion...
&
you've all got a very satisfying, totally easy little project for the weekend...
there is nothing like a pile of gift bags waiting for goodies...

enjoy

i'm off to sort out this blocked head of mine

&

to fold fabric

let me know how your gift bag creating goes

...i'll be thinking of you...

Miss

xox