Stash bust crochet granny square cushion

The ongoing stash bust continues!  I had a big clear out recently and got rid of a few balls of yarn languishing at the bottom of my stash box, having not seen the light of day in years.  It's amazing how easy it is to accumulate these things, 50p from a charity shop here, inherited from a friend or elderly relative there.  I'm pretty much done with my yarn stash now, everything I own I either have plans for or is nice enough to keep for the sake of keeping, knowing I will find a use for it in the future.  All the aged, nasty acrylic in bizarre colours are gone finally, used up or passed on.  I feel very zen...

...she says, eyeing up the bulging piles of fabric...

One step at a time.



I made this cushion for my Gran as part of her Christmas present.  She's one of those women who is impossible to buy for, in that she has a house crammed full of STUFF, half of which she never uses.  I try not to buy her STUFF, since I know half the time it disappears into the house, never to be seen or heard from again.  I fully expect to find every DVD I ever bought her, still in the shrink wrap, when the time comes to clear that little bungalow.



A cushion or throw though, that's the kind of stuff she'll use.  She and my Grandad have a stove and like to sit and doze in front of the fire at the end of a long day of extra curricular activities.  They are the busiest people you'll ever meet, their social calendar amazes me and makes me tired just looking at it.  A nice plump cushion will be used every day I reckon.  Just need to think of something to go with it in a similar vein, maybe a second smaller cushion or throw...



I used a selection of acrylic from my stash.  The lightest blue is actually doubled up because I think it's 4ply and the darker blues are worsted weight.  Or something similar.  I didn't have enough black for the entire back, so I added on the 3 matching colours of blue.  I like how it looks, though if I'd planned it instead of making it up as I went along, I would have put the blues in the centre as well, to break up all the black.



I backed each front section with black fabric from my stash (yes! Fabric stash busting! See, I'm not entirely a hoarder).  I didn't have enough for 2 full squares, so each square is actually made up of two halves, sewn together on my overlocker.  There's black corduroy and cotton/acrylic mix in there, I figured it doesn't matter too much so long as it's black as no one will see through the crochet.



I sewed the black backing to the front sections, and the front and back to each other, using the overlocker.  Not my best idea ever, the cutting blade on the overlocker sliced up some of the edging crochet nicely, without actually catching with the thread, meaning the worst of both worlds - seams not sewn closed AND unwravelling crochet left, right and centre.  Nothing a bit of stealthy handsewing can't fix, but not my finest hour.  Added to that, the thickness of 2 layers of crochet plus 2 layers of fabric, and the poor overlocker was groaning away.  I was lucky to get away with it as I did but it's holding together so far and looks pretty professional I think.



All in all though, a success.  Just got to think of a coordinating present to make or buy to go with it.  Any suggestions?