The Peaceful Lion | Le Challenge

Every month le challenge deadline arrives, and I am wondering whether I will finish what I intended to make - texting Lu in-between for some moral support. This month's theme was 'mix' and I knew I wanted to make something that would be a mix of fabrics - with hints of vintage. I knew quite quickly that it would a cushion for Little Baby MiH, but that was about it - and then I fell in love with this picture and I just had to make it happen (how did I survive before Pinterest, who knows?). 

I did not have the background  fabric in my stash - but found this great organic herringbone fabric at Ray Stitch (they have a great range of organic fabrics). It is quite sturdy which is great for home dec' projects. I had the felt - probably intended for a Christmas project many years ago, and the vintage fabric is from the vintage sheet swap organised by Mary. 

All set in the Moses basket, and yes the bumper basket is out again

The project was easy to put together once I finished making the template. I never make templates - I just get on with it usually and hope for the best (well to be fair I follow a lot of patterns). But this time I spent some time trying to create a picture and played a bit with the colour scheme. I made the template not knowing what I actually had in my stash, but the colours/fabrics I found are nearly the same one as the ones I had on my original template. 

All the pieces were ironed on the background fabric thanks to the wonders of fusible web - which makes unfortunately the embroidery step just that bit harder - and I really missed having a thimble handy. I drew the eyes and the mouth and just went for it with some black thread. 

I don't have any great pictures of the back - but I used the herringbone fabric and added a zip (thought that it might be wise to be able to wash if needs me). 

I love it despite not being perfect. The face could be a bit smaller, I may have been over-enthusiastic with the embroidery of the nose, and I am really not sure about my French knots technique. But overall the cushion is what I imagined it to be - it is a great mix of vintage and modern fabrics. It is also quite different from high street ones, and makes me happy every time. 

For all the other Le challenge entries, go here. If you enter a recently completed project that fits with the theme 'mix' - and let's face it this is quite easy - you could have a chance of winning a $25 Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate. Please remember to include the button or a link to Le Challenge in your blog post or Flickr description and use the hashtag #lechallenge if you're linking up from Instagram.