Monday 8 April 2013

Cathedral Windows Pin Cushion Review


I am so annoyed with myself. 
I know I have an unreliable connection to the internet, but persist in writing my blogs directly in Blogger. I just lot almost an hour’s worth of work because the connection dropped off and the post hadn’t saved when I hit the publish button. I am now rewriting in Word ready to cut and paste!

Today's review is of a pincushion featuring a Cathedral Windows design using a kit from the The little Lavender Patch.
The kit contains all the fabric you will need plus the buttons for embellishment. The stuffing was not included which was clearly indicated on the pack
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On opening the pack, I found 3 lovely quality printed cotton and one plain white cotton fabrics, plus 5 buttons for embellishing. Instructions were included plus a very small picture of the finished project. Great value for a kit that cost £3

The instructions started off well but became less clear as they went along, referring to pictures and colours I did not have. In the end I resorted to the internet to work out the cathedral window pattern. A few photos of the stages and clarity with regard to optional parts would improve the instructions enormously. With a kit, I think you are buying it especially for the instructions for that piece, so they need to be accurate. Otherwise, you may as well buy the components yourself.

The project is just the right size to learn the cathedral windows technique before attempting a larger piece. You will require some sewing skills before attempting this project. I completed the decorative panel by hand, but it could be machined.

The finished project is very nice and it was a fun little piece to complete in an evening. The completed cushion is about 4.5” square.

Value for money is excellent, but I would have preferred to pay a little more and have more comprehensive instructions

Have you completed any craft project kits? I would love to hear about your adventures :)

Happy Crafting,

Janice x


PS I've shared this on Handmade Monday at Handmade Harbour. There are lots of other great posts on there every week.

10 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear you lost your first version--that is always so frustrating! It taught me to definitely always do a first version in Word! :) That cushion is adorable! I am very much into crafts, but have never tried a kit like this--you have inspired me! Thank you! :)

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  2. How gorgeous Janice! You brought up memories of my grandma, who quilted constantly when I was a little girl. In fact, one of my most treasured items is a hand-done quilt she made the year I was born. It doesn't go with a durned thing I own and that's just too bad!

    By the way, I've done that same "compose online thing" and lose stuff thang. Ever tried Windows Live Writer for composing? I don't always remember to use it and it is sweeett! (has a connection for Blogger, just doublechecked).

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  3. P.S. The reason I recommend Live Writer is because the gunkitis Word puts in behind the scenes can (and, in my case, has!) broken my Wordpress site! I teach people not to cut/paste from WOrd with formatting (which I know is a pain, 'cuz ya lose all the prettified stuff)

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  4. I can understand your frustration on the post. I'm glad you perservered and put up this valuable information.

    I have a friend who is going to LOVE this information AND your blog.

    Thanks so much.

    Kathy Hadley
    http://kathyhadleylifecoach.com

    P.S. So glad I found you on the Ultimate Blog Challenge

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  5. What an absolute bother loosing your first version. I tend to hit "save" every couple of minutes - sometimes when I've not even written anything in that time. But I still get caught out occasionally loosing stuff. I do write in Word and then copy if I know it's going to be a longish post.

    Another great kit review. You are so right that people buy kits to have full instructions for making something, so it shouldn't be needed to go off to do further research. Hope you've sent some feedback to the company who makes this kit so that they are aware for any future kits that the information enclosed could be improved upon.

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  6. How often do I loose work? Far too often and I never learn! Your sewing is lovely and your review honest.

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  7. The kit looks interesting to try, not seen them before. Thanks for the tip about Windows Live writer - am going to look into it!

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  8. what a cute pin cushion! a very useful review too, thank you x

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  9. Awww that is a cute pin cushion! I have completed a couple of teddy bears either from kits or PDF patterns and I find often there is something not quite right about the instructions, which is really irritating - either they don't make sense, or refer to components in different ways which confuses me (it doesn't really take much though!) but I am thinking about creating patterns for my shop - one thing I will have to ensure is that mine are up to scratch! Simmi x

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  10. Beautiful work Janice! Sorry to hear that you lost your first version. Try to save it in Word or Notepad, then copy and paste. Good luck with your next projects! xx

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