Happy Go Lucky Cushions

My Nan is notoriously hard to buy for at Christmas and birthday time. She always protests that there is nothing she wants or needs, but she is always incredibly generous with all of us. I racked my brains trying to think of a Christmas gift for her, and this is what I came up with!

I thought she might like a bit of colour in her living room - her sofa is beige with matching beige cushions, so I decided to add some Bonnie & Camille prettiness to the room.

I used a charm pack of Happy Go Lucky. The first cushion I made was the red / grey / aqua combination. Always a winning mix of colours for me. When I first laid out the charm squares for this one I had more aqua and grey, but I realised it had to have more red to compete with the strong colours in the blue cushion.

I chose 16 charm squares from the pack and laid them out until I was happy with the design. I stitched them together in 4 rows of 4, then added some quilt batting to the back and quilted about 1cm either side of each seam.

Next up was the blue / orange / yellow cushion.

The bonus of using a charm pack is that while the colour palettes for both cushions are very different, the fabric design still creates a matching pair.

For the cushion backs I used some simple poly cotton prints I picked up at Spotlight. Both of them coordinate nicely with the colours on the front. I also inserted a hidden zip with the help of this great tutorial by Ms Midge.

The gift was a success and Nan was really happy with them! The finished cushions were the perfect size for an 18" pillow form. I've since had a big scrap bust and have cut enough charm squares from my scraps for a few cushions and a quilt top.

I love them both but I think the red / aqua / grey is my favourite.

How do you quilters get your seams to match perfectly? Mine are ok but there are a few that are very wonky. Should I invest in a 1/4" foot, or are there any other tips or tricks you can share with me?