Cushion Squooshin’

Amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. Just two weeks ago I decided to re-tackle the piano cushion that had been lurking at the back of mind – and in a cardboard box -- for three years. And today, it’s all over but the upholstering.

I finished knitting it yesterday afternoon, and last night I washed and blocked it. First, I wet it in the sink and knocked it around a bit – I’ve always heard that linen softens up a bit when treated roughly, so before popping it in the machine I whacked  it against the side of the tub a few times. No need to call Flax Protective Services – it seems to be just fine. I’m not sure if it expanded or fluffed up the fibers any, but it doesn’t look like it hurt anything, either. One thing that is quite apparent – the colors weren’t spun the same way. The light green yarn was noticeably thinner. I hope it’s not too noticeable in the final product.

It’s just the size I wanted it to be – this time. As you can see in the picture, it’s quite a bit larger than it’s former version. And I never even had to access the second ball of yarn in the non-white colors. My plan is to take the fabric and my piano bench to a nearby upholsterer and see if this can be turned into a fitted cover with just a thin padding underneath. I’d like it to be sort of elasticized around the top, because the seat lifts up for a shallow storage area. The example in Mason Dixon Knitting shows a cushion tied to the bench, but I’d like to avoid that if possible. I’ll see what the upholster can do. It will be a few weeks before I can get around to that project.

So in the meantime, I’m tackling the 3rd pair in the series of 6 Woodland Winter mittens from my Knit Picks kit. I was originally going to do the March mittens, but since October is rapidly approaching, and because the pattern is my favorite, they’re the ones on the needles now. The leaf pattern is just starting to appear. I’ve got a bit of a plan for modifying the thumbs so that they aren’t quite so narrow. And, I’m not catching floats nearly so often – I’ve been a bit dismayed at how much they’ve shown up in the previous two pairs I’ve made.