I don't know about you but I rarely make something for me or the home because I want to. There's normally a zillion other things that NEED doing.

It's more a case of "oh my g-d, I need THIS and I need it NOW!"

(I really should have taken a before shot to illustrate EXACTLY how much I needed to.)

It's Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starting tonight and I have 24 for dinner...hence a lot of table cloths needed ironing. The makeshift ironing board cover that I put on a month ago (because the old one split) was not doing the job with ironing super-sized cloths, a tricky job at the best of times.

So with shopping still to do, lots of dinner still to make, not to mention the rearranging of the house to seat the aforementioned 24 people, I set to making a new ironing board cover. I know I could have just grabbed everything and gone to iron them at Mum's - hell, she'd have probably offered to iron them for me if I had - but no, I had to have a new ironing board cover and NOW!

Have you ever made an ironing board cover?

It's one of those really gratifying projects. It's pretty quick to do and with a little consultation of this tutorial, the whole thing was done in way less than half an hour...far less time than it would have taken me to take the whole lot over to Mum's in the first place.

And what's more, now I have a pretty - and functional - ironing board.

One day I will sit and make something for us because I WANT to...

Do you ever make things to sell and realise actually you can't bear to part with them?

Well, I'm on a mega zipper pouch making sess and was using some small leftover pieces from various projects.

One such project was the fabric I used for my cushions for the hallway. I decided this would make perfect little pencil and coin pouches, so I set off making a set for the shop.

At the same time I covered a sketch book with some wallpaper (that my friend Tara very kindly 'bequeathed' me) that I was planning to use for my Screen Printing journey as recommended by Gina, my screen printing guru. Gina suggested (I've a feeling you may be hearing the phrase 'Gina said' fairly often around these parts) keeping a journal of prints produced and marking on them what worked, what didn't. I really love this idea as I have a brain like a sieve and to keep a record seemed a genius idea.

Back to the zipper pouches...

Because I was doing the 2 mustard-based projects in tandem, I realised there was no way on earth that these pouches were ever going to make it into the shop. I love the wallpaper that Tara sent me and this gorgeous Skinny Laminx fabric was just made to accompany it, so in record time the pouches were a keeper.

I may just order more of this beautiful fabric to make some pieces for the shop (can't keep a good thing to yourself) but in the meantime, I am more than happy and inspired by having these things for me.

I am very much made up of contradictory elements. On the one hand I fail to cross the finishing line when I am almost there. On the other hand I get a bit obsessed so when I have something in my head I have to get on with it.

At least the advantage of the latter is I get things done.

Hence the making of cushion number 2 in double quick time.

Thank you for all your comments and ideas for this second cushion.

I decided to go for using a piece of the first fabric but incorporating the grey too.

I'm really pleased with how this second one has turned out and how they look together. In fact I'm liking them so much that I think I'm going to have to do the same combination in our bedroom.

Or is that overkill?

I just can't bear to have this gorgeous fabric in the place in the house that I pass fleetingly without stopping to admire and appreciate.

I suppose I could always take my coffee break in one of the seats...