Cosmic Burst & the birth of a cushion

Mark Cesarik is a fabric designer for Free Spirit.

When Mark asked if I’d be interested in some swatches of his new range, Cosmic Burst, I of course said yes.

Please.

I sent him my postal address.

It has been a crazy busy time in my life over the past few weeks. Sewing hasn’t been high on my list unfortunately. I must remedy this.

It was a lovely surprise to receive a pack of 5” swatches in the mail - from NYC (the city where I hope to be in August… if I win the Kidspot Top 50 Bloggers that is). Mark, I may come and visit you!

I opened the package and was delighted with this new range of fabric. Cosmic Burst is just that. A burst of delicious prints and bright saturated colour.

It’s me to a tee!


Cosmic Burst 1


Yummy, yes?

I wanted to think of a way in which I could use all of the 21 different design/colours to their fullest.

I decided on making a cushion using 20 of the squares and 20 white 2” x 5” strips.

I stitched a white strip on a side of each of the squares.


Cosmic Burst 3


I then arranged them in the following order.

What is that saying about a picture being worth a thousand words?


Cosmic Burst 4


It is a very forgiving design as there aren’t many seams to match up.

All of the squares were added until the cushion top looked like this.


Cosmic Burst 5


I ironed on some fusible pellon, chose my favourite perle 8 pink cotton and hand quilted along each edge of the white strips. In the end I decided to leave out the black quilting.


Cosmic Burst 5b


Hot pink perle 8 cotton on white fabric – yum! Probably the only photo taken during the day light… on my iPhone though. D’Oh!!


Cosmic Burst 6a


And some hand quilting while my daughter is at her swimming lessons...


Cosmic Burst 6b


And here is the finished Cosmic Burst cushion. It is quite large and I used 2 large bags of poly-fill to fill it.


Cosmic Burst 7


Mark Cesarik has worked his magic and produced an absolutely stunning new line of fabric. It is bright. It is bold. It is full of energy and will make you smile as you sew.


Cosmic Burst 8


Thank you Mark. I have absolutely enjoyed working with Cosmic Burst.

If you love this fabric range as much as I do, you’re in luck.

It will be shipped to your local independent LQS in April. Yay!

Pop on over here, to the Free Spirit website for a good look at the whole range.


14 comments

  1. I love it, very vibrant, your hand quilting is beautiful and immaculate, I wish I could do that. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. It really is gorgeous. It shows of the fabric line perfectly.

    I was wondering if you had any resources on hand quilting. I haven't tried it yet but really want to. I have no idea where to start...

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  3. Love the cushion... So gorgeous...
    Ally x
    www.quiltingmumma.blogspot.com

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  4. I like the look of this fabric line its fresh and bright and I will definately hunting some down when its released. p.s the cushion is good too lol

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  5. that is very yummy fabric and I love what you have done with it...
    Hugz

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  6. Love those colours the fabric looks great. Loving that jumbo pillow you made with them!! =D

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  7. Gorgeous - I think you have done a fabulous job showcasing the fabrics.

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  8. I read "pin cushion" instead of cushion. All the way through I assumed you were making a pin cushion. I even went back and read the sizes of the fabric but I didn't reread the title. I was thinking, "Boy, she has a LOT of pins." Then I realized I read it wrong. I had a good giggle anyway. Love the fabrics. Good job!

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  9. Love it. Interested to know what size needle you do your hand quilting with. Looks longer than mine and would obviously hold more stitches at once

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  10. Ohh loving the pink stitches...and of course the fabrics, just yummy!!!

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  11. Wow! I love it - so bright and happy!

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