"Smarties" Cushion

This is another of my leftover summer projects that's been sitting around waiting to be finished. It didn't start off as a a cushion at all. In fact, it was intended to become a Granny Square cardigan but my courage failed me and I wasn't sure I could bring such an ambitious project off successfully.

The pattern for the squares is a an adaptation of Sue Pinner's which she used to make her most beautiful Granny Square coat which you can see here. Fabulous isn't it? You can obtain the pattern both for the squares and the cardigan itself by subscribing to Sue's Granny Square Pattern Club site. (If you like her book, this site is super and well worth joining - the only problem is finding the time to make everything I want to make from it. Details for how to join are on the sidebar of Sue's blog, The 8th Gem, if you're interested.)

Anyway back to the cushion. I used one colour for the coloured centres, rather than two, and the effect reminds me irresistibly of these:

"Smarties" for UK peeps. Not sure what you call these in the US and elsewhere. M&Ms? Anyway convex chocolate buttons covered in brightly coloured candy "shells". Yummy. Small pause while I check whether they are indeed as yummy as they were when I last checked, five minutes ago. Small pause again, to decide that, yes, they are indeed just as yummy!

The yarn is the Spud and Chloë Sweater yarn I used for my pot-holders. It comes in a mouthwatering range of colours. I especially like the turquoises and pinks (see the pot-holders!). I've used twelve colours in total here, as well as the deliciously named "ice cream" for the background. The yarn, as I've said before, is unfortunately rather expensive, which contributed to my abandoning the cardigan idea which would have required me to buy a lot more.

This is the first project I have experimented with using a very pale neutral as a background colour - I really like it and wonder what's taken me so long!

The cover is fastened with simple chain loops over these gorgeous velvet-covered buttons which themselves look rather like "Smarties" too!

Furry "Smarties" though? Not sure about that!

Be that as it may, as the days grow greyer and more autumnal, this is a pop of glowing sunshine inside that is most welcome.

Now, never mind the cushion, where are the rest of those "Smarties"?! 

Funnily enough, there don't seem to be quite as many left, as when I started writing this!