How not to make an embroidered cushion cover

Today, as it's my last day off now (for another 7 weeks urgh) I wanted to make a prototype for a new textiles project using embroidery.

I get really hopelessly bored when I'm embroidering anything. I love the finished product but I hate the repetitive, tedious task of sewing neat and perfect stitches. I swear I spend more time unpicking my embroidery than actually getting anywhere!
My mum is pretty damn good at embroidery- she had samplers hung up in the hall of the Oxfordshire house- And she has tried and tried to teach me, my progress was very slow.

I decided that the easiest way to motivate myself to practice the embroidery would be to "hit two birds with one stone" thus:
1) we need new cushion covers for the sofa- some of ours are tatty now and look a bit uninviting
2) I enjoy unusual homewares
3) So, buy some cheap, plain fabric for the covers and then practice the stitches for the textiles project- knowing that this is a home ware we need will spur on my progress.

So, I got some reduced price white fleacy fabric on Saturday morning before we headed over to Andy's.
When we got back I immediately measured and cut the sizes and pinned them- feeling really motivated and pleased with myself I went to plug in the extension lead for my sewing machine.
Then realised Traff had used it to put the washing machine.
So I had a potato farl break and watched the numbers tick down on the front of the machine- losing motivation every second!

Finally, everything was good- machine working properly, ace!
I managed to complete 3 of my 4 covers, and on the final seam of the last one, This happened:

I don't even know how that happened!
I'd already taken the pin out!
I do have more needles, but as I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself after my night out (and my hands are still shaking- I swear the needle unthreaded every time I even looked at it (I spent more time shouting at the machine than sewing today!) I've decided to leave that for another day.

I've marked out the patterns on two of the covers- I'll see how they go before I mark up the 3rd and complete the 4th.

I'll chalk this up as a partial success- especially as I know exactly where the machine needles are!