Gift Exchange

My BFF's and I don't live near each other and when we get together, it's always so fun. We giggle like schoolgirls and enjoy each other's company so much. We also like to treat each other with a little gift. Our Chattanooga get together was no exception. 

Judy made each of us adorable hot pads in our favorite color. She also gave us a tissue cover for our purse and a cute little magnetic box. I'm going to keep my applique pins in mine.

Pam made us each a wool pumpkin pincushion. She included lots of other goodies too-socks, soap, thread, and a charm pack of Civil War fabric. 

Anne treated us to really cute Fall decorations! I love my new metal pumpkin candleholder. She also gave us an assortment of Fall scented tea candles to go in it. I already have mine sitting out. And the notecards with seasonal colored leaves were perfect for writing thank you notes!

I made something for my friends too. Unfortunately, I bit off more than I could chew and made something that took more time than I had and I didn't get Anne's finished before we went to Chattanooga. I'll show you more about these bags tomorrow. Cheers!

Pincushions

I've made several pincushions for friends lately and I thought I would share some pictures with you. They are all very basic, simple pincushions, but I have had a great time making them.

In March, I made this one for Karen from some of my 1930s scraps. Since her birthday is near Easter I thought the little bunny in the center was fun. 

I have a charm pack of these cute fabrics and for the life of me I can't remember what line they are from (naturally, I have lost the band around it with the name!) One of the fabrics has definitions of sewing terms printed on it, another has pinwheels, a third has the names of quilt blocks printed on it. You get the idea. I thought the sewing theme made the fabrics cute to use for pincushions.

I made my BFF's each one and tucked them into little packages for them. They have arrived, so I can blog about them now. :)

The centers of these log cabins are 1" squares and the strips around them are 1/2" strips. They finished as 3" squares. I stuffed them with polyfil and crushed walnut shells. The log cabins were fun to make, so I decided to "branch out" to nine patches. 

The log cabin pincushions were so much fun to make that I decided to do a couple nine-patch ones out of the same fabrics. I can see now that I am finished and taking the pictures, that the middle block is off center. If I am going to feature a fabric-I need to get it right. These are my first pincushions and I am learning as I go. 

These are made with 1" squares, so these pincushions also finish up 3". I made these to send to two people as small thank you's for their parts in the doll quilt swap I participated in. 

I hope they can appreciate the thought, since the end result isn't perfect!

Happy pinning.

Pin Cushion Collection

I read somewhere that if you have three or more of something then it's officially a collection. If that's true, then I have a great collection of pincushions! My friends know that I love them and they have made and given me some fabulous ones! I should have blogged about them before now, but I had them spread around here and there in my quilt room, and I didn't really realize what a nice collection of them I have!! I decided last week to gather them all in one spot and was surprised at how many I have. 

I got three new pincushions for my birthday this year! (Insert big smile here)

Anne made me this adorable one.  She felted the green wool into the cute aluminum mold, then painted the bunny chocolate and added the flowers with pin centers! How cute and seasonally appropriate! I love it so much that it will be out year round-not just at Easter.

I got this cute wool strawberry from my friend Karen. She didn't say whether or not she made it herself, but she's such a great crafter that I'm betting she did.

My daughter, Melissa, made this precious red polka dot chicken pincushion/thread catcher for me. I have already positioned her right next to my machine and put her to use. I love her! 

Anne also felted these two pincushions for me about 2 years ago. That's a real acorn "hat" the tiny one is made into. The flower is made on the top of an old wooden spool. That girl is so clever!

Years ago, my friend, Melissa, made this pincushion in a tea cup-it was officially the first pincushion in my collection.

Pam found this old egg cup at an antique shop and made a fun pincushion using feedsack fabric on the top! I love that she topped it with a button-it's so "Pam".

To keep with a chicken theme, I love this chicken pincushion with the beaded waddle and comb! He's weighted and stuffed with polyfil.

Anne also felted this adorable mouse. I think she is my favorite of all. Anne named her Thimblelina, and I think the name is just perfect for her.

Just look at this sweet face! What's not to love about her?

I hope you enjoyed a little peek at a few of my pincushions. I was inspired last week to try my hand at making a pincushion. I made this little one for a friend and had a great time doing it. I think I'll be making more in the future!

Happy "Pinning"

Grammy

Chicken Pincushion and Thread Catcher

My youngest daughter, Melissa, made me an adorable pincushion/thread catcher for my birthday. I LOVE chickens and my favorite color is red-so this is absolutely perfect! Melissa is a great seamstress, pattern designer and blogger so I wasn't too surprised to get a gift from her that is hand made. What does amaze me is the fact that she has four kids, ages 2-6, and she finds time to make me something for my birthday! She's a sweetie. 

Isn't it just too cute? I love using it!! It makes me smile every time I look at it. 

Happy Stitching!

Grammy

Dress Form Pincushion and Pins

For Christmas, my friend, Judy gave me a wonderful gift. It's both very cute and very practical. She said she wanted to make me pins to use for marking my quilt blocks and rows and then decided to find a cute pincushion to put them in. She found this one at JoAnn's and knew that I would love it! And I do!!

What a thoughtful gift! The pins are all color coded and stuck into the pin cushion in numerical or alphabetical order. 

So, now when I have my blocks on my design wall and I need to take them down to stitch them, I can put pins in them before I move them and nothing is ever out of order. I can also mark my rows so that later when I am sewing them together I am able to keep them in the same position. 

To make the pins, Judy started with pearl head straight pins, alphabet and number beads, small crystal beads and crimp beads. For each set she added an alphabet bead, a crystal bead and then a crimp bead (you find crimp beads in the jewelry making section of your local craft store. The purpose of the crimp bead is to squeeze it closed around the pin, so that the other beads do not fall off.) You can add your beads in any order you prefer. 

I have a quilt on my design wall that is set on point and I have already put my number beads to good use keeping my rows straight. 

This pincushion and these pins are going to get a LOT of use. And I'm going to think of Judy every time I do. 

Happy quilting.....and pinnning,

Grammy

Annie's Mice

My friend, Anne, has so much talent! She is an awesome quilter and her needleturn applique is so fine that it will bring tears to your eyes. Her quilts are as beautiful as any I have ever seen at a quilt show. 

And now she has decided to try her hand at needle-felting. She is having a blast and making the cutest mice. She told me that they just take on their personality as she is making each each one. And they tell her what their name is too. :) I have shown you pics of them in the past, but I am going to show them again in case you missed them.

In September she made her first mouse for Tisha for her birthday. This little mouse's name is "Stitch" and now he lives across the Atlantic in England. He sits on an old red tomato pin cushion which is inside of an old tin canning jar lid. Stitch is holding the cutest little bitty basket filled with a quilter's necessities. 

In October Pam got a mouse for her birthday. Her name is "Sewjourner" and she also has a basket with a pin cushion and other sewing supplies. Sewjourner is a darker grey with a light grey belly. 

Here is "Jingle". He is white-a Christmas mouse-and he is MINE! Isn't he so cute? I got him from Anne last week when we went to visit Pam. I think he is going to sit on a branch of my Christmas tree while it is up, but he will not be packed away with the other decorations after the holidays. He will be with me in my quilt room. 

I sure couldn't pack that cute face away! Look at those eyes and that little pink nose. Jingle makes me smile when I look at him.

Anne included a card with Jingle. He is definitely one of a kind. 

Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way........Welcome to my home, Jingle. It's so fun to have you here :)

Happy Quilting!!

Wool Projects

Tisha's birthday was an opportunity to bring out the wool for a fun project. Tisha loves crows-not sure what draws her to them, but she is attracted to every one she sees. I saw a really cute crow pincushion in a quilt shop and I bought the Need'l Love Summer Spirit Threads book for the pattern. The pincushion calls for a glass candle holder to be used as the base, but I wanted something more prim. On a trip to an antique mall, Anne found the perfect old black wooden candlestick for me to use. 

Tisha was tickled with her gift and she named him Aiken (because we were in Aiken, SC when Anne found the candlestick).

Anne has been doing some needle felting lately--she is so talented! She made Tisha this absolutely adorable grey wool mouse for her birthday. His name is Stitch :)