Better Late Than Never

I've been very neglect in reporting my swap stuff and for that I am sorry. Blogging has been a bit more than I can handle lately but I'm really trying to remedy that. My blog partner was Laura and my package was beyond wonderful...

The cutest pin cushion ever ~ a doughnut with no calories. It's so cute I don't want to put pins in it. Also an embarrassing amount of cute Christmas fabric, not to mention the cute ribbons and such. Thank you so much Laura.

I didn't take a pic of the whole package I sent Laura but I did send her this Octopus pin cushion. It wasn't what I had originally intended but my first attempt didn't work very well so I ended up scrapping it and I think this turned out much better.

And if I hadn't been spoiled enough Jill (who knows my love of all things owl ~ sent me this amazing pin cushion and hanging owl.  I can't tell you how much I love them.  I think of Jill every time I look at them and it makes me smile.  Thanks to our hostess with the mostess!

Big thank you to Gayle....

I recieved this lovely package from Gayle. The pincushion is so pretty. My hubby had put the package up for me while I was out of town and forgot where he put it. We just found it. Thank you Gayle and your replacement package is on the way. Hubby was suppose to mail and doesn't remember whar happened to the first package.

Pincushion Swap

This is the pincushion I made for Ruth for the pincushion swap. It is a  machine embroidered Biscornu.

Pincushions Sent

By now I think most of the pincushions are on their way and things are coming to an end with our pincushion swap. I hope you had a good time with this swap. I know I did! In fact I had so much fun that I can't wait to show what I made for my partners.

My first partner Shawnee likes matroyshkas. I'm a fan of matroyshkas too! I wanted to make a set of nesting doll pincushions that would fit inside each other, but couldn't figure out how to do that with fabric. Instead I made her a matroyshka pincushion with a matching matroyshka button can. They don't nest but since matroyshkas come in sets I thought this pincushion would need a friend.

I also created this wooden shoe pincushion for a special friend. I had a pair of these cute little shoes until our adorable but completely naughty puppy knocked one off my desk and proceeded to chew up the toe. Sorry friend, thanks to Chunk, you'll only be getting one wooden shoe!

Lastly, I just mailed this pincushion off to my second partner today. Donna and I partnered up late so we moved our ship date back into November. It won't arrive in California until Wednesday but I was too excited to wait to share pictures. I just love how this pincushion turned out. Donna loves vintage items and all things tea so I made this saltbox house landscape pincushion for her and put it this vintage container. I'm not sure if it's a cup, a sugar bowl or something else. I originally bought it at a thrift shop for myself because I love blue willow dishes. I knew it would make a great landscape pincushion. I used bits of wool for the base and the house. The trees are wool scraps attached to pins so they can be moved if Donna wants to re-landscape. This was my original inspiration. http://www.etsy.com/listing/25453698/pin-cushion-pattern-pdf-tiny-world Of course true to my form I thought I could figure out how to make it on my own and didn't purchase the pattern. Though in hindsight, I'm sure the pattern would have made it much easier to create. But where's the fun in that?

With all this pincushion fun, I think making pincushions could become my new hobby. I had so many ideas and not enough time to try them all, so I see some more pincushion creations in my future. I also see another swap in the future for us. Check back after the holidays for our next swap. I'm thinking owls.

Ladybugs n boys

I got the CUTEST pincushion from Melinda!

This is Lila/Lyle. The ladybug with an identity crisis! Isn't she/he precious!?



My sweet pincushion came complete with a little story of the drama of not knowing your gender.....poor Lila is ACTUALLY a LYLE!

Melinda also made some funky polka dotted pins and the most perfectly delicious eyeball headband for me for Halloween! Oh yes, I WILL be wearing that this week!

Thank you Melinda!

A chicken!

If you know me, You know I have a thing for chickens..I am now the proud owner of Henrietta created by Val
























She is a sassy little thing with her fancy tail feathers going on. I love her so much...Almost too much to stick pins in her.

Val also sent me the cutest tin with sewing notions in it, which I already have been using and a crocheted eyeball....I smile everytime I look at it...I am going to make a loop and hang it on my enchanted tree...An eyeball could be enchanted right? Maybe it came from a gnome....


















So where is everyone's pincushions???????? C'mon and show and tell....and maybe even brag just a little.

Felt Pincushions

Those of you who know me, know that I love to use felt and recycled felted wool for my sewing projects. Pincushions are no exception. This summer I made three pincushions from felt or felted wool.

I made this Eiffel Tower pincushion for my nephew. He loves the Eiffel Tower and needed a cheer up this summer. He likes to sew with me so he picked out the project and I made it. My inspiration was this pincushion. Unfortunately it wasn't a downloadable pattern and we were in a hurry. We couldn't wait for the pattern to be mailed, so I had to improvise and make my own. It's not as good as the original, but my nephew liked it so that's what counts.

I also made this little froggy pincushion for my August YOE (Year of Enchantment) partner. I added magnets to the bottom so it would stick on the little metal tin. I found the pattern for this pincushion in a children's sewing book and tweaked it a bit.
Before that, for the YOE July Theme, I made a mermaid pincushion for Kerry. Here are shots of the front and back of the mermaid pincushion.

All that pincushion fun this summer made me want to host this pincushion swap. Now that the swap has started, I have a bunch of ideas(not all of them involve felt or felted wool.) I need to narrow my ideas down and start creating. It's going to be fun! I hope you think so too. So let the pincushion making begin. Have fun, be creative and most of all enjoy making your pincushion. I know I will!

Pincushion Patterns and Tutorials

Here are some pincushion patterns and tutorials. I thought these might provide some inspiration and get your creative juices flowing. I can't wait to see what you all create!

http://uklassinus.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-all-gone-pear-shaped.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/267628/teacup-pincushions?autonomy_kw=pincushion

http://ellisonlane.blogspot.com/2011/05/scrappy-pincushion-tutorial-lapel-stick.html

http://veryberryhandmade.co.uk/2011/05/30/quick-pieced-pincushion-tutorial/

http://www.craftpassion.com/2010/04/sewing-tutorial-turtle-pincushion-with-pattern.html

http://natsprat.blogspot.com/2011/04/cupcake-pin-cushion-tutorial.html

http://www.stamps-and-stitches.com/2010/01/cupcake-pincushion-tutorial.html

http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/HBSquareDeal.pdf

For more pincushion ideas, check out these PDFs and links:

http://lilatuellerdesigns.com/pdf_files/LilaTuellerDesigns-MushroomPincushions.pdf

http://www.thediydish.com/promo/theDIYdish_Season3_Ep1_BirdPinCushion.pdf

http://www.thediydish.com/promo/theDIYdish_OwlPinCushion.pdf

http://thelongthread.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/mouse-pincushion-revised-instructions.pdf

http://tipnut.com/pincushion-patterns/

Pincushion Partners

Pincushion partner information has been e-mailed to everyone. Please take a minute to double check and make sure I paired everyone up correctly. If I made a mistake let me know. Partner assignments are below:

Val & Melinda

Barb & Laura

Ruth & Gayle

Kerry & Joanna

Shawnee & Jill

Don't forget to e-mail me to confirm you got your partner information. I'll send blog invitations out tonight so you can post inspirations, thoughts and pincushion goodness. Thanks for participating in the swap!!!

Crafty Bits Swap Spot Pincushion Swap

Yes, it's a pincushion Swap!

Sign Ups:

Sign Ups will start today and end Saturday September 24 @ 11pm.

Mail Deadline:

Mail by no later than Monday October 24th.

You must use tracking and delivery confirmation if mailing with-in the US. Please send me the tracking number.

Swap Details:

Swappers of all skill levels are invited but you must have a blog to join. This swap is open internationally. If you prefer to swap in the US only please be sure to let me know. This will be a partner to partner swap so feel free to contact your partner and make friends!

What we're swapping: This is a pincushion swap so we are swapping:

1. Pincushion of your choice. There is no specific theme for your pincushion. Pincushions can be hand stitched or machine sewn but should be handcrafted not purchased. Be creative, have fun, and create something that you would love to receive!

2. Two sewing bobbles/goodies to go along with your pincushion package.

Cost:

This is meant to be a fun and inexpensive swap so let's keep the expense between $5 and $10. This price includes your materials for making the pincushion and your two sewing bobbles/goodies. (Costs of postage/shipping is not included in the amount.)

Other Details:

Pincushion materials: Any combination of materials and mediums may be used to create your pincushion. For example assorted fabric types, yarns, recycled wool, batting, recycled materials, plastic, wood, glass, tin, or ceramic containers. You name it and with a little creativity it can probably be made into a pincushion.

Pincushion Filling: When it comes to filling your pincushion, there are lots of available fillings. Cotton, polyester, wool fabric, yarn, sawdust, crushed walnut shells, sand and/or rice could be used. Some swappers may be sensitive to some of these filling materials. If you have allergies to anything that could be potentially used as a filling please let me know. I want you to to have a usable pincushion that won't send you to the emergency room in anaphylactic shock! Along these same lines when you mail your pincushion please let your partner know the materials you used when making and stuffing your pincushion.

Remember - be creative, have fun, and create something that you would love to receive! Need some inspiration? Ideas for all kinds of pincushions can be found all over the internet. Check out Google images, ETSY, Flickr, Yahoo images, etc. for ideas. Need a pincushion tutorial? In the coming weeks I'll be posting links for some great pincushion tutorials.

Want to sign up???

Have I talked you into participating yet? Good! Go fill out the form Here to sign up. You must fill out the form on WUFOO to participate. Just leaving me a comment doesn't sign you up(though I do love to read comments so feel free to fill out your WUFOO form then come back and leave a comment!)

Surprise Panda Mail!

I'm so lucky, I have the greatest friends! My friend Barb sent us a panda surprise in the mail! I came home on Friday to discover these Panda screen bags. Just look at them! There was one for my daughter and one for me! What a great surprise! We love them and feel completely spoiled!!! Thank you Barb!

THE PANDA QUEEN ...

aka my daughter - Brittany!!!

Doesn't she look cute .... I know I'm a little biased:-)
THANK YOU McKenna .... she LOVED the package you sent her!!! She sleeps with her sleep mask on every night, and the panda pillow pet is her constant companion at the moment.

Here are the other goodies she got .... a lovely reversible bag (she loves bags), panda stickers, the cutest panda keychain, candy (sorry, it didn't last long enough to make the picture), some cards that McKenna drew .... she is one talented little artist!!! She also got the cutest panda bracelet.... so adorable.
I was also so spoilt .... Jill popped some goodies in the parcel for me (Jill, I was very touched by your thoughtfulness - thank you so very much). I got a couple of balls of yarn, as well as some bindings and trims - oh my I am a happy girl:-)
Jill and McKenna - thank you so much for an incredibly awesome swap. We can't wait for the next one!!!!

Black and White Panda Inspired Swap

A lot of thought went into this package!  A frame for my beloved chihuahuas (too cute!), note cards, cupcake papers, hand made hot pads, sweets for the crabby, a thermal bag for bottles (claimed by my daughter), a really big cloth tote bag (we fought over this and decided to share), and a beautiful apron with extra fabric so I can make pockets to put my chihuahuas in while I cook (you think I am kidding?). 

What a beautiful panda inspired package Jill.  And did I mention that I LOVE MY NEW APRON!!!!!!

Thank Kathy

Kathy and I decided to modify our swap and concentrate more on the black and white theme. I love black and white! Kathy knew I liked tea and sent a mug and saucer, a tea infuser, tea stickers and some of her homemade tea that she sells in her shop. It's been too hot so I've only had iced tea but I can't wait to try this tea! I've admired Kathy's teas when she's shown them on her blog.

Thank you Kathy! Your tea goodies inspired me to finally try making myself a mug rug. I used scraps from a couple of my Panda Swap projects. I already brought this one to school so now I need to make a new one for home.

Black and White and Panda All Over

What's Black and white and panda all over? Nature Girl's package from Brittany! Look the box was wrapped and stamped with pandas. She was literally squealing with delight as she opened the package.

She's one happy girl, who loves everything. She wore the night gown for bed the first night and has slept with her panda pillow every night since it arrived. I can't blame her for liking this package, it's a perfect package for her with stickers, colored pencils and water color paper. We just bought water color pencils too. She was very excited about the panda cookies. We sent them to our partners but didn't buy any for ourselves. She's tested all of the flavors and thinks strawberry is the best.

Nature Girl says, "Thank you very much! I love the pillow and the pajamas and especially the drawing stuff. This is an awesome package!"

Thank you Brittany!

Panda Goodies

Here are the panda goodies Nature Girl and I sent to Olivia. I just had to make a panda softie with recycled wool. We also made a beaded panda necklace for Olivia and a panda keychain.

My favorite panda item was this sleep mask model by Nature Girl. I hope you're having as much fun with the panda swap as we are!

Panda Masterpiece

Nature Girl received her panda package from Melinda and Olivia. She was so excited to get her own swap package! It was filled with black & white & Panda goodies. They sent pajama bottoms with a matching panda headband, watercolor paints, Twizzlers, and an art book.

Just look at this book they altered. Isn't it awesome?!! We think it's a panda masterpiece. The book is full of paper for Nature Girl to draw and paint on. When she saw the book she said "Look it's art." Thanks for sending such an amazing piece of art to her. She LOVES it! This package made her so happy! Thank you! You are very talented ladies!

Package Recieved

Julianne was beyond thrilled to receive her package from Kaela yesterday. So many great goodies. Kaela and her mom made it so special knowing it was Julianne's first swap. She is definitely hooked.

She loved everything from the crochet Panda to the purple boa and the nail polish (in pink,black and white ~ of course).

The picture(s) drawn by Kaela herself and the bookmark. Panda and peace sign necklaces are already being worn. Kaela (and her mom) were sweet in including lots and lots of peace signs which Julianne loves. The details of her name on the basket and her initials on the ribbon were just fabulous.
My favorite was the panda egg timer. Goes well with the panda planter that holds my good luck bamboo plant in the kitchen!

I know I'm forgetting to mention even half of what was in the box ~ there was just so much and both Julianne and I want to thank you so much for making this so special.
Kaela ~ Your box is all taped up and heading to the post office tomorrow!

Black and White Inspiration

Here's a little of our black and white inspiration. Nature Girl and I made these black and white masks using black permanent markers and white masks purchased at a craft store for 35 cents each. Nature Girl started off with flowers on her mask then decided she didn't like it and went to work making her mask black. These masks inspired part of our panda swap goodies for Olivia. We can't share it yet as Olivia hasn't received the package but it should be delivered to Olivia any day now.

Sorry, but can you tell me if this is

Panda-licious?

Panda Swap 2011

Everyone is in the midst of creating and gathering goodies for the Panda swap. The ship date August 16th is still a way off but I've created this place to share the goodies from the swap. That way everyone can enjoy the panda goodness! Feel free to add posts, pictures and comments.