Crafty Bits Swap Spot

Saturday, November 19, 2011

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.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Pincushion Swap

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

Monday, November 7, 2011

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.

Monday, October 24, 2011

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!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

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.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

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!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

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!