A Victorian Pincushion Swap.......

To calm my nerves after the thunderstorms passed through and all the tornado warnings were over, I decided to get started on the pincushion I need to make for the Victorian Pincushion Swap I'm participating in at Crazy About Pincushions (Yahoo Group). I have a vintage pincushion that my mother, Mary, gave me and I am using it for inspiration. It is just a round crazy-quilted pincushion with a pretty doily on top and some beading. It is very firm so I think it must be filled with sawdust. I cut a piece of muslin into a circle that when gathered should form the size I want. Then I got out my box of crazy quilting fabrics and began placing fabrics on the muslin. I don't follow any rules when crazy quilting. I just place the fabrics and trust what pleases my eyes. When I got a look that I liked, I tacked the pieces in place with pins and then started stitching them in place. I usually hand-stitch but I am short on time for this project so I machine-stitched the pieces in place and it looks just fine. Tomorrow I will start doing some embroidery on the piece and then I'll need to find a doily that will look just right on top. When it's all finished, I'll post a picture. Another storm is moving through! I have always loved the sound of rain on the roof but I think that this much rain could only be loved by a duck!!

This project is finished and a tutorial for it will come soon!!

A birthday gift to myself!

I have discovered the joy of blogging and have set this little blog up to tell you all about my pincushions and other small treasures. I love to make things, to sew, work with clay, make miniatures and tiny teddy bears, decorate real eggs, anything creative! To help me pull "my story" together, I'll "chronicle" my collection here. And so, I give this as a birthday gift to myself! Everything I've ever made has a story behind it but I need to write those stories down so now as I create something new, I'll write it's story and along the way, I'll include stories of similar things I've made over the years. But tonight this is all I'll write. It's time to sit back with some stitching and enjoy this last hour of what has been a very good birthday day!!