My First Pincushion

Pincushion made for my mom using tutorial at ivoryblushroses.blogspot.com

This gift idea was inspired by Lisa B.'s Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014 (CQJP 2014) projects.  She has made a pincushion each month this year, and they are just gorgeous!

On her blog, ivoryblushroses.blogspot.com, Lisa has a tutorial where she generously shares directions on creating a crazy quilted pincushion.  I have a long way to go to aspire to the works of art she creates, but I had fun creating this for my mom.

Embellished pincushion "block" for my mom.

My mother loves pink.  In fact, Mutt, my 14-year-old son (the nickname is his choice!) set a rule for any gifts we give my mother.  They need to be pink, soft and fluffy.  This qualified for his guidelines.

Unfortunately, the pink cotton fabrics are the only ones that are practical to use as a pincushion, as the cream and white fabrics are not horribly forgiving.  Luckily, my mom decided this was just too pretty to use.  She plans to keep it near her sewing machine to admire when she sews.

2 curved rows of linked chain stitch with detached chain stitch flowers.

Seam Close Up

The stitches were all created with EdMar flosses in various shades of pinks.  Pink pearl beads, white pearl beads, and pale pink seed beads dressed the seams up a bit. (Click on any photo to see a larger image.)

Seam created with chain stitch and straight stitch combination.

Unless beads are added as part of the stitch, I always attach each bead individually.  (I found wrapping the floss through 3 times secures them firmly in place and three knots in the back keeps the single strand of floss from pulling through.)  One of the pearl beads above ended up too close to my seam, so I was able to snip it off without worrying about losing any of the other beads.  (Bonus!)

Bullion-stitched roses, buttons and pearl beads within stem-stitched ovals.

The seam above was the most time consuming.  I am still a novice with THAT stitch (a.k.a. bullion stitch.) In spite of my imperfections, I love bullion-stitched roses.  I received the two pink buttons in a birthday package my husband ordered for me at eveningstardesigns.net.  (They are still having a close-out sale as of the date of this post - and I am not affiliated with their shop.)

Pincushion - view from the wheel-seam side.

Pincushion - view from the bullion rose side.

As you can see, the pincushion is not perfectly round.  Thankfully, my mom loved it anyway!

If you are interested in making a pincushion, Lisa's tutorial is great!

If you have made a pincushion, I would love to see it.  Feel free to leave a link to one in your blog or on your Flickr account.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Renee