thimbly things

This past weekend, I opened my JoAnn circular to realize that I had several coupons that were on the brink of expiration. I thought quick. What do I need? What do I really need? With a tiny allowance (and not wanting to spend it all) I headed over and purchased only needles and thread. That was it. No fabric. No yarn. No buttons. Just the basics, which made coming home and emptying my bag of goodies a rather dull experience. But! But then came the inspiration for the evening.

Pincushions=gratification. They’re quick, easy, require very little material, very few tools, and are so small and pretty. And my new sewing instruments became beautiful to me. Shiny, sharp, glistening pins. Ready to take on all manner of crafting.

This little pincushion is based on the pattern in Sew Pretty Homestyle (Thanks, Mom D, for the Christmas present!). This is the first thing I’ve made from it, but believe me, there is more to come. I love how the cushion came out looking very much akin to a mushroom.

(Oh, and remember my thrifting trip from a couple weekends ago? In my grab-bag, I found a little wooden ring which is now the base for this pincushion. How I do love thee, Quality Thrift Store? Let me count the ways…)

I was also inspired by the needlebook pattern in Sew Pretty, but I modified the design and materials and ended up with my own pattern. The one in the book doesn’t use felt or buttons, and it seems larger. I was determined to use my scraps of fabric because I have quite a pile-up in my craft room. So now my pincushion has a matching friend to organize all my fresh, new, beloved needles.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Crafting, Embroidery, Sewing, Thrifting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.