a pincushion party!

The kind folks at Connecting Threads and I decided that it would be fun to celebrate the release of my good neighbors fabric with a pincushion party! I've asked a bunch of my friends to participate and several of them said yes! So, every day during the month of September there will be a new pincushion to ooooh and ahhhh over. I think that it's going to be a lot of fun! As you know, I do love a good pincushion!

Today I'm excited to kick off the party! I couldn't make just one...no...that wouldn't do! I made two. And I bet there will be more before the month is through! (Ok, I'll stop. I sound like Dr. Seuss! Haha!) The first pincushion I made is a tiny kaleidoscope block. It was inspired by this quilt in progress, and it features one of my favorite fabrics in the whole line. I can't get enough of those polka dots! (They make good binding, too!) I hand quilted around the triangle shapes and I added a button because my center point was far from perfect. It looks better with the button than without, so it all works out in the end! Hurray!

Just this morning I sewed up another deluxe pincushion! (You can see my first one here.) This adorable pattern is in the book Sew Organized for the Busy Girl by Heidi Staples. I'm pretty smitten with this version as well! It was fun to pick and choose 9 fabrics for the center and I love how the linen lets the bright colors shine! It's so happy!

I get a lot of questions about filling and construction when it comes to pincushions, so I thought I would share a few tips. First off, I almost always quilt my pin cushion top onto a scrap of batting. It's a nice way to add some dimension and depth to the patchwork. It uses up some of the batting scraps that seem to multiply overnight, too! I like to interface the backing fabric with Pellon SF 101. It's a woven interfacing that isn't crispy at all and it adds just the right amount of stability to the fabric, and it prevents the need for a liner of any sort. I like to fill my smaller pincushions-like the kaleidoscope one shown above-with crushed walnut shells, which are sold as lizard litter at larger pet stores. If the pincushion is larger-like the deluxe pincushion-I usually use polyester fiberfill. I have a 9 patch pincushion tutorial here that illustrates the steps visually, if you care to check that out. I hope that answers any pincushion constructions questions you may have!

Here is the entire schedule....I hope you enjoy the party!

Date	Blogger Name	Blog URL
9/1/2015	Amanda Jean	http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/
9/2/2015	Anna	http://www.noodle-head.com/
9/3/2015	Mary	http://maryonlakepulaski.blogspot.com/
9/4/2015	Svetlana	http://sotakhandmade.blogspot.com/
9/5/2015	Debbie	http://www.eschhousequilts.com/
9/6/2015	Holly	http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/
9/7/2015	Carla	http://carla-graceandfavour.blogspot.com/
9/8/2015	Faith	www.FreshLemonsQuilts.com
9/9/2015	Vanessa	http://www.vanessachristenson.com/
9/10/2015	Anna	http://www.thimbleanna.com/
9/11/2015	Krista	http://poppyprintcreates.blogspot.com/
9/12/2015	Erin	http://whynotsew.blogspot.com/
9/13/2015	Lee	http://www.maychappell.com/
9/14/2015	Alex	http://teaginnydesigns.blogspot.com/
9/15/2015	Cheryl	http://naptimequilter.blogspot.com/
9/16/2015	Penny	http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/
9/17/2015	Amy	http://duringquiettime.com/
9/18/2015	Debbie	http://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/
9/19/2015	Anne	http://www.springleafstudios.com/
9/20/2015	Melissa Corry	http://www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/
9/21/2015	Amber	http://www.oneshabbychick.typepad.com/
9/22/2015	Nettie	http://aquiltisnice.blogspot.com/
9/23/2015	Adrianne	http://www.littlebluebell.com/
9/24/2015	Cindy	http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/
9/25/2015	Amy	http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/
9/26/2015	Chase	http://quarterinchmark.blogspot.com/
9/27/2015	Rene	http://www.renecreates.com/
9/28/2015	Erin	http://www.houseonhillroad.com/
9/29/2015	Nicole	http://modernhandcraft.com/
9/30/2015	Teri	http://blog.connectingthreads.com/