A Wedding Finish

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
-Les Brown

Five Mischievous Monkeys

{l to r: Grasshopper, Mantis, Lizard Boy,

Cap'n Underpants and Roly Poly Bug}

Two Hot Mamas

{Julie & Lorelei}

And One Sleeping Mouse

{Mouse and his dad}

Make eight more finishes for July.

Thank goodness for in-store sales and 50% off coupons.

It's been a long day. It's been a long week. I'll be back on Monday with lots of details.

Fleece Blanket and Appliquéd Onesie

Babies are such a nice way to start people. -Don Herrold

Mr. Bug's sister and her husband are expecting their sixth baby. Some of her neighbors had a shower for her last night and so I threw this together for her yesterday afternoon. I was only a little late getting to the shower.

These blankets are really fast and fun to make. I got the fleece a while ago and I'm pretty sure it was on sale for $2 a yard {I love a bargain like that even more than I love a 50% off coupon }. This piece was about 1⅓ yards, so squared it up and then cut it down the middle to make two blankets {I'll finish the other one later}. The finished size is 32ish" x 47ish". When I've made these before, I always got a yard and then cut the width to 45" {finished size 36" x 45"} because that is how far one package of the Satin Blanket Binding will go. The shape of this one is a little odd, but still very useable, so I think I may do this size again. It is less waste this way.

The appliquéd onesie was inspired by the cute work Little Miss Shabby did on a pillow. I've done a couple of other things using this free motion style of appliqué and really like it. It is fast and fun too.

This means two more finishes for July!

Abbey Bag Giveaway Winner

To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving. -Max Beerbohm

Today is the day to announce the winner of my giveaway. This was so fun for me and I am truly overwhelmed by the wonderful response! 68 individuals entered and every single comment was so kind and supportive. Bloggers are wonderful! I honestly wish that I had an Abbey Bag pincushion for every single one of you. You all know I only have one to give away, right? Because that is causing me a bit of anxiety. Well, anyway, noon is approaching, so I'd better get to it. Thank you to everyone who entered. The winner is . . .

Anna of Quiltmom's Journey!

What a nice giveaway- I love things that are handmade and I think the combo of a pincushion and bag for threads is very cute.
I saw your giveaway on Barb's blog. It is always nice to meet new to me bloggers- congratulations on reaching 200 posts.
Regards from a Western Canadian quilter,
Anna

Anna, I think you owe Barb a finder's fee of some sort .

Again, thank you to everyone who entered. If you would like to make your own, this is the pattern I used. It was pretty fast and easy peasy. I tweaked a couple of things, so here are my notes. If you have other questions, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

• I think my favorite part about these are the covered buttons on the top. They are so stinkin' cute and really fun to make! Sewing them on is the tricky part because you can't go easily through the shank on the back more than one time and keep the stitches tight. To solve this problem, I used five strands of thread on my really long needle {the 6" one, so it had a pretty big eye}, doubled it over {so I had ten strands} and went up through the pin cushion from the bottom, through the button shank and then back down through the pin cushion, pulling the threads tight and tying it in a square knot at the bottom. I figured that ought to hold.
• I used crushed walnut shells to fill the pincushions. It makes them nice and heavy and they keep their shape well. The bag of walnut shells I bought was enough to make five pincushions and I think I have enough left to make at least three more. The pattern suggests emery sand as an alternate filling, which is supposed to keep pins sharp. In my research I discovered that emery sand isn't really necessary because pins and needles today are plated and they don't rust or get dull like the old ones. In fact, emery sand is more likely to dull these new-fangled pins and needles.
• The instructions call for fusible fleece. I had a hard time translating that in my head to fusible batting, so I bought Pellon Peltex 71F. It was really stiff, which gave a nice shape to the flowers, but it made the bag stand at attention instead of being all puffy and cute. Once I figured out what I was doing, I stuck with the Peltex for the flower, but used a bit of Warm and Natural in the bag itself and just used a walking foot for stitching up that part {using what I had on hand instead of hunting down some fusible batting}.
• The instructions said to glue the pincushion to the little flower it sits on and also to glue the bag to the connector strip that attaches it to the flower. I wasn't sold on that idea, so I stitched the connector strip to the inside of the bag before I sewed the band around the top. I also sewed it on the bottom of the flower and then hand stitched the pincushion onto the flower. I thought that would be more secure and hold up better.
• The instructions call for rubberized shelf liner. This is another one that I had a hard time translating in my brain. I bought a stiff, plastic shelf liner thinking that it went in the bottom of the bag {between the liner and the outside} and that is what made the bag all puffy and open and cute. After I finished the first one, I realized that what they really wanted was the no-skid grip-pad kind of shelf liner. {Another der moment. I really did read through the instructions before I started collecting supplies}. I used glue to attach it to the bottom of the flower, covering up the stitches holding the pin cushion on and the end of the connector strip, finishing everything off nicely.

Snowball Night: Week 9

If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done.
-Unknown
. . . We interrupt this regularly scheduled Snowball Night update with the following announcement. . .
Owing to the fact that I need to make this:

into six little vests for my sister's wedding on Saturday, I haven't started work on my second snowball quilt. I'm itching to get to it though, along with several other neglected projects.

I've made pretty good progress on the vests and hope to have them finished tomorrow afternoon because I have the crazy idea in my head that I want to make skirts for my sister and me {my twin-ten-years-younger is the matron of honor, so she gets a dress already and obviously the sister getting married will be the one in the big white dress, so there are two of us who aren't getting new clothes for the party. And my brother's wife, who is hugely pregnant also isn't getting something new, so I'm thinking of making her something too. I know. My OCD is showing.}.

All laid out like this, they are looking a little Osmondesque. Some rhinestones and a few singing lessons and we could take it on the road.

Another Zucchini Recipe

Zucchini season is in full-swing. So, I'm busting out my favorite recipes. I shared my Meatloaf recipe a while ago {mmm, I think it is time for some meatloaf again!} and Italian Chicken Pasta Toss just last week {that was so good!}. I'll be Googling for some other tasty zucchini recipes and will share them as I make them. Today's recipe is another favorite and is so easy to put together.

Two-Bean Chicken Chili
1 lb. chicken
1 medium zucchini, coarsley chopped
1 {15 oz.} can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 {15 oz.} can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 {9 oz.} can corn, drained
2 {15 oz. each} cans chicken broth, or 4 cups water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes {not dairy-free}

1 {16 oz.} jar {or 2 cups} mild thick and chunky salsa
1 {8 oz.} can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1½ tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream
Tortilla Chips

• Heat oven to 350˚. Place chicken in a small baking dish, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, cover and bake for 35 minutes. When chicken has finished baking, wrap in foil and refrigerate until completely cooled. Shred chicken.
• In a 4-quart stock pot, combine chicken, zucchini, black beans, pinto beans, corn, chicken broth, salsa, tomato sauce, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve topped with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Serves 6

Notes:
• I think that chili always tastes better the next day, so I make this one the night before, heat it through and then refrigerate, simmering for 30 minutes before serving the next day.

Sabbath Songs: Firm in the Faith

Firm in the faith
Anchored in truth
Solid in all that I do
No turning away
No shadow of doubt
No storm has the power
To drag me down
I'm a witness in these latter days
And I'm standing firm in the faith.
-Jenny Phillips and Tyler Castleton, Firm in the Faith

If you have read my blog for any amount of time you'll know that I am a dyed in the wool; true blue, through and through Mormon. 'Mormon' is a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because of our belief in The Book of Mormon, a companion volume of scripture to The Bible.

{Editor's Note: I have pondered long and hard about how and if I should tell this next little bit about myself because it involves not only my personal beliefs, but the actions and choices of another person, whose story is his own and perhaps I haven't a right to tell. But our two stories are intertwined and it is part of what makes me who I am. I want to tell the part of the story that is mine. I hope I can give a fair representation of my perspecitve while respecting the privacy of my other half.}

Mr. Bug and I were both born and raised as members of the LDS faith. We were married in a religious ceremony and attended church regularly for the first few years of our marriage. About the time that I became pregnant with Grasshopper, Mr. Bug's church attendance began to decline and over the 18 months after Grasshopper was born, it became non-existent. During this time I struggled with myself; with the choice Mr. Bug had made and whether or not I should continue attending church alone. It was tough for me, something I had never expected. I was really uncertain of how I should proceed until one Sunday that the three of us went to McDonald's for dinner {Editor's Note: members of the Church are strongly encouraged to make Sunday a special day, different from the rest by not shopping, eating out, working or participating in activities that cause others to work; in short a day to rest from all labors and remember God, so this infraction was a pretty big revelation for me of how things were and where I was headed.}. I came to the conclusion that no matter how hard it was, I needed to do what I knew in my heart was right.

It's been a hard line to walk, trying to balance respect for Mr. Bug's choice {though sometimes I don't respect it very much} with my desire to continue to attend church {and everything else that goes with it}. When the Little Bugs were really little, it felt like Sacrament Meeting {LDS-speak for a congregational worship service} was a three-ring circus with me as ringmaster and my Little Bugs as the main attraction {it still feels that way sometimes}. And it is hard to explain to the Little Bugs why they have to go to church instead of staying home with dad {they don't get a choice about whether or not they'll take a bath either; when you're a kid sometimes that's just the way it is -- you have to do what your parents tell you}. I very often feel pulled in two different directions. Sometimes I wonder if it really is worth all the effort. But there are moments when I know that no matter how hard it is, I'm doing what is right for me and my Little Bugs.

A couple of weeks ago the Young Women {LDS-speak for girls ages 12 to 18} sang this beautiful song, Firm in the Faith by Jenny Phillips and Tyler Castleton in Sacrament Meeting. It was their theme for Girl's Camp this summer. The words touched my heart and strengthened my resolved to keep on doing what I know I should. It was one of those moments when I just knew.

I hope you'll take just a minute to listen to it. It is beautiful.

Degnoming the Garden

I spent a bit of time degnoming the garden today. Man, do they know a lot of excellent swear words.

This is the front garden, also known as the Birdbath Garden {because of the birdbath sitting in it}. It sits right up next to the front porch, so part of it is a shade garden and the rest is sun. I've got a variety of pretty Hostas in the shade part of the garden, but they are too low to be seen from this vantage {also, the snails gnomes have eaten them to shreds this year}. The sidewalk that runs in front of it leads to the front door there, on the right. The perennials have provided a lot of beautiful color this year, for which I am grateful because annuals {which I usually put in all those empty spots along the front} were not in the budget.

Here is a close up of my favorite section of this garden. A picture doesn't really do it justice, but I love how the Black-Eyed Susans and the Shasta Daisies and the red Yarrow all look together as a sort of hedge behind the Sedum and Valerian and the Cotton Candy Cone flowers.

This Little Missy Daylily was a particularly pleasant surprise. This is the third year it has been growing in this garden and if it didn't bloom this year, it never would. I'm so glad it did.

This is the Sidewalk Garden, another garden in the front of my house. It isn't super colorful {also missing the annuals} right now. The Peonies and Irises and Shasta Daisies and Hardy Geraniums have finished blooming and the Old-Fashioned Orange Daylilies are almost done too. Pretty soon some Hardy Gladiolus will bloom, though, and those are pretty spectacular.

Even when it is mostly just greenery like this, it is still pretty amazing to me because it looked like this at the beginning of March.

I don't cut flowers from my gardens and bring them in the house often. I just can't bear to do it. I even have a 'cutting garden' but I just can't bring myself to cut the flowers out. It leaves a hole in the 'bouquet' in the garden, and they just don't look the same in a vase and cutting them makes them die sooner. But, I wanted to show off this pretty vase I got from my Grandparent's house when I was there a while back as it was getting cleaned out to prepare to be sold. So while I was weeding degnoming, I chose some flowers that were really close to being finished anyway {the Allium looks like it only has about 10 minutes left} or were in the back yard and wouldn't detract from the view from the street {yes, I'm a total show-off}. It will make a pretty arrangement on the table for a few days and I won't feel too badly over it. In this bunch: Autumn Red Daylily, Coconut Lime Coneflower {I just love green flowers – they are such a contradiction}, Shasta Daisies, Dianthus and Drumstick Allium.

Here is a close-up of the etching on the vase. Unlike with the china, I don't know if this is old or new, but I really thought it was pretty and the value lies in the fact that it belonged to my grandparents. I may be cutting flowers to bring into the house a little more often, just so I can use this vase.

Snowball Night: One Down, One to Go

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. -Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

I finished my first Rainbow Sherbet snowball quilt. I cut it pretty close, but it was done and wrapped so that I was just on time for my sister's wedding shower yesterday! After I finished the top, I wasn't feeling the love but now that it is all done, I'm really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to get going on it's twin so I can have one too!

I was pretty nervous about the machine quilting. I got lots of support and words of encouragement, which helped a lot.

Michelle's comment was so sweet! She said, stippling is really very forgiving, and your snowball quilt is so bright and cheery that every one will be focusing on the pieced design rather than the stippling. You'll do fine.

P.'s advice was really helpful and something I know to be true. After you do it and leave it for a day or so and look at it again, you'll think, wow, that's not bad!

But my favorite bit of advice was from Mrs. Pyjamas, who said, Close your eyes and start to stipple. If you jump I'll jump.

I only have one question. Am I Jack or Rose?

I got lots done while I was procrastinating the machine quilting, but was running out of time so I just had to get over myself and do it. This is what the stippling looked like with my eyes closed. Pretty craptastic.

After a while, I kind of got into a groove and I wasn't so panicky about how fast that needle was going up and down. I did have a few spots where I overlapped lines a bit, but overall, it wasn't so scary as I thought it would be. The stitching in this block was particularly pretty to me. I guess it was helpful to open my eyes.

I'm not a big gotta-get-the-quilt-in-the-wash-right-after-it-is-finished kind of quilter. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I always take my quilts to the long arm quilter and they come back so beautiful that I hate to lose any of that detail or the smooth pressed look of the fabric in the wash. But my machine has some malfunction and I got a bit of machine grease in a few spots and so after it was bound, I put it in to wash. I figured that eventually it was going to have to be washed anyway, and so it might as well be now. That way my sister wouldn't see how different it was after it came out of the wash – washed would be the only way she ever saw it. As I was putting it into the machine, all I could think was, do you know how many hours I spent starching and pressing this thing? But as it turns out I loved how this particular quilt came out. It was all bumpy and wrinkly and cozy and soft and all of the quilting mistakes were hidden. I think that was my favorite part.

And this is my favorite part of the quilt, the baby snowballs on the back. As I was working on them I wondered if it was worth all the trouble, but I totally love how they came out.

My sister was so cute when I gave it to her. She said, I love blankets!

Here's another shot of her with the quilt. Cute, no? {The girl, not the quilt.} My instincts in the beginning were right about making two of these quilts. I feel like something is missing today and then I remember it is the quilt. I totally want it back {despite my lukewarm feelings towards it after the top was finished}. It's a good thing that I have another one all cut out and waiting for me to work on.

It was really fun to try something new with the artsy shots of the quilt. They are much more interesting to look at than a full shot of the quilt hanging on my fence. But admit it. You really want to know what the whole thing looks like. Don't worry. I've got you covered. The finished size is 51½-ish" x 68-ish". I measured it before I washed it and it shrank more in the width than the length. I thought that was interesting.

For some really amazing other finishes this week, click on the buttons below.

My 200th Blog Post: An Abbey Bag Giveaway

I've only been blogging for six months, but in that short time I've noticed that bloggers love two things: readers and giveaways. I've also noticed that bloggers will do almost anything to get new readers {like give away free stuff} and to win the free stuff other bloggers are giving away to get more readers {like follow a new blog and tell all their readers about it}. I've also noticed that giveaways sometimes coincide with special occasions, like post 100 or a blog-iversary or a certain number of followers.

My 100th post came really fast and I wasn't ready for a giveaway. At the time, I hinted at a bribe-new-readers type of giveaway at some random post like 137, but that came and went and so did 164. In the meantime I gave away some milk glass serving plates of my grandmother's and some sleep masks for National Pink Day. But those weren't serious attempts at luring in new readers. Those were just for fun.

About the time that I hit post 187 I realized that if I wanted to do a giveaway for a special blogging event, I'd better hurry and get it together because post 200 was just around the corner. I've actually been planning to make this fun little goodie since I realized that you could bribe entice people to follow your blog. I've just been waiting for the right time to do it. That day has finally arrived. Today is my 200th blog post. Coincidentally, today is also the day that Mr. Bug and I had our first date 14 years ago, so it is a doubly good day to have a giveaway.

Without further ado, I present to you my 200th Post Giveaway. I'm giving away this cute little Abbey Bag pincushion, specially made by me. {There are more specifics about the pincushion here.}

Here's how my giveaway works:
Preamble: This pincushion is very girlie. The fabric has women on it saying things like, I got a sewing machine for my husband. Good trade, huh? and I told him it was unwise to make me choose between him and my fabrics . . . I will miss him though. I know that there are men who to like quilt {I follow several of your blogs} and so not to exclude the men, in the event that one of our quilting brothers enters and wins my giveaway, I will make a pincushion in more masculine colors. Keep in mind, the pincushion is gathered for cuteness and sits on top of a flower {which can't be left off because of the way the whole thing is put together} and the bag is all puffy and cute. So, it is still going to come out looking pretty, well, girlie. But I've turned this over in my mind quite a bit and that is the best solution I can come up with.

You do not have to have a Blogger account or blog to enter my giveaway. However, if you are using the anonymous posting option, please leave your first name and e-mail address in the following form: address @ domain name (dot) com. Anonymous posts with no contact information will be deleted.

The giveaway will be open until 11:59 pm {MDST} on Tuesday, July 27. I'll close the comments at that time and draw and post the winner by noon {MDST} on Wednesday, July 28.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Each person is allowed up to four entries.

1. Comment: leave a comment on this post. You can comment about anything {the weather, your favorite sports team, your kids, how you got engaged} but if you're stuck for something to say, I'd love to hear about your favorite sewing project. Leave me a link and I'll check it out.

2. Following: If you're already a follower of my blog, leave me a comment saying so. If you're new, become a follower of my blog {scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to find it} and then leave me a comment. {Editor's Note: If you're new here, please have a look around before you commit to following me just for a chance to win a pincushion. Read some of my other posts, know that I'm a little weird, I tend to ramble on, I'm not always super funny and although I try to keep religion contained to my Sunday posts sometimes it leaks out on other days. It is just who I am. And sharing who I am is part of my blogging process.}

3. Blog: Blog about my giveaway and then leave a comment with a link to your post. I'll come and check you out!

4. Button: Add my little button {thank you, Iris!} to your sidebar and then leave a comment with a link to your blog. If you already have my button, let me know in a comment.



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Good luck and let the fun begin!

Assault With A Deadly Vegetable

Mr. Bug was in the Navy, stationed on the East Coast, for six years before we met. The summer after we were married, an old Navy friend and his wife came out west to visit us and see the sites. Our first stop was the State Capitol Building. As we parked and exited the car, Mr. Bug's Navy friend noticed that the windows were down a crack {after all it is the desert here} and that we left the doors unlocked. He voiced concerns about leaving the car unlocked while we were away. We told them that Utah was a friendly place with a low crime rate and assured him that the car would be fine during our absence. As we predicted, when we returned from our tour of the Capitol several hours later, all was well.

Our site seeing continued throughout the week, with places like the Zoo, Red Butte Gardens, Temple Square, the Heber Creeper, and Clark Planetarium. Each time we left the car, our friends would become anxious. Sometimes they would ask if we shouldn't lock the car. Surely, they said, we've been lucky so far. But it would be unwise to continue to press our luck. We explained that we always left the car unlocked – that everyone leaves their cars unlocked – always to find everything safe when we returned.

On Sunday we invited them to come to church with us. As they were not members of the LDS Faith, they thought it would be interesting to attend our services to see what they were like. We arrived at the church and Mr. Bug found us a nice shady spot to park. Then he checked to make sure all the windows were up, locked the doors and set the alarm. Our friends' surprise was apparent as they asked, we've been site seeing all over the city and left the car unlocked in some pretty risky parking lots. Why, of all places, are you locking it now in the church parking lot? We told them that if we didn't, when we got out of church our car would be full of zucchini.

Gardening season is in full-swing here in Utah and almost everyone grows a produce garden. It's an off day when someone doesn't ask you if you'd like a zucchini or some tomatoes. I didn't do any veggies this year, but just look at these beautiful Ruby Raspberries I picked from my very own back yard. They are amazingly sweet and delicious; one of summer's true delights.

And yesterday morning I found a grocery sack of fresh-from-the-garden peas hanging on the front door. There was a note attached that said simply, enjoy! After church I snapped the pods open and LadyBug and Grasshopper each took a turn popping the peas out. We cooked some up to go with our supper last night and they were so sweet. I wish I knew who left them so that I could thank them and see if they had more they wanted to give away. I saved a few for one of my favorite meals, made even better by fresh summertime produce.

Italian Chicken Pasta Toss

6 oz. mini bow tie pasta {uncooked}
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
½ lb. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
¼ cup chopped onion
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow {or red} bell pepper, cut into strips
½ cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
¼ cup {1 oz.} parmesan cheese, grated {omit for dairy-free}

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a stir-fry skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chicken to the heated oil in the skillet. Stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add onion, zucchini, bell pepper, peas, salt and Italian seasoning; stir-fry 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes; heat 1 to 2 minutes, stirring gently until heated through. Remove from heat. Stir in warm pasta. Serve immediately topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 6

For beautiful {and fast and easy} watermelon chunks, check out this tutorial.

Sunday Sermons: How Do I Love Thee?

"How do I love thee?" Not, "when do I love thee?" nor "where do I love thee?' nor "why do I love thee?" nor "why don't you love me?" but rather, how. -Jeffrey R. Holland

More Abbey Bag Finishes: Housework Whenever

Housework whenever, quilting forever!
-The Quilters' Motto

A long time ago {like last September}, my cute friend Angie sent me a fat quarter of the sassiest and most appropriate fabric ever. The women printed on the fabric say lots of funny {and sometimes snarky things} like:

• Happiness is relaxing after the shop hop.
• I told him it was unwise to make me choose between him and my fabrics. I will miss him though.
• Said over a sink of soapy dish water: Will the glamour never end?
• Dating? I’d rather be sewing!
• If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.
• I sent my son to college so I could keep my fabric in his room . . . expensive storage.
• If you can’t say something nice, come sit next to me.
• I got a sewing machine for my husband! Good trade, huh?
• When I learned to sew, I forgot how to cook!
• If I sit here long enough maybe they will fix their own dinner!

And my personal favorite
• A clean house is the sign of a broken sewing machine.

I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. It was perfect for an Abbey Bag! So I ordered some coordinates on-line {I hate to pay shipping, but the shops around here didn't have any} and started making plans. When my fabric arrived, I discovered I had enough for three Abbey Bags, so I got them all cut out and then they sat. And they sat. And they sat. Until this week when I have a pressing project that I'm procrastinating strategically planning. While I was procrastinating planning, I decided to occupy my hands and so I set to work and got these cute Abbey Bags done. Hooray! Three more July finishes!

I gave one to my mom for her birthday {Happy Birthday Mom! I ♥ you!}! and that left me with two.

Then I sent one to my cute friend, Wanda, because it was her birthday too. That left me with one. It was supposed to be for me, but I changed my mind and made mine out of Frolic instead. I wonder what I'll do with this one? {Hmmmm . . . my 200th blog post is coming up next week (Tuesday-ish) which may or may not involve a giveaway. You know bloggers and ‘events’ and giveaways. I’m just saying.}

These little Abbey Bag pincushions are so fun to make. I love mine and I think they make really great gifts! Here are a few notes on them.

• I think my favorite part about these are the covered buttons on the top. They are so stinkin' cute and really fun to make! Sewing them on is the tricky part because you can't go easily through the shank on the back more than one time and keep the stitches tight. To solve this problem, I used five strands of thread on my really long needle {the 6" one, so it had a pretty big eye}, doubled it over {so I had ten strands} and went up through the pin cushion from the bottom, through the button shank and then back down through the pin cushion, pulling the threads tight and tying it in a square knot at the bottom. I figured that ought to hold.
• I used crushed walnut shells to fill the pincushions. It makes them nice and heavy and they keep their shape well. The bag of walnut shells I bought was enough to make five pincushions and I think I have enough left to make at least three more. The pattern suggests emery sand as an alternate filling, which is supposed to keep pins sharp. In my research I discovered that emery sand isn't really necessary because pins and needles today are plated and they don't rust or get dull like the old ones. In fact, emery sand is more likely to dull these new-fangled pins and needles.
• The instructions call for fusible fleece. I had a hard time translating that in my head to fusible batting, so I bought Pellon Peltex 71F. It was really stiff, which gave a nice shape to the flowers, but it made the bag stand at attention {sorry, Iris. Yours was the guinea pig. If you want to send it back to me, I'll fix it. xo -E} instead of being all puffy and cute. Once I figured out what I was doing, I stuck with the Peltex for the flower, but used a bit of Warm and Natural in the bag itself and just used a walking foot for stitching up that part {using what I had on hand instead of hunting down some fusible batting}.
• The instructions said to glue the pincushion to the little flower it sits on and also to glue the bag to the connector strip that attaches it to the flower. I wasn't sold on that idea, so I stitched the connector strip to the inside of the bag before I sewed the band around the top. I also sewed it on the bottom of the flower and then hand stitched the pincushion onto the flower. I thought that would be more secure and hold up better.
• The instructions call for rubberized shelf liner. This is another one that I had a hard time translating in my brain. I bought a stiff, plastic shelf liner thinking that it went in the bottom of the bag {between the liner and the outside} and that is what made the bag all puffy and open and cute. After I finished the first one, I realized that what they really wanted was the no-skid grip-pad kind of shelf liner. {Another der moment. I really did read through the instructions before I started collecting supplies}. I used glue to attach it to the bottom of the flower, covering up the stitches holding the pin cushion on and the end of the connector strip, finishing everything off nicely.

For some really amazing other finishes this week, click on the buttons below.