Nose to the Needle

I know!  I know! I've been basically missing in action for many months.  I generally do most of my blogging over at my other blog, "T. in the Burg", so you can catch up there if you like.  I've been busy working at making thread catchers to list in my shop for those looking for pretty and practical Mother's Day gifts.  I have some new fabrics as well as popular favorites.  All are available at my Etsy shop. Curry Bungalow and all include three cute flower pins to jazz up your pincushion.  

My Old Sewing Basket

I have this old sewing basket. It's a little tired and tattered.

I carry my basket with me wherever I go.  I am working on a hexagon quilt, one that involves putting together thousands of tiny pieces.  I sew in the car as The G-Man and I travel from place to place.  I stitch while waiting on our meals at restaurants.  I take my basket with me to meetings and to the Grand-boys games.  .  I stitch, stitch, stitch.

When in the company of other people, my basket holds the power to evoke memories from long ago. So many people want to tell me about the old sewing baskets that they remember.  Their grandmother had one like mine, or maybe their mother had one.  One older gentleman, who observed me and my basket at a restaurant, told me about a book written entirely about Chinese sewing baskets, sort of a compendium for these things.  I think that he knew more about these baskets than I do.  I need that book, I think.

My most favorite part about carrying my basket along with me is when children want to see what I am doing.  I was recently at my grandson's game, and two small girls, little sisters of two of the players, sat themselves next to me on the bleacher seats to watch me sew and to ask many questions. These two little sweet peas were completely captivated by what I was doing.  Although I loved showing and telling them about what I was making, I was sad that they knew nothing about the possibilities that a needle and thread have to offer.

Do little girls these days never see anyone sew and stitch?  I am inclined to bet not.
And that is a sad thing, a very sad thing.

But maybe, just maybe, they will remember my sewing basket and take up the needle and thread themselves one day.

I can hope...

In the Biz

My Favorite!

I am up and running at my Etsy Shop, which is kind of a big deal for me since for the longest time I have been saying that I needed to get my virtual store set up.  I am a professional procrastinator, really!  If one can make procrastination their life's work, I have probably done that.

I started out listing things, old things, that we have around the house.  We love estate and garage sales and have found some fabulous old treasures.  I am able to part with some of these, especially when there is some GREEN associated with their departure.  I have made some seriously good profits on some of my listings.

So, I thought that I would list a few of these things that I have been making for a few years.  I make Thread Catchers and have developed my own design.  I listed a couple of them and they sold almost immediately.  Probably means that I under-priced them.  So I made two more and listed them but with a higher price.  They sold almost immediately.  Now, I have four more to list, again I am upping the price and we'll see how they do.  I would like to think that my designs are so spectacular that they fly off the shelves, so to speak. But I probably just didn't ask enough for them.

Here are a few of the ones that I have already listed.  These things sit on the sewing table and act as little trash bags for threads and cuttings.  The pincushion is detachable for when you just want a pincushion and not the bag.

My next step is to write the pattern and sell it on Etsy.

The pincushion flying solo

Pretty Pat Bravo fabrics

Pincushion topped of with a vintage button.

New Pincushion Design

Dresden Plate Pincushion

This my Dresden Plate Pincushion, made from a design that I had seen on Pinterest.  As soon as I saw it, I knew that I just had to make one for myself.

I had lots of tiny scraps left from cutting hexagons for the quilt that I am making and this project was perfect for using those tiny little pieces of fabric that were not large enough to cut a hexagon.

I used the tutorial found here at Mollie Flanders Makerie for the Dresden piecing.  This tutorial gives a printable template for the necessary pieces.

So I made the tiny Dresden Plate, but wanted the actual pincushion to have some weight and substance to it.  I cut two 6 1/2 inch circles of fabric and sewed them, right sides together, leaving a one inch opening.  I turned the circles right side out and filled with crushed walnut shells, my filling of choice for weighted pincushions, then stitched the opening closed.  The walnut shells have a natural oil that acts as a lubricant for pins and needles. After filling, I wrapped the pincushion with embroidery floss as shown in the photo below.  This step firms up the pincushion and makes it hold it's shape.

Then I sewed the Dresden Plate to the pincushion, added a yo-yo, a vintage button, some cute pins and it was done!

The fabric possibilities here are endless.  I can't wait to make more as gifts for my friends who sew and quilt.