Sunny Side Pincushion and the Good Neighbors Blog Hop

Image via: Connecting Threads

Introducing Good Neighbors, the debut fabric line from my friend, Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts. We're celebrating this fun collection with a pincushion blog hop, a new pincushion a day from different quilting bloggers. If this is your first time to my blog, welcome!!

Good Neighbors is a beautiful collection full of stash-worthy prints. This is the kind of fabric I find myself reaching for again and again because they are so versatile. The colors are cheery and fun and they go with everything. There is a great range of scale and a variety of prints. Good Neighbors is brand new this month and available now at Connecting Threads.

For my project, I selected prints in teal, aqua, orange and grey and I cut out mini (teeny-tiny) Dresden blades. They reminded me of bunting all stitched together.

I added some linen scraps and stuffed it with poly-fil for body and uncooked rice for weight. I'm also experimenting with adding lavender essential oils for fragrance. I was thinking it could be kind of like a sachet/pincushion. It's already adding a perfect slice of sunshine to my cutting table.

BLOG HOP

There has been so many colorful and creative pincushions made already this month and a few more to come. Visit the links below and see them all!

Date	Blogger Name	Blog URL
9/1/2015	Amanda Jean	http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/ (kick off blog post)
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/ (you are here!) : )
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/ (wrap-up blog post)

GIVEAWAY
UPDATE: The winner is GranChris! Congratulations!!

WIN a charm pack of Good Neighbors!! Leave one comment below by this Friday, 9/25/15 for your chance to win. This giveaway is provided by Connecting Threads and is open to residents of US and Canada. The winner will be chosen randomly and notified by email.

Modern Pincushion Swap

Sent: Apple Pincushion

At this month's South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild meeting some of us swapped pincushions. We were assigned secret partners last month and we received a little note with a list of our partners likes. My partner likes aqua, orange and green. Sometimes its hard to keep it simple. I had complicated plans, but in the end I decided I liked simple best. Let the colors and fabric shine!

I used the Fresh-Picked pincushion pattern by Heather Bailey. The fabric is a mix of two older prints from my beloved stash, Bijoux by Heather Bailey and Type by Julia Rothman. The leaf is made out of wool felt in a lime green on top and aqua on the bottom. I hand-stitched the details on the leaf with Cosmo embroidery floss. I keep a stash of those little leaf pins for gifts. They are kind of chunky to actually use, but they are so cute to decorate pincushions with.

Received: Pincushion

Little did I know, I was in for a dual swap. My secret partner turned out to be my friend Julie, and she had me for her secret partner. So funny!! She made me the most incredible pincushion ever! Seriously. Look at this beautiful creation!! I don't even remember what I said I liked, but I love this. She absolutely nailed it. I added the pins for the photo so you can see how teeny-tiny the piecing is. It's a mini version of this table runner she made a couple of years ago. Isn't it gorgeous?

Received: Drawstring Bag

And that is not all! She made this beautiful little bag to wrap it in. The perfect combination of fabric and color and expertly sewn - all the seams are enclosed, inside and out.

LINKS

Fresh-Picked Pincushion pattern by Heather Bailey

Type by Julia Rothman for Windham

Bijoux by Heather Bailey for FreeSpirit Fabrics

Wool Felt from Retro Mama on Etsy

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Modern Quilt Guild Pincushion Swap

I'm slowly checking off items from my to do list. Next on the list was to make a pincushion for a swap with several other modern quilt guilds; Austin, Boston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, North Virginia, Vancouver and Wichita. I was so excited when Kansas City invited us to participate. I often think of the modern quilt guilds as one big extended family and it's great when there is an opportunity to meet and get to know some fellow guild members a little better. When I was explaining the swap at our last meeting, I said it was like having a modern day pen pal, but with handmade goods and pretty fabrics.

This is a blind swap, in that we don't know who is getting the pincushion we make and we don't know which pincushion we are getting in return. Sometimes that makes it hard to decide where to start with your design. What colors? What fabrics? What size? What filling?  See???  It's not easy. I've done several swaps now and one thing that helps me get started is to make something that I would love to receive.

On Friday I made a Wildflower Pincushion using prints from Field Study, both the pattern and the fabrics are by Anna Maria Horner. I really want to keep this one. It's big and bold and beautiful!! Check out that center print. It puts the WILD in wildflower, don't you think?

I found the pattern here (warning there are missing diagrams, but the steps are written out). If you need a little more help, Kim at bitty bits and pieces has some great tips on her blog. I love the way she handles the small petal pieces.

I've made a few pincushions over the years, usually they are tailor made to the recipients tastes. Pincushions are fun to make because they don't take up too much time and since they are small, you can use bits of special fabric.

This one is all mine! That cute puppy was begging to be fussy cut. I added fabric one piece at a time until it was big enough. Did you see that great bandana fabric from Katie Jump Rope? Sigh, I will never get tired of that print.

This pincushion was for a swap a couple of years ago and my partner had a thing for typography. I made a stencil by tracing the letter C in a few different fonts and cutting it out. Then I hand painted them onto linen. Next I framed it out and added just a touch of hand stitching. Even though this is two years old, doesn't it look oh so trendy now?

I used quilt scraps for this cutie I made for my Mom. Now her sewing space matches her quilt! I used a pattern from the book, Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

Here is another color coordinated pinnie.  This one was for a swap and it matched a pillow I made for my partner. My friend Kim from My Go-Go Life wrote this tutorial, the Cathedral Window Pincushion. It's fun and easy to put together. It looks a lot more complicated than it is.

I especially loved making this pincushion. It was also for a swap and my partner and I are both big Anna Maria Horner fans so I used some of my precious Good Folks scraps. This is also using a pattern from the book, Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

Alright, what do you think makes a good pincushion? Is it the size? The stuffing? The FABRIC?!