Friday, September 14, 2018

Week 3 - alphabet pincushions...



A strange thing happened when I was making the first "C" pincushion (yes, there was a second).

The purpose of these 26 alphabet pincushions is that they are made to be small and fairly quick to sew - all of them. But I got  a bit carried away with the first "C" one...adding an extra border and then I thought "ooo, how about some quilt binding too?!"...you know how your mind just keeps on going past the point it should? 

When it was complete I realised the finished size was not in keeping with my plan so I drew up a new "C", stitched it and made a smaller pinnie. Big smile. 




Very simply it is a rectangular shape with two pretty strips of Tilda fabric on one end and a lovely loop of cotton lace at the other. 
I machine quilted straight lines down both sides and added a row of hand embroidered purple chain stitch in the ditch between the "C" block and the first fabric strip.




I've been asked what fabric has been used for the embroidered alphabet letters in each pincushion so far. It is unbleached flour sack, very soft and beautiful to stitch on. 
The quilting fabrics are always from my scrap box because you only need small pieces for these pincushions.

Would you like to see my larger "C" pinnie?

I did not reject it due to it's appearance as I very much liked the marriage of these orange and green fabrics around the white linen C block...




....and I know in the big scheme of things it's not really a huge pincushion, but it was definitely too big for my 26 week stitchalong.

Of course, you now have two ideas for a pincushion and may well choose to sew one with extra borders and binding! That's the nice thing about this weekly stitchalong - you can mix and match any of the pincushion ideas with different alphabet letters.  Win, win, right?




I always fuse a piece of scrap cotton quilt wadding or Parlan behind the completed front of my pincushions before embellishing/quilting and attaching the backing and filling.

It's easier when adding binding to a pincushion if you use this type of opening along the back.
Sew two pieces of fabric together with a 1/2" seam, but leave a 2" opening in the middle.




Pin the front and back of the pincushion together, wrong sides together (imagine sandwiching a quilt but without the wadding). Sew around the outside edge with slightly less than a 1/4" seam to secure the front and back together.

Again, as you would with a quilt, sew your binding around the outside edge before turning over to the back of the pinnie and slip stitching in place. 
Once the binding is on you can fill the pincushion with whatever filling you have chosen.

As I mentioned last week all my small pincushions have been filled with crushed walnut shells and in case you have never seen them here's what it looks like...


I use a funnel to slowly fill my pinnies as the crushed shells are fine and will spill everywhere if not contained. Stitch the opening closed with tiny whip stitches to prevent the grains from slipping out later.


In case you prefer one colour palette over the other, in the pattern this week I have included the thread list for both versions of "C".

The "C" pattern was free until October 5th.

If you'd like the set of patterns for A - E they are now in my shop as a $2 purchase.



SALE!!

Would you like to see exactly what members receive in an issue of The Stitchery Club?
Or perhaps you're already a member and would like the chance to grab one of my older issues?

 For the next week I have the April 2018 issue of The Stitchery Club on sale in my shop!

This issue contained not only sweet embroidery patterns but tutorials as well...







I'll have the April 2018 issue on sale in my shop until next Friday, September 21st. 
After that it will be gone from my shop shelves.

Shop "Jenny of Elefantz Designs" HERE for instant PDF patterns you can be stitching today!



Okay, that's it from me today. 

I'd hoped to blog more this week but time has gotten away from me as attention was needed for important things like finalising our move preparations, taking Blossom and the girls over to see our new home for the first time, writing the September issue of The Stitchery Club and managing a rather nasty migraine...and did I mention the everyday joys of homemaking?

It seems the days are counting down quickly now and imagining within two weeks we shall be settled in our very first 'own' home has given my heart a flutter more than once. 
Ever so grateful to our Loving Father who has carried us every step of the way and will continue to do so.
Very excited!!

Enjoy your weekend stitching and if you find yourself in need of a kitchen table chat with lovely like-minded ladies consider joining our Gentle Domesticity Group (here). You can even share photos of all your homemaking endeavours because our girls are the best encouragers in the world. Honest.

Stay in touch...

If you'd like to see what I'm up to day-to-day you can follow me HERE on Instagram and HERE on Facebook. Oh, and if you do follow along please be sure to leave a comment and say "Hi" cause I'd love to greet you!

hugs


9 comments:

Nanna Chel said...

Jenny, I don't know how you find the time at the moment to make your beautiful pincushions. That is no good about the migraine either. I do hope and pray you will be headache free while you prepare to move into your beautiful new home. How exciting for you after all these years. Big hugs.

Jeanneke said...

Hi Jenny :>)

hafza said...

I love both your pin cushions...:)

barcord said...

A lovely C cushion. Thankyou Jennifer. Keeping you in my prayers at this busy time. Hate migraines. Praying you will have relief soon. xxx

Farm Quilter said...

Adorable "C" pinnie! Getting carried away for me means a baby quilt is suddenly a twin size! Sometimes our creativity takes over and off we go!! Praying for your health and stamina as you continue to get ready for the big move.

Ondrea said...

I love both the pinnies but my fav is the 2nd one. Thanks for sharing it with us. I have been thinking of you packing and hope the move goes well next week. Angel Blessings.

Allie said...

Love them both hon - praying for a smooth move and for that migraine to go away!!!

Createology said...

Thank you Jenny Dear for always giving so much. I was dreaming of stitching these alphabet letters but not for little pincushions...I think they will make a wonderful little book for my new first Great Granddaughter coming this Fall. She can learn her abc’s this way. And by the time she will be learning, I just may have them stitched! Healing Energy for NO migraines and Prayers for your smoooth move...xo

Susan said...

Thank you so much for the lovely C pincushion ideas. I'd like to start some of these before I get too far behind!

I'm so excited to think of all that you are finalizing this week as you finish packing and do the countdown. Please take time to rest in between tasks which have to be done. Don't worry about replying to anyone, or any of the other things that seem so required. The Lord will give you the strength you need, and you can be sure we'll all be waiting for you afterward to hear how the move goes, but we can wait until you have time and feel like blogging about the experience! I'm so happy for you!