Fussy pieced pincushion and a herb stitchery for you...

 

Last year I shared a free ebook of pantry staple recipes and pre-mixes, and inside was a simple herb stitchery template for you to make if you felt inclined to sew it. 

Must admit, I do love stitching herbs! 

The template I shared back then was just the line drawing I'd sketched, but with the intention of stitching it one day. During a break this year I finally got around to it, as one of my monthly UFO Adventure projects for 2026 (I shall get my Makers Journal up to date this week and show you - every month there has been a UFO make, so I'm very happy about that).

In my cupboard was an inexpensive cotton dress purchased from Kmart two or three summers ago, but after one wash it shrunk quite dramatically. The fabric was lovely so I cut it up and put it aside in my stash. After tracing my herb design onto a piece of cream linen it was this very fabric that came to mind as inspiring the thread colours and applique prints I would use...

The fabric is very fruity and floral, so I'm deciding whether to make an apron and insert the completed herb stitchery into the bib section, or to sew a decorative tea towel from the dress fabric and embellish it with the herb block. It would be fiddly to make the apron because the dress fabric is in odd sized pieces, but I do think that's the direction my creative spark is veering closer to. What would you choose?

If you missed that free Pantry Staples e-book, it can be downloaded HERE.

If you would just like to make the herb stitchery download it HERE as a free gift. 

Reorganising my sewing room last week, I remembered that I'd forgotten to show you a really sweet pin cushion I made last year, inspired by a block I saw on Pinterest. I don't know the source of the 12-patch block, but it really caught my eye when I saw the photo because of the way it had been fussy cut to create a wreath. Beautiful isn't it?!

(photo via Pinterest)

I spent time going through my fabrics to find one suitable for something similar, with the idea of making it into a pin cushion. I eventually chose this lovely floral with spots on a white background, and though perhaps not quite as obvious as a wreath, I loved the final effect. 

(the fabric I've used is Barefoot Roses by Tanya Whelan)

The completed pincushion is a favourite of mine and often in use, not just because it's functional, but mostly because its so pretty on my cutting table and makes me smile. Such a simple idea, and I thank whoever made that original wreath block shown on Pinterest for inspiring me to try something similar. Are you inspired too? 

In the last blog post I shared some yummy baked goods that will be made 'over and over' in our kitchen as they were so delicious, and many requests came for the recipes. 

The recipe for the Lemon Kefir Pound Cake is HERE and the recipe for the Fat Rascals I chose from numerous ones online is this below -

The Fat Rascals recipe makes 8 large, but I made ours slightly smaller and got a dozen. Even then my hubby said "Gee, these are big". They are quite hearty indeed. :-)

Well, it is late Sunday evening now and I'm rather weary but satisfied after mopst of the weekend spent getting the front and back gardens in order, plus baking a delicious roast chicken dinner Saturday night, giving the bathroom a really deep clean, and reorganising all my DMC and Cosmo threads in preparation for spring sewing.

I did have numerous short rests between activities, but the weather was glorious, so many hours were enjoyed in the garden and I can truly say the aching knee tonight has not dampened my joy. Hubby is tired and sore too, but we have wide smiles and full hearts. 

God bless, have a delightful week ahead and I'll write again in a few days. 

PS: My Etsy Shop is always open, so please drop by if you are in the mood for something new to stitch.

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