Gunpowder Pincushion!

Karin Peirce of Maine found this image (above) of a vintage gunpowder pincushion, and was inspired to make the one below. Nice job! She didn't say if she filled hers with with gunpowder. And like Karin says, you could always throw it into the fireplace if necessary!

I did a quick Google search for a connection between gunpowder and pincushions and didn't find anything.

Some vintage pincushions were filled with crushed walnut shells, straw, sand, rice, human hair or horsehair. Most of the vintage pinucshion ads on eBay don't say what's inside. 

Karin also sent this photo of two pincushions from Russia. Thanks, Karin!

Improv Quilt by Lu Summers

This improvisational quilt is the work of Lu (Lucie) Summers of the UK. You can read about it here on her blog. She started with this block shown below. Then she just kept adding on until it looked finished. This is a wonderful quilt, don't you agree?

I found this quilt on a site called The Long Thread.

Lu has a new line of fabric: Summerville. My stash could use some lights so

 I'm keeping an eye out for some of this.

New Tutorial for Pinsies!

Have you noticed the beaded pins that decorate all my pincushions? They're getting pretty crazy, as you can see in the upper right corner. Haha. I've been getting emails asking for info about how to make these little beauties so here's a tutorial complete with supply list, photo instructions, and handy tips. 

Pinsies make nice little gifts to exchange with your quilting buddies too.

Good project to do with kids. 

I do tend to get carried away with projects like this. They are so much fun to make!

I've had beads waiting for a project like this for a long time. 

Thanks for all your comments yesterday about where you get your creative inspiration!! 

Where do you find quilt inspiration?

Please share some of your sources of quilt-making inspiration. I'll be giving a guild presentation next week and I'd like to hand out a long list of ideas. I'll post the list here too.

I get lots of quilt ideas in the shower. And I love to browse through my quilt books, especially the state quilt survey books and the old Quilt Engagement Calendars compiled by Cyril I. Nelson.

What is This? A Sugar Scuttle. Thanks!

I found this little silverplate item at an antiques fair and of course turned it into a pincushion. But now what do I call it when I list it on Etsy? Does anyone know what this is called?

Slippers to Write Home About

Take a look at this treasury of amazing slippers! Haha, something to warm your sense of humor as well as your little tootsies.

Huge Pillow Shop in Europe

This Suzani pillow reminds me of vintage applique quilts. It's from Sukan, an Etsy shop in Europe offering over 1,600 pillows for sale. 

This long Suzani pillow is another of my favorites. I was browsing through the 39,000 decorative pillows on Etsy and clicking on my favorites. So many were from Sukan, I had to visit the store. Wow!

SEE THE WHOLE TREASURY HERE.

P.S. I was a week ahead in celebrating Mother's Day. Haha, now I get to celebrate again next week.

Happy Mother's Day! (Especially to you, Mom!)

Awww. Does this picture warm your heart or what? See this treasury of cute Etsy models. I made it for Mother's Day. My two babies are 6'4" and 20-somethings now, with beards! Have a great day.

Kathy Kinsella and the Quiltsy Team

Colorful fiber art cuff from Kathy Kinsella! See the whole treasury of colorful items from the Quiltsy Team here.

Show-Stopping Purses

Here are some show-stopping purses that I found on Etsy. I like the spiky one above from Kyla Crawford in MI.

The handmade sterling silver bag above is from Mythic Silver in Ohio. It sells for $5,500.

This polymer clay bag is by Karen Ablow in Madison, Connecticut.

See the whole treasury here. Sixteen show-stopping purses. Did you know that if you go to Etsy and enter "purse" in the searchbox, you get 350,000 results? Haha, let me save you some time. 

Do you remember this pincushion named "Endurance?" It originated a long time ago in Japan and was recently rescued in Connecticut and given a new silk cushion and two pretty pinsies. It has just been purchased by a woman in Victoria, Australia! What an exciting life this little guy is having! If only it could talk!

I've had a computer virus which has kept me off the Internet for a few days, but I'm back now.

Meet Jennifer from South Carolina

Jennifer has a fabulous blog called Kill Them With Craftiness. In addition to crafty things, she tells the story of her adoption. There are tutorials too. Her Etsy store is: Lessons from Lois. She makes lovely purses and fabric buttons (photo below).

I found Jennifer this morning when she featured my selvage pincushion on today's post. I love how the Internet brings us all together. Have a great weekend.

Window Shopping on Etsy, for FABRICS of course.

Is this fabric by Tanya Whelan modern or retro? Yes! And I like it. Take a look at this treasury I made featuring some lovely new fabrics.

Purse in Hand

 

I found this "Purse in Hand" at an antique market here in Connecticut, and it's really growing on me. I added the silk cushion and it's now listed in my Etsy store. The possibility of finding things like this is what drives me to search the antique markets. Okay, flea markets. :) I used to really dislike stuff like this; what's happening to me? First selvages, now this. What's next?

Notice the two pretty pinsies (beaded pins) in this cushion. They're made with pearls and glass beads.

Rainbow Pancakes

Here's your daily serving of color! Photo by New York photographer Henry Hargreaves.

Now That's Better! Pincushion Gravy Boat

If you were a little shocked yesterday with the Endurance pincushion, you might like this one better. I love the lime green silk dupioni cushion. The gravy boat is "old world," but the color is up-to-date. Nice combination of elegance and fun. I'd rather enjoy this every day in my quilt room than keep it in the china cabinet. See it here on Etsy.

I think the two pinsies with pearls and glass beads add a nice touch too.

The Pincushion Named Endurance

I recently bought a little silverplate cream pitcher at the Elephant's Trunk Flea Market. The seller said with a chuckle, "You can have the matching sugar bowl for free." When I showed it to my sister Eileen, she said, "Don't throw it away! Make it a pincushion; it's interesting; it has history!" So here it is.

This bowl was made in Japan, probably mid 1900's. It may have been a wedding gift, and probably spent years looking pretty in a china cabinet. But it has seen hard times, that's for sure. It was pulled from the wreckage for some reason, and because of Eileen, is now starting a new chapter as a pinsuchion, complete with a peach-colored silk cushion and two fancy pinsies. That's Endurance!

It will be listed soon with the other 100+ pincushions on Etsy in case you want to see more photos.

Big Eye Needle

This Big Eye Needle by Yanko Design opens wide to make threading easy. With some pressure, the eye opens to the size of a buttonhole. Keep an eye out for one of these. Heehee, couldn't help it.

Fenton Glass Shoes!

And here they are after the removal of the bandages. I'll make new pinsies for these cushions, although the blue one looks like a keeper. I would never have given these shoes a second look at the flea market if I wasn't keeping a keen eye out for pincushion containers but I like them. The man I bought them from said he has a thousand more at home. Uh, okay. Can you imagine? Do you think he was trying to get a date? Haha!

Thank you to Jean and Sandy for the info that these were made by

Fenton Glass in Williamstown, West Virginia. Fenton is no longer in business.

Bandaged Glass Shoes

You've probably guessed these are pincushions under construction, but are you wondering about the "bandages?" These vintage shoes are a recent flea market find. I like the cushions to be nice and full, but when I tried to glue the cushion into the shoe, it kept popping out. Rather than remove some of the polyfill, it seemed better to tape it in there until the glue dried. But of course you don't want to tape silk. It might leave a mark. So, the bandage!

Yes, necessity is the mother of invention. This isn't quite as good as sliced bread, but I'm smiling anyway. These shoes are so ugly they're cute! (Don't worry; the green silk is actually a nice celery. The color on my monitor is pretty bad.) I'll show you when they're finished.

Girl & Dog to Become New Pincushion

I've been on the lookout for interesting items to make into pincushions. This one came from the Elephant's Trunk Flea Market in New Milford, CT. The inscription on the bottom of this piece seems to say "Rose," and "Germany." It doesn't feel smooth like glass; it's more flat-finished and a little grainy. Maybe it's ceramic. It appears to be old. I'll show you when this becomes a pincushion.

Any suggestions for what color silk I should use for the pincushion? Pink? Wheat?

Amazing Sand Drawings

Doesn't this look like a machine quilting design? It's sand drawing by Andres Amados from San Francisco, California. His site has more incredible photos. Take a look here too.

World Quilt Finds a Good Home!

Here's the World Quilt, at home in Tampa, Florida. Linda, the Quilting Violinist has it displayed beautifully on her red wall. Click on the link to see her post about it. Don't you just love it when a quilt finds a happy home?

Happy Easter!

Very best wishes to you! I hope you have a wonderful day including some time to really savor the beautiful meaning of Easter.

Pincushion from Linda, the Quilting Violinist

Linda from Florida, the Quilting Violinist, won the World Quilt (see sidebar post). She sent me a sweet thank you package that included this beautiful pincushion. This is the one that I use, although for this photo, I have it "staged" with decorative pins. Didn't she do a great job making this? Linda used CD's for the base. The level of squishiness is just right, medium-firm. She probably put some old violin strings in there. :) Linda attached the selvages with a zig-zag stitch. Here's a photo of the back.

There's something special about using a pincushion that a friend makes for you. Similar to having a birthday cake made by a friend rather than making your own. Haha. Click here to see more of Linda's selvage creations. Thanks, Linda!

Now HERE'S a Paisley Egg!

Thank you to Chelsea for telling me about Holly at Twisted Poppy, maker of gorgeous decorated eggs! Can you believe I'm featuring this photo right after showing you my sorry attempt yesterday? Haha. Yes, I have some room for improvement, I know. Holly makes eggs to order, so I'm giving you a link to her page of SOLD items. Aren't they amazing? Yayy, Holly!

Paisley Egg

I've been thinking about paisley designs lately, and even created a Treasury on the topic. Yesterday I took a 2 hour class on Ukranian Egg Decorating. Here are some pics of one of the eggs I decorated.

Learning to draw with the little hot wax tool takes some practice, that's for sure. After that, you put the egg in a jar of dye. You can then apply more wax and more dye, but I kept this one simple.  Next, we drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of the egg and used a suction device to remmove the inside of the egg, and rinse it with water. Then it went into the microwave oven for 5 seconds. That melts the wax and makes the egg nice and shiny.

Our instructor suggested a website for supplies and further info: Ukranian Gift Shop.

Nantucket Basket Pincushions With Rocks

Remember the photo I showed you recently while making the Nantucket Basket pincushions? The rock shown was too heavy. I had to go outside and find smaller rocks, but now the pin cushions have a nice weight. The bottom of the basket has a flat wood base so they don't teeter. The decorative pins add a nice touch; these have pearls and hematite beads. I love how this came out!

Visit my growing pincushion collection on Etsy.