Scissor Fobs

Yesterday I stitched for the first time since fracturing my right arm. Since I didn't want to have anything heavy in a hoop, I decided to dig out a small embroidery project that I started several years ago. It was a Floating Beaded Ornament. This was a guild program piece that we turned into scissor fobs.

For those of you who aren't into hand embroidery, you are probably wondering what that is. Well, a scissor fob is a little ornament / pincushion with a cord or ribbon attached, that slips onto one side of a scissor finger ring. This pincushion is the perfect place to put your needle when you are cutting the next length of thread. It is also a way to identify your scissors when out stitching in a group.

These fobs are usually about 2 to 3 inches square but what shape you use is entirely up to the maker. You can make them to suit the season or your personal taste. Just have fun with it.

The green one still needs tiny glass beads in the spaces. I started the red one yesterday. It is stitched on 6" x 6" Dublin 25 count linen.

Here is the 'lazy' gal's fob made with beads and a lobster hook to attach it to the scissors. Mine is a purchased one that I got on one of my trips. The scissor's case is made from my own embellished fabric.

This small pair of Gingher scissors needs a fob!

You might find a fob to make in some of these links:

• Free cross stitch fob  
• Craftsy fob tutorial Part 1    Part 2  
• Fobs on Pinterest   HERE  
• Scissor fob tutorial   (The finishing up of this one is very similar to how I will finish up mine)
• Free pattern for a fob 
• Vintage Scissor Fob

Enjoy!!

UFO Finished

Last year I purchased a Halloween panel from Fiber Lily, a local quilt shop in St. John's. I had big plans to quilt it and have it ready for last Halloween. Well, so much for good intentions! However, Gale, my granddaughter, helped me finish it this summer and was very happy to receive it today.

There is a black binding but it's difficult to see in this photo.

 Here's a few Halloween projects to consider:

• Totally Stitchin' Fun Halloween Project Ideas
• That Cat from McCalls Quilting
• Pumpkin Pincushion, The Inbox Jaunt
• 50 + Sewing Projects from So Sew Easy (lots to see on this site)
• Pinterest HERE and HERE
• Free Sewing Projects for Halloween at Sew News

Enjoy!!

Ideas!!

There is not much going on in the studio this week due to a nasty head cold. I've tried to do a few things but after having to ravel out a few rows in a knitting piece, I gave up. However, I did manage to surf the net and found a few things of interest.

• A cool Owl Hat Free Knitting Pattern and a Crochet Pattern
• Eye Candy from Jane Blair Quilts, click on gallery  
• Canvas Tote to make
• Applique Lessons - interesting
• Mouse Pincushion Tutorial 
• Mexican Waves Scarf (pattern on Revelry)   I think the colours caught my eye!

Enjoy!

 

Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade!

Yesterday, I signed on to the Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade! I posted my starfish pincushions. You've seen these before when I first designed and made them. One of the things I thought about is that each tentacle could hold a different type of needle.

I'm a bit late posting about this parade but I just discovered it yesterday.
Enjoy!

Pincushions

I made a couple of pincushions yesterday. I had an embroidery design that I wanted to try on some batik fabric. It worked out fine. The red one with the thimble was done on linen ages ago. The thread colours chosen for that one are a bit dark. With the other two, I opted for lighter, brighter fabrics. The pincushion at the bottom is a lot brighter than what you see here. I didn't bother with colour corrections this time. 

These designs could also be used on a quilt label or in a small wall hanging. 

Check previous posts HERE and HERE for more pincushions.

If you haven't entered my giveaway yet, please leave a comment on 1000 Posts before May 24th.

Enjoy!

Tutorials

Today, is a simple post. I'm sharing a few tutorials with you.
Enjoy!

• Baker Street Bag
• Triple Zip Pouch
• Road Trip Pillow
• Matryoshka Bins (stacking)
• Divided Organizer Bucket
• Catch-All Tutorial
• Pincushions

Rock Recipes

Today was a snow day! I spent the morning working in my studio and in the afternoon I baked a Vanilla Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from my Rock Recipes Cook Book. The cake is delicious!
I've been a follower of the Rock Recipes blog (I think since it began). It is full of wonderful recipes and colour photos of all the delightful dishes. I highly recommend you pay a visit.

This is a photo of the Vanilla Cream Cheese Bundt from Rock Recipes. I didn't use the same icing called for in the recipe because I ran out of cream cheese. I mixed up some white icing instead.



Here's a few free patterns to consider (food related, of course!):

• Crochet cupcake key ring
• Cupcake Tea Cosy
• Cupcake Pincushion
• Kitchen Stitching Quilt
• Knitted Food Patterns

Enjoy!

Pincushions!

Back in November, 2014, I blogged about winning a china teacup pincushion from Edith at Inch by Inch Quilting, Calgary, Alberta. It came early in December but with the craft fairs, Christmas shopping and the holidays, I didn't get a chance to blog about it. Many thanks, Edith! Here it is with my other pincushions.

The cosy chair holds some oversize needles. Note the tall upholstery needle. The dark blue rectangle pincushion is decades old. It's made from heavy coat material and has a strip of Velcro on the bottom. This one is attached to the table in front of my sewing machine. I find having a pincushion in front of the machine, works for me. The sashiko stitched pincushion (the newest one ) was this year's Christmas gift from a friend. One can never have too many pincushions.

 

Here's a few patterns to check:

• cupcakes
• 50 + free pincushion patterns
• teapot pincushion

Enjoy!

Some Good Market

Tomorrow, I will be at Some Good Market. The market is located at Canon Wood Hall, on the corner of Military Road and Kingsbridge Road. This will be the last market in town until after Christmas.

I will have my one-of-a-kind Fibre Lace Scarves and Fibre Art Pendants. I will also have a limited number of covered journals, Credit Card Holders and Starfish Pincushions (new). There are still some Christmas shimmer ornaments and Christmas Wearable Art Pins.

Fibre Lace Scarves

Fibre Art Pendants

Pincushions

Yesterday I finished stuffing a few new embellished starfish pincushions. I have them all ready for Some Good Market next Saturday. They aren't tiny as I like to be able to stab my needles into a pincushion easily without having to search for it. I have been using one like these for the last year and the size is perfect.

Here's a few links with pincushions.  You might find one or two to make for Christmas gifts or for your own sewing space.

• Craft Passion
• Bella Online 
• Sew Mama Sew
• Connecting Threads Lamb Pincushion
• UK Lass in US Apple Pincushion
• Origami Mommy Tiny Pincushion
• Domestic Diva's Disasters
• Fave Crafts
• Sewing Support 20 Free Pincushions
• With Heart and Hands  
• Monkey Room
• Passionate for Pincushions Pinterest
• Diary of a Quilter

Work Table

I have been working on my Fibre Art Pendants. My work table is filled with beads and other assorted tools. Selecting which beads to use and stitch on the little pieces of fibre art takes time. One of the most useful tools that I have for beading (in my opinion) is the bead tray that I purchased at the $ Shop a few years ago. I find that the $ Shops have lots of cheap, useful items for crafters.

Watch maker cases from Lee Valley Tools

Today's Sewing Tip

Years ago, my friend gave me a very useful gift to keep beside my sewing machine. It is for holding sewing machine needles. If you are doing a lot of different kinds of sewing and always changing needles, then you need a way to keep track of which one is in the machine. This little case is quite helpful for doing that. The hair clip (Dollar Shop find), placed in the small pocket, indicates which needle is currently in the machine. You can choose to place the slightly used needle back in the case or, as I did, stick it beside it. The dimensions are approximately 6" x 11". Clear plastic pockets hold the plastic cases.

 

Another method that I use, is to stick the plastic case of needles currently in use, on the side of my machine, with sticky tack (blue stuff that is used to stick posters and other stuff on walls). I prefer this method over all the others. It is quick to do when time is a factor.

• I came across a needle sorting pin cushion at Gen X Quilters. This one would make a great gift for yourself or to give away to a friend.  
• Whimsey Box has a similar method for storing sewing machine needles in a pincushion as above.
• Two Kitties shares their idea for storing needles (similar to the first one I mentioned).

Enjoy!

Folded Machine Needle Keeper

Hanging beside my maachine

 

Pincushions

Don't you just love batik cottons! The colours are so rich and vibrant. I made myself several large starfish pincushions from my batik stash. I prefer larger pincushions because they are easier to find when working on a project. Here's the result! The orange one has free motion stitching all over it instead of the spiral. I have been collecting pincushion images on Pinterest. Maybe one day, I'll make a few more.

A Bit of Eveything

Well, my bags are packed for my trip to Halifax this afternoon. I'm looking forward to my first time visit to the Atlantic Canada Trade Show (ACTS). Yesterday was a flurry of work getting last minute things done

• Wholesale Product Catalog was printed
• Product Sample Binder was finished
• Purchased a new carry-on bag
• Wall signs for each product is done 
• All electronics are charged

In between work, I did manage to check out a few more blogs on the Grow Your Blog Hop. To my surprise, my blog has grown too. Thanks for visiting and signing on to get updates! It's much appreciated. I've also gotten quite a number of comments. You can see those in the various posts below.


Elaine Quehl has finished four small quilts which are called Encore. They look great!

I also found this neat finger pincushion from Nunn Design. I think the colours caught my eye - so bright and cheerful!

Don't forget to check out Sew We Quilt for the the hop, She Who Sews with Quilting Treasures.

Check out the weekly post from the Needle and Thread Network (all Canadian Textile Artists. I added my blog this week.

Getting Organized

It's a very rainy here today. I just finished some book work and that got me thinking about projects to help with organization, whether it's in the office, around the house or sewing/studio. Recycle where you can. I used to collect Pringle chip tubes, clean them out, and they would hold interfacing and other sewing stuff that was rolled (short stuff). I've been known to save detergent boxes, cut them to hold magazines. That was before my husband got asthma and anything with a scent had to be discarded. However with the abundance of Dollar Stores, it's much easier to get plastic storage containers of all kinds.But if you still wish to make your own 'stuff', here's a few things to do:
Pincushion organizer
Purse Organizer
Denim organizer
Mail Organizer
Pattern Organizer
Organizer Folder: it's called a Cookie Sale Organizer
Car Organizer

Sewing Organizer from Debbie Mumm

Pincushions

I just came across these pincushions which are decorative as well as practical. So start saving those plastic bottle caps as you will need them for this project! Check out some very colourful pincushions here. I may have to try out some of these. They would make nice gifts for stitchers. Bunches more to see! Just click on the pictures to visit other crafty web sites. Have fun!

Owls

Last evening at quilt guild, a friend mentioned that she was interested in owls. She was quite pleased to see a link for an owl pattern in one of my posts. Well, here's a tutorial on making a cute stuffed fabric owl. This one would make a neat pin cushion or even a toy for a child. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Tutorial - crazy quilting

Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends! I just found this neat site, The Painted Quilt by Kaaren Johnson. One of the first things that caught my eye was the crazy quilted 3-D pumpkin. Other tutorials include a  sewing box and tomato pincushion. On the first Friday of each month there is a free pattern for you to use. Lots of stuff to check out.