pincushion fun

My modern quilt guild is coordinating a pincushion swap this Sunday. We each filled out a short list of questions about our favorite color, season, movie, music, etc., and then randomly drew a paper. Our guild is relatively new - just started in February this year - so this is a great way to learn more about another member.

It took me forever to decide on a pattern for my swap partner until I found this Cathedral Window one on Pinterest with a tutorial - woo hoo! So I decided I'd better make a trial one first, and here it is...

I followed the tutorial just as it is written and... not too bad, huh? Here's the back where I had a bit of trouble keeping my stitches hidden since the pincushion might be a tad overstuffed with crushed walnut shells.

Here's a photo of the only little problem I encountered (good thing I made the trial one first!) - I didn't take quite a large enough seam allowance when sewing the front and back together, so in a couple of the corners the dark blue fabric is not sewed down. A little touch of applique glue and now the corners are just fine since this version is for me.

I added a button from my stash to the top which adds to the cuteness factor and handily covers up the center spot where the cathedral window sections don't quite match up.

Maybe you recognize these fabrics? They are all leftover from the college quilt I made for Thing 1 last summer. The woman organizing our swap told us that she makes many gift quilts and always makes a pincushion for herself from the leftovers as a visual/decorative reminder of the quilt and it's colors and fabrics. Well I thought that was a pretty cool idea even though I use magnetic pincushions due to my extreme clumsiness (frequently knocking them off the sewing table - but the pins snap right back into place with a quick swipe across the floor!) and my fondness for that wonderful snap/click sound the pins make as they are caught by the magnet when I just toss them in the general direction of it while sewing :)

But I think I could really get behind this idea of a decorative pincushion for each gift quilt. Wouldn't they be so cute all lined up and displayed together?!

Next time I'll share the one I made for my swap partner, and tell you about a few of the modifications I made to the tutorial that made things a little easier for me.