Pincushions

I was lucky enough to have Monique send me a package for this month’s pincushion challenge swap.

The pincushion has an elastic strap so it can be worn on my wrist. I love the pink and white matching pins! I put the pincushion to work immediately.

I was trying to not spoil the surprise in case my package has not reached its destination, but I can’t resist. I used the swap as an opportunity to try out an idea that i have had for a while. I put a fluffy top on an altoids tin so pins can go in the top and notions can be stored in the tin. I also added some fishy shrinky pins.

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Hair clips
I hit the SF Craft Mafia sale at Craft Gym last month. Wow were there some good looking goodies there. I got a T-bone steak from Sweetmeats and some hair clips from Sprout Studio. The steak is at its new home, and I am loving the barrettes.

Yarn
Did you know you can get cones of dishcloth cotton yarn from Elmore-Pisgah (Peaches and Cream) for a really great price? Abby found this out and made a big order for all of us. then we divided it up. It is a lot of cotton yarn, and the colors are beautiful.

photo from abmatic

My eyes were immediately drawn to these

I use the plastic (theoretically disposable) cups from the gelato place near my house as a nursery for baby spider plants. They grow happily on my kitchen windowsill. Since I am an urban apartment dweller I don’t own a yard, and therefore don’t own any dirt, so that is usually the limiting factor in fixing up a new home for the plants… So i had a few empty cups on the window sill, one to be sacrificed for a pin cushion.

I really like the look of the the flowery-shaped container as a pot for a plant, so i though I would try to keep the same look for the pincushion. I put a few stones in the bottom, like you would for drainage in a pot (plus this gives the whole thing a little bit of weight which is nice). i thought this might also be a way to take advantage of the transparency of the container.

i almost wanted to stop there… those stones are freaking cute. But instead i gathered some batting scraps left over from the lining of my whiplash jacket and cut a circle out of some brownish-colored scrap fabric i had lying around.

I stuffed the circle with the fiber to make a little round pillow and glued it in the cup with the stones. ta-da!

If i had to so it over again, i would likely choose a more colorful fabric. I was trying to get something that looked like dirt, but i think making it more like the center of a flower would look better. I might try to find some small green plant-like thing that I was going to throw out to add as a finishing touch.

The first is certainly about knitting. A group or germans are trying to make the world’s longest scarf. Thanks Thijs

The second isn’t exactly about knitting, but is interesting for wool lovers! it might be a way to get around that pesky “no dogs allowed” clause in your lease. Thanks Sarah

And a little news of my own – I sent my dye-o-rama package off to my dye-o-rama pal.

Yarn, bottlecap pincushion with shrinky pins, and stitch markers all made by me. If you want to buy some stitch markers, it is not too late! email me or check out my etsy shop.

It is made out of felt and stuffed with yarn scraps that I was happy to get rid of. I guess i could put up the pattern too… Anyone interested?