Pincushion Parade Fini!

Whew! I really need to make up for lost time on a baby quilt that should have been done by now (oops!) but that aside, the #pinnieparade was great fun, and I'm glad I did it. Did I really need nearly 25 new pincushions? Uh, not really, But it was a really enjoyable diversion, and even though on several days when I literally didn't have a spare moment I shared old favorites, most days I sat down for 30+ minutes to try a new pattern or an improvisational design. Here are links to the previous round-ups [one, two, three], and below you'll see my final batch!

Day 24 - I kinda love pink flamingo and red together. For this one, I used the flying geese paper-piecing template from Amanda Jean/crazy mom quilts' Plenty of Pincushions Vol. 1, but neglected to glance at the instructions again or I would have noticed there should have been another strip of gray to the right of the geese. I still like it so oooh well.



Day 25 - On this day, I challenged myself to just use the scraps piled on my cutting table. Even with it's tiny improv curves, I still really enjoyed making this one.



Day 26 - This one was inspired by the scrappy strings 9-patch by @therootconnection.... and is one of my favorites.



Day 27 - After posting the Improv Quarter Log Cabin tutorial, of course I had to make one pincushion size, totally drawn from the scrap basket in black and white and red.



Day 28 - Oh goodness. This little one featuring Cotton + Steel Strawberry Peach was so fun. As I mentioned on Instagram, I had grandgirl on my mind when I made it, even tho she told me over the weekend that she didn't like quilting.... When I made a sad face, she quickly changed her story... "I'm sure I will when I'm older, Grammy!" Fingers crossed!



Day 29 - Though this little liberated star kinda fades into the background. Um.... plaid.



Day 30 - I'm a little disappointed in this one, inspired by my X Marks the Improv block tutorial, basically because I wish I'd cut the Xs narrower. OH well. This is actually one of the smaller pinnies I made.



Day 31 - And for the last day of the #pinnieparade, I know sewing is not in the cards, but that's OK, because I really needed to include this Circle of Geese. I made it a few years back for my friend Sharon/@redapplestitches after seeing Kelly/Jeliquilts' "A Circle of Geese" pincushion. The pattern is by Piece by Number, printed at 33%. I kinda love it.



Soooo. I made it! Thirty-one days, and I managed to make at least one pincushion on 23 of them. Yikes! But cool.

Still Making Pincushions!

So the third week of the #pinnieparade is behind us, and I've yet to become tired of making a little pincushion nearly every day. In fact, it's been good!

Day 15 - After seeing Andrea/@3rdstoryworkshop's Glossary in Colour, in Pincushions, I of course had to try her Quilt Improv Pincushion tutorial, and it was quick and fun.



Day 16 - I happened upon the Color Wheel Pincushion perusing my Pincushion pin board, and I'm so glad I gave it a go! The pattern is by Erika Mulvenna on we all sew and I was surprised how nicely it went together. I love the shape, the solids, and I confess, even the black-and-white stripe I impulsively used for the back.





Day 17 - A non-sewing day was a good chance to share my two-sided 6" everyday pincushion. When I made it, I wanted crinkle in that patchwork, so I hand-washed both top and bottom 'blocks' before adding the sides and filling. It's still a favorite....





Day 18 - This one was inspired by a #pincushion in @crazymomquilts' #noscrapleftbehind, except I used some #scrappy #crazypiecing bits I had leftover from another project. Can't say it's my favorite, but I'll try again sometime and actually follow the pattern.



Day 19 - I really like how this mini #crosscutblocks pinnie turned out, though its small size and my use of Essex for the background made it a little fiddly to work with. No worries. I still love it, it evoked happy memories, and that dense grid quilting was good fun.



Day 20 - This log-cabin variation was a joy to piece, just pulling random choices from the solid scrap bin. I did get a little carried away size-wise (4" x 7"), but I again washed the top prior to final construction to get that extra crinkle, and that made it pretty much perfect.





Day 21 - I'm still smitten with improv spikes, and luckily it dawned on me to use them to make a pincushion! A random selection of scraps from the basket, and I made quick work of them, got a little carried away again and ended up with another largish 4" x 7" pinnie. But I'm ok with that!

Day 22 - Yesterday when Heidi/Fabric Mutt posted her Diamond Block tutorial, I had an 'ah-ha!' moment, and immediately thought pincushion. Simple and sweet, I'm so glad I did!

Day 23 - Shared an oldie but goodie yesterday where I started with the 12 1/2" New England Quilt Block tutorial by A Bright Corner, then down-sizing it by 50%. This was the first big 6" pincushion I made and besides its generous size, I love the controlled scrappiness and matchstick quilting.



Whew! I'll close for now and face the final week!

Pincushion Parade

The day after the Improv Stripes QAL started, wouldn't you know it, another event started - the #pinnieparade, a daily pincushion party hosted by Cheri/@tinkerellen. I kinda couldn't resist joining in! Luckily, you can post either a brand new pincushion you've made, an oldie but goodie, or even one you received as a gift or whatever. So with those loose rules, I figured I could possibly keep up. And for future reference, I thought I'd share them here, a week or so at a time. So without further ado.....

Day 1 - First up was the Prettified Pincushion, one of my favorite makes from Ayumi Takahashi's Patchwork, Please! This one has obviously been well-used, but I'm still quite fond of it.


Day 2 - With scraps from my improv stripes project sitting on my cutting table, it was an obvious choice to use some to make a little pincushion. Quick and easy.


Day 3 - Ages ago, I crazy-pieced all my green scraps for a couple of different projects. Leftover bits were perfect for this little pinnie.


Day 4 - Here's one that was a gift from the talented Hillary/@entropyalwayswins. I kinda love it! Check out Hillary's #instatute for a tutorial.


Day 5 - Boy it was fun to make a Spool Pin Cushion Block by Faith/Fresh Lemons! Seriously, the piecing took under 15 minutes! Also Faith has tutorials for several more varieties of spool blocks on her blog.


Day 6 - Back in time again, to when grandgirl got her first sewing machine. Obviously she needed a pincushion, and I made her a Deluxe Pincushion from Heidi/@fabricmutt's book, Sew Organized for the Busy Girl.


Day 7 - And for this last one, I took inspiration from a triangle pincushion I saw on Pinterest by Jeni/In Color Order. After I made mine in a more improvisational style, I realized Jeni had written a tutorial for hers, so I've linked to that above.


It's been fun to create a little, as well as look back a little - work totally on the fly, as well as try some new-to-me designs. It's a good thing. Check out the #pinnieparade hashtag on Instagram for oodles more!