Cathedral Window Pincushions - Spring 2016

Hello, Friends!

I'm getting ready for a fun spring craft fair,

so I've been making some new Cathedral Window pincushions.

{Have you seen glimpses of them on Instagram? My Instagram name is @eamylove.}

I always use a fantastic free tutorial from Kim at My Go-Go Life blog.

I've made lots of these sweet little pinnies.

 I kind of have it down to a science now.

I love to prepare the backgrounds for several pinnies, all at once.

There is a lot of pressing in the first steps,

and I can do the prep work even if I have no time for sewing.

Later comes the fun part...placing the fabrics.

If I have more than one background prepared,

I don't have to fret over selecting the PERFECT combination

of colors and prints.

Instead of stressing, I can actually experiment and play

with various combinations of prints and colors.

Here is a sweet set I made from

Happy Go Lucky prints by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.

This dynamic duo was made with Strawberry Fields Revisited
by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda.

I have a "thing" lately for that brown, yellow and green palette.
The final touch is the covered button.
They are really fun to create,
especially with a lovely tiny print like this one.

These pincushions look so adorable stacked up together.
They're just a wee bit pudgy...I call them pleasingly plump!

I also made this darling little white pincushion...

in my humble opinion, it's absolutely exquisite!

I will be making one to keep for myself.

The fabrics are Flower Sugar from Lucien.

You can never have too many, or make too many of these pincushions.

Also...you can never take too many photos of them, right?

I hope you don't mind this photo-heavy pincushion post!

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Prettified Pincushion

This week marks the grand finale

of the Patchwork Please Zakka 2.0 Sew Along.

Debbie from A Quilter's Table

has done a magnificent job of

hosting the last half of the sew along!

They say you can't judge a book by its cover,

but as soon as I saw those Prettified Pincushions

on the front of the book,

I knew I wanted to have a copy!

For my version,

I chose lots of sunny yellow prints

from my fabric stash.

I used linen, to mimic the samples in the book.

There is just something about the texture

of the linen, paired with

smooth quilting cottons...so touchable.

The neutral linen also serves

as a calming backdrop,

enhancing the brightness of the yellows...

so exciting!

I made my pincushion quite a while ago,

but I remembered to make some notes about

my progress,

for my "likes" and "dislikes" section.

Dislikes are always first...

If you haven't made your {first}

prettified pincushion already,

make sure you add a 1/2" for the seam allowance
{1/4" on each side}

to your template piece!!!

{This is just sooooo important. The finished pieced block will be 2 1/2" square.} 

The instructions don't say when to remove

the paper from the block.

I recommend waiting until all of the 4 blocks

have been stitched together.

One more criticism I have is regarding the 

size recommendations for the scraps

used in the paper piecing.

I am stone serious when I say that
I wrote in my journal,

"You will CRY, unless you cut the pieces LARGER

than the book recommends!"

I used pieces at least this size:

4 Prints: 2 1/2" x 3"

Background Linen:  (4) 1 1/4" x 2"

(4) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"

(8) 1 3/4" x 2 3/4"

And now for my "likes"...

I really enjoy paper-piecing once in a while,

and this was really a rewarding project

to make with that technique.

I think it would be a great project

to make, even if you've never tried it before.

Another great thing about making this project

is that you end up with a

very functional and stylish item.

The size is just right,

and it is the perfect way to explain

what is meant by "zakka".

My greatest "like" is the finished result.

I mean...just look at how CUTE it is!

The covered button adds so much charm!

{And I'm not just talking about MINE...I haven't seen one I didn't love,

as they have popped up all over the internet and blogland.}

If you've got this book,

I guarantee you will be happy

with the pincushion you prettify

from this design.

 I think I'm going to have to prettify some more pincushions!

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