Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade - 2016

I love a good parade!!!

You may have noticed that I love a good pincushion, too.

It's time for the Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade,

and I'm joining up!

YOU can join, too!!!
There are lots of great prizes to be won,
and you'll get a chance to make new pinnie friends.

This would be a very long post indeed if I were to share

ALL of my pincushions,

but I'll showcase a few of my favorites.
If you click the links, you can see more details about each pinnie.

Here's one I made from the Zakka Style Sew Along.
I loved seeing how others used the same simple pattern,
creating dozens of beautiful interpretations.

In my opinion, the best pincushion tutorial ever written
was for the Cathedral Window Pincushion
by GoGo Kim. 

I made my first one from the puppy prints
of Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hoey for Moda.

I've made literally dozens of these,
usually in batches of 3 or 4.
This set was a favorite of mine, made this year.

I can't stop...they are like my "comfort" food.
I make them whenever I just need to create something pretty,
for my own happiness.

I like to give them as gifts,
and you may see them popping up in Blogland sometimes.

I also love to sell them in my shop on Etsy.
I LOVE making them as a custom order.

My Susan Branch pincushions are just as much fun to make.
This one is mine to keep and use.

I've made lots more to give and sell.

Before you ask...I don't have a source for any more of the
Susan Branch images. Maybe someday, she'll make more!
Wouldn't that be awesome?!?!?!?!?
They are truly amazing and add so much to a little pinnie.

Have you heard of the Skinny Pinnie???
I hosted a swap for these, and it was super fun!
Here's the one I received...so precious,
with teensy handstitched hexies in adorable prints!!!

And here's the one I sent to my partner.

Pinnies are one of my favorite gifts to receive.
My sister from Susie's Sunroom made this pincushion for me,
and I use it all the time, as one of my main pinnies.
I station 3 or 4 of them around the room while I sew.

I fully intend to make many more pincushions.
You can never have too many!

I hope you enjoyed my entry in the 
Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade.
Be sure to visit all of the other posts to see
some fabulous pinnies!
There's still time to link up to join the parade!

On a personal note...

As a proud band mom,

I get the chills as I see our high school band

marching down the hill toward the football stadium.

The drum cadence grabs everyone's attention,

and we watch 200 musicians and bandfront marching onto the field.

This year, one of our sons is a drum major,

which makes it super fun to be a band mom.

As another anniversary of September 11 passes,
I am so thankful that my sons have been able to participate
in lots of traditionally patriotic events like parades.
I hope the American flag will always hold meaning in their hearts,
and that they will always appreciate the freedom that it represents.

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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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A Favorite Christmas Present

Hello, Friends,

and Happy New Year!!!

I wish each of you a very healthy

and prosperous 2016.

I never make official resolutions for the new year...

but I do hope to do more blogging in the coming year.

It's exciting to wonder what lies ahead,

and I hope to have lots of new projects to share with you.

For my first blog post of 2016,

I'm going to share one of my favorite Christmas presents

that I received, from my sister Susie.

Susie chose to create a Deluxe Pincushion for me,

from the book called

Sew Organized for the Busy Sewer,

by Heidi Staples.

I adore the little prints of Miss Kate,

featured in the patchwork square.

The quilting adds texture and durability.

This lime green print looks fantastic with it,

for the background and backing.

{Isn't the label adorable???}

I've got a lime green pair of scissors

that fits inside the little pocket.

The Clover Wonder Clips come in handy

for so many tasks. 

{And they're just so cute, too!}

That fabric tape has such sweet pictures,

and the words make me smile.

{Perhaps there was something lost in the translation...

they don't make sense to me, but that's why I find them irresistible.}

I won't be afraid to use this little pincushion.

I want to keep it near me for inspiration,

while I sew and smile.

Susie has been busy making lots of these pinnies.

Visit her blog at Susie's Sunroom

to see all kinds of good stuff!

Every Deluxe Pincushion I've ever seen

has been charming, but THIS one...

stole my heart!

I'm so glad it's mine!

Have you received a special handmade gift for Christmas, too?

Please comment about it below, and feel free to

include a link if you shared it on a blog post, Flickr, Instagram, etc.

I hope to see you often in 2016!

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Little Grandbaby Granny Star Pincushion Has Arrived

I can only imagine how exciting it is,

waiting for new grandbabies to arrive!

Just this afternoon,

my guest tutorial went up for the

baby Granny Square Block project...

part 3 of my guest posts at Bear Creek Quilting Company.

Allow me to introduce the

Granny Star Pincushion.

Now, if this pinnie were a baby,

it would definitely weigh in at over 10 lbs.

The finished size is 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 1 1/2" or so.

I love bigger pincushions, myself.

They don't get lost as easily amid my sewing stuff.

There are lots of pieces to the granny star block,

and those star points are pretty tiny.

You'll have to pop on over to the free tutorial,

where you will find a method to create

near-perfect star points...so easily!

I hope you'll be inspired to try out one or more

of my Granny Star methods...

Granny-sized, Mama-sized, or Grandbaby-sized!

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