3 Pincushions and a parliament of owls

Here are 3 pincushions I made for friends and myself prior to Christmas.

The hedgehog I found online at Make it Modern blog found at http://modernquiltlove.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/the-tale-of-two-hedgehog-pincushions-and-a-free-pattern-to-make-your-own/ This one I gave to my friend Tricia as a Christmas present. 

This next snowman pincushion was found at Connecting Threads at http://www.connectingthreads.com/Patterns/Free_Quilting_Patterns__L601021.html  My friend Ethel got this one for Christmas.  They made theirs out of cotton fabric, but I chose to make mine out of wool.

The owl pincushion was also found online at Jenny the Artist's blog at http://jennytheartist.blogspot.com/2008/08/traditional-japanese-owl-tutorial.html  The tutorial show it being made by machine out of cotton fabric and sewing down the "ears".  I chose to use wool and leave the ears free.

The parliament of owls I made were for an online group with Mary Lou Weidman.  We've had 2 exchanges this year, the first one was bees and then this owl one.  We are now about to start one of socks.

I used the same Kaffe Fassett rose fabric for all the owl's heads and bodies.  I used a chrysanthemum print for the top of the chest and wings.

I used a yellow batik for the beak and feet and then I fussy cut the Kaffe Fasset star flower to make the eyes.  I'm waiting for my new mixed parliament to arrive home.  I'll post another picture when they arrive.

Wool Crazy piece is finished!

I finally finished my wool crazy piece.  It started because of another piece I was working on and decided to combine the two together.  This is an overall picture of the full piece.

 Here is the top third of the piece.  My initials are in the top right corner and the date is found under the tree.

 I managed to put a little something in for all the seasons.  A lot of the designs are my own, some are adapted from JoAnn Mulaly's Wool Crazy book.

 We had an early snowfall in November that inspired this row of houses.

 Fall is one of my favourite times of year, I love the oranges, reds and purples you can find.

 I often photograph flowers and bees always seem to enter the pictures.

 Sunflowers are another flower I enjoy photographing.

 Whenever I make something my signature logo is a moon and star with shh along with the year the piece was made. 

 We have gorgeous cherry blossoms all over the city and I enjoy driving around and checking them out.

 You may have noticed the snowflake button in the middle of the tree...that is because this piece all folds up and is fact a Huswif Sewing case.

 The interior was designed by Kaaren Johnston at The Painted Quilt.  You can find the pattern for this at  http://thepaintedquilt.blogspot.com/2010/08/first-friday-freebie-12.html

I made mine a bit wider than Kaaren's and did not curve the top as she did.  I added the second tulip shape to hold a needle threader.  There are two pockets to hold other goodies that you may need for your projects.

Happy American Thanksgiving!

My American friend Donna sent this to me and I'd like to share it will all my American friends on their special day.  Enjoy the day, gobble, gobble!

Fall "Break"

Unexpectedly I'm having a Fall "Break"; on October 12th I got up from my computer and my left foot had fallen asleep.  I put it down twice and took a step.  Unfortunately I didn't plant it correctly and broke my fifth metatarsal bone and was in a cast for two weeks.  I then progressed to this lovely black "space boot" but am not able to go to work.  As a result I've been able to do a lot of hand stitching.

 You might remember the wool crazy round robin pin cushion top I shared with you.  Well I decided to put around the side of it the following. "Leave room in the garden for the fairies to dance."  Then after adding the top to the sides I started a new project.

 My friend Rita was a great help to me in the early days of my broken foot, so I made this small garden themed pin cushion for her as a thank you.

 Rita helped make my condo more crutch safe as I couldn't weight bear for the first two weeks after my break.

 Then I started work on the Winter themed pin cushion I was going to make while working on the round robins.

 I finally decided to make my "pin cushion" into a sewing case. I hand stitched the zipper in.

 I did manage to get to my sewing machine to sew the lining bottom to the sides, but everything else is hand stitched.  By luck one of the donut bobbin holders fits perfectly along with a little fairy tin that I keep my Clover applique pins in.  I put some batting in the lid to stick pins and needles in along with some in the sides to make them stand up when the case is open.

 I decided to make a second sewing case with the winter piece.

 As you can see I happened to have this snowflake fabric to make a seasonal lining.  The outside reads "Snowflakes are Angel Kisses."

 I was on a roll, so I made myself an Autumn themed pin cushion that is filled with crushed walnut shells.

 During the Falloween Blog hop I found this pumpkin pin cushion and leaf needle keeper by Terri Degenkolb at Whimsical Quilts.  Her blog from October 3rd is where you get a copy of the pattern. http://whimsicals.typepad.com

 I've also been working on my long narrow crazy quilt piece.  I'm not saying what it will become yet.  But I've been having fun designing patterns to fit the patches.  The house just grew out of what I had pieced.

 I've had some fun with flower designs and am planning on stitching them later tonight maybe.

So you can see I've been keeping busy despite my broken foot!

Halloween Colours

Happy Halloween to you all, today I went for a drive to check out the colours of Halloween.  This Japanese Maple tree is just up the hill from where I live, what a great contrast to the yellow leaves behind and the blue sky.

 The red the maple leaves are just gorgeous on this tree down by the Fraser River.

 Hints of yellow amongst the red and orange.

 There were two of this bush, great contrast against the green.

 Mountain Ash leaves turning from green to orange.

 The yellow was just beautiful on this tree.

 The Japanese Maple tree at a local garden centre was just spectacular! 

 Back closer to home the leaves turning on this Elm tree.

Some of the leaves along the walkway. 

 Some more spectacular colour with a Victorian house all decked out for the Trick or Treat children coming soon.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone.

Wool Crazy Round Robin Update

Here are our completed wool crazy round robin pincushion tops.  First off is Sandi's Autumn theme.  Isn't it lovely?  I added a little heart and a moon and star to my turkey block.

 Here is a closer look at Ethel's portion of Sandi's piece.

 Ethel added a person to each of our pieces!  On the west coast you often need rain gear to go pumpkin picking.

 This is Ethel's Mr. McGarrity's garden, Sandi added a lovely house, some trees and look at that flock of sheep!

 Here is a closer look at her details, flowers climbing the white picket fence and house.

 This is Debbie's Halloween theme, Sandi added a purple witch's boot with some spiders and candy corn.

 The spider body's are black beads and that crow looks ready to have an appetizer.

 Here is my Flower and Bugs top, Sandi added the dragonfly.  She used metallic thread in the wings so they sparkle!

 Here is a closer look at Sandi's dragonfly, love all the flowers she also added to the left.

 Ethel asked if there was room to add this wonderful fairy,  Isn't she cute with her wand and wings!

The next step is to finish them off.  Once they are completed I'll post some more pictures.   But I have to admit I'm addicted to wool applique!