I say it’s busy because I’ve been filling all your orders for $5 patterns! There will be one more next Friday as it’s the last one in the month and then we’ll take a little break to give you a chance to get something sewed! In the middle of all,those orders I had trouble with the copy machine – wouldn’t you just know it? I found the issue and started making copies again.
I so appreciate those of you who include an address label for me to just put on the envelope with your order. Some of you are adhering your address label to your note which means I have to take the time to cut it off and tape it down on the envelope I’m using to mail your pattern. Do you understand that I actually want to USE the address label? And if you don’t send the address label I have to hand write your envelope.
In an effort to entertain you I’m going to start cleaning the pincushion case. This sweet bear/cat/dog? has been well loved and came to me from a reader named Gayle. He/she is very delicate, very tender and very worn but he/she is wonderful! what do you think she is?
These are the pincushions that are sitting by my machine that are constantly in use.
And this big jar of vintage tomato pincushions is simply stellar, isn’t it?
I’m going to take a nicer picture of this jar.
Here’s a homespun, a crocheted and an egg cup pincushion.
And here’s a pug on a pillow and a frilly crochet.
And these are just the ones that “live“ close to my machine!
Time for chores and a walk for my bored dogs. I am never bored and if I were, I’d find something to do!!! Margaret’s husband had a knee replaced last week so I will be handling the church service by myself. And I will miss her!
I’m all caught up with the orders but remember there will be no mail on Monday for Presidents Day.
The pin cushion looks like a bear to me. You do have a lot of pin cushions. I have two that I use all the time. One of them is very similar to your blue one in the second picture, but mine is paper pieced in log cabin pattern, and the strips end up being 1/2″. I made it several years ago, and also made some for each of my sisters-in-law and my sister. I have another one I like that I made from the cuff of a mans shirt. That one is my favorite. I use poly beads to stuff mine.
Jeanine – I have a shirt cuff pincushion and Connie I used to make log cabin pincushions for sale at Quilt Festival – yes! strips were cut 1” – ugh – one year I think we made almost 200 of them – crazy!
Mary,
I wouldn’t want to make 200 of them. They are quite time consuming, to say the least.
I guess the animal is a horse. I love your pin cushion collection. I’m still using the pin cushion my Mom bought me when I took Home Ec in eighth grade umm let’s just say over 50 years ago. I can only count five pin cushions plus a magnetic one. It’s hard to pick a favorite but if I had to it would be the dog on the pillow.
Marsha – I love the name I gave it – Pug on a pillow! Haha!
Me, too. It is a cute name. My Grandma had a pug dog. I was with her when we bought her home. I loved that peppy dog.
Hi Mary, l too Ave several pincushion next to my machine., can’t do without them, plus 3 pairs of scissors. Stella had her first ballet class yesterday, was fun to watch.Hope the visit to Mayo goes well, ask questions! Take care, best wishes from Sandy
Hi, Sandy – oh my, Luna is taking ballet – she will be a darling ballerina!
I am looking forward to seeing the rest of your pin cushions!! I have a couple that my grandmother made when she was doing needlepoint. The rest of mine are those I made 2-3 years ago when the book, Pin Pals, by Carrie Nelson came out. I may have gone a bit crazy—didn’t quite make every pattern in the book, but close! They are fun, quick, creative, useful projects!!! I even have one that is from a leftover Bullseye block from the quilt along a few years ago!! That one actually gets used pretty regularly!!!
Love your pincushions!
😸
Hi Mary,
I think the pincushion animal is a horse. It looks a little as if he has hooves, to me. And thread would make a good mane and tail! I love pincushions too: one of my own favourites is a pink pig with a curly tail.
Fiona – oh! You might be right! Hadn’t thought of horse
I still have a pink tomato pincushion sitting in a small box to mail you yet as I found it at a thrift store and never had a seen a pink one before. All I ever see here is a red one (and now I don’t find them like I use to see) so I will mail this one on to you to add to your jar. I got rid of my magnetic pincushion as it drove me crazy with turning the pins on me! I thought the thing was possessed as I would lay a pin on it and it would flip another way so it drove me crazy and out the door that went. I still like mine like Jeanine has with the log cabin strips. It was a gift and I love that one the most. My aunt loved the wrist ones.
We had those strong wind gusts today so we nested inside happily.
Being from Wyoming, I think it’s a Buffalo!!
I love your collection.
The grilled cheese and soup was so good last week, we’re having it again tonight.
What good timing. Jo just posted an ort/pincushion tutorial over on her blog. I have a couple vintage crochet heart pillows that I know l now realize may be pincushions. I think your mystery animal is a bear. It has a snout like a bear. The egg cup pincushion is really cool!
Carla – Jo’s post is what made me think of these that live close to me
I think the pincushion is a bear because of its thick legs and sloping backend. A horse has slender legs, small hooves and an almost level croup (rear end). Whatever it is – it’s adorable. I’ve been collecting pincushions for years. You gave me a half lady pincushion which I cherish and I also like my large strawberry pincushion which came from South Carolina. I hope Rick’s appointments go well next week.
With that thread on it I think horse with a mane. And those patches on bottom do look like hooves. Call me crazy, but my first thought was hippo with that blunt nose.
I have several of your pincushions. Always hit your booth first on Thursday night previews at Rosemont show to admire (and buy) your latest batch of pincushions. I keep them in basket and enjoy them immensely.
Mary:
I have one of your pin cushions. I bought it from you at the show in Columbus, Ohio. (A long time ago.)
I love your blog and look forward to it each time you post.
Louverna
If it’s a horse, it must be a plow horse. I kind of think it’s a bear, though. This is quite a fun guessing game.
And, I have always loved those red tomato pincushions. I had no idea they came in pink and even white.
I used a wrist one for years until I suddenly started poking my arm with pins. Ouch!
Love your pin cushions – I even have a blue pinwheel cushion from an Ironwood retreat! I have a very small collection of pin cushions, and I have a magnetic one that I like because I can ‘throw’ the pins near it and most of the time they stay lol. I think maybe the mystery animal may be a horse, perhaps meant to be like a dala?
Love it when you show us your collections. Your what’s it reminds me of Eyore, Winnie the Pooh’s friend.
I love your pincushions! I also collect them and have a ton. So many unique ones out there. One of mine looks a bit like a terrior!
Hi Mary, my favorite pin cushion is one that I made at camp in your hayloft, use it everyday!
My first thought was that the well-loved pin cushion is a horse! I like thinking that the thread makes the tail, mane, and forelock. I don’t have many pincushions and keep the pins closest to my sewing machine in a plain old plastic box. I tried a pretty saucer a while ago, but the pins kept jumping up the sloped side and escaped! My favorite pincushion is the one I use at the ironing board-trying to NOT just stick pins into the end of the cover and have them end up on the floor! That one is a miniature makuk (Ojibwe container sewn of birchbark). It is only about 2 1/2″ square at the bottom, circular at the top and I filled it with a roll of cotton batting – rolled edge up. It sits on the shelf at my right hand, doesn’t wander, and is a reminder of the summers we went to rendezvous to visit with DH’s friends.
Mary, your pin cushion collection is so cool! I wondered if the one pictured by itself is a dog? If you look at the ears maybe that would help. My Granddaughter and I were sewing on Friday and she organized all my pins! So I was organizing scraps today, guess I better get the sewing area more organized. I have 3 magnetic ones and yes, when I put pins back on the magnet they move around too. I have a cute hen one that I got at a Farmers Market, and two pretty homemade wool ones. There are a lot of pins, but sometimes I almost run out when working on more than one project at a time. I wish I could find a tomato shape cushion with the cute little strawberry on the string! I will keep looking when winter is over. The winds out here in SW Minnesota are really howling tonight. I enjoy your blog very much. Take care.
Cynthia – yes, aren’t the winds just terrible? It’s just howling and not nice at all. And pincushions? You ain’t seen nuthin yet!
I think the pincushion is a horse also. Might the threads make up his mane and tail? I have multiple pincushions by my machine mostly ones I have made. One of my favorites is the one I bought from you down at Rosemont. If I remember right, you were using the money from them to but a piano. The other is a running rabbit from a Lisa Bongean pattern. One can never have too many pincushions. The wind was absolutely awful here last night. We had fast-moving snow squalls with whiteout conditions. Luckily, it moved out of here quickly. Have a good rest of the weekend.
I have a couple pin cushions from my mom who never sewed. One is a pink Christmas tree complete with tiny Rick rack and beads. It is obviously handmade. I will never know where it came from but it’s a treasure. I love your pincushion jar and your unique collection.
Mary, love what you’ve shown of your pin cushion collection, I have a few and decided to keep what I can in a couple of small antique glass front cabinets to keep the dust off of them. With my house full of dogs and cats I have a lot of dust! I can’t leave a pin cushion on my sewing table or even one of the strong magnetic pin holders because my beautiful Bette Davis with the huge yellow eyes thinks pins with their colorful pin heads were made just for her to play with! She will carry them off in her mouth, by the pin head, and bat them around the floor. So my pins stay in a drawer until I sew and keep them under close observation. Linda
What is it about pincushions that has all of us so gaga? LOL! My favorite is one I made using a big coffee cup for the base. I can just stick my fingers in the handle and carry it wherever I need it. The craziest one I have is made out of a metal cap from a wine bottle. It has a piece of elastic so you can put it on your thumb. Needless to say, I’ve never used it, the cats love to bat it around, though.
We had strong winds Friday night, but at least the power didn’t go out. This morning it’s so nice to wake up to sunshine.
Thanks for entertaining us once again!
Hi Mary
Thanks for the pincushion show and tell. Always nice to hear the backstory of things. One of my tomato pincushions is sectioned off with a sharpie and each section is marked with a machine needle size: 70/11, 80/12, 90/14 etc. and if I only use a needle for a short time, I can put it in one of the sections for re-use again. I also have a separate pincushion for hand sewing needles too.
Windy in Illinois today. Hope your trips to Mayo are productive and stress free.
I think the first pin cushion is a bear that has seen several surgeries. Love seeing all your collections, besides the quilts, patterns and ideas.
I think your mystery pincushion is a capybara. They are large rodents from South America , very social and so cute … and they look just like your pincushion (minus pins & thread!). It seems to me that several years ago Connie was making a lot of foundation pieced log cabin pincushions ( for a class or retreat?). Would it be possible to put the foundation pattern in your patterns sometime? They were so cute! Thanks for sharing your pincushions. I’ll have to dig out my old tomato pincushion … just for old times’ sake.
Candy – I will ask Connie
Thank you for showing your interesting collection!
The animal looks a little like a Dala Horse to me. Being Swedish, you probably know what those are. Wouldn’t a Dala Horse pincushion be cute? I wish I was craftier that way.
I have a few pincushions…my favorite is a crocheted hen in variegated thread. A thrift store find!
Louise K – I have a Dala Horse on my kitchen island.
My favorite pincushion is one I bought at your store. I bought several and gave one to a friend. I have lots of them all over my sewing room. love your blog and read it as soon as it comes in. That mystery one looks like a bulldog to me. Beverly from New Mexico
Mary,
I am so sorry I did not include a label. I missed that requirement. Would never want to add to your time invested when you are already so generous.
Gayle has quite the knack for finding super “loved” on pincushions. Somehow makes me think of the story, “The Velveteen Rabbit”.
Kathy – not to worry – I don’t get many address labels but I’m still asking.
I LOVE your pincushion collection! My purchase “that got away” is when I went to an antique fair and could have bought a dough bowl of tomato cushions full for just $80… but I was a poor college student at the time. I’ve been slowly collecting from thrift stores ever since.
And of course now my last name is “Pins” so I am even more obsessed.
Kayla – keep your eyes peeled at every thrift store – $80 would be a steep price for anybody!