New Chairs For The Studio...

I received a wonderful surprise from a friend at our guild meeting on Tuesday night. I'm always tickled when someone notices something about me and what I like. I'm not surprised when it's one of my blog readers. After all, I frequently come right out and tell you!

Lynn Anderson, a member who also has a long-arm quilting business, came up to me before the meeting with a full shopping bag, and said she thought I might like to have the contents. I'm not sure whether she reads my blog or not, but she has learned about some of the things I like, and these gifts delighted me.

She gifted me some beautiful wool fabrics and wool jackets that I can repurpose for my wool embroideries (or wallets!). Then, tucked inside the wools were these three, sweet Mary Engelbreit chair pincushions.

The little one is weighted, so it's perfect for holding my needle when I'm doing my ribbonwork! The other two chairs are classic ME style. One is the "chair of bowlies" chair and the other is sunny yellow with Mary's cherry fabric.

I think I'll make one of my newest pincushions to give Lynn as a little thank you. I'll present it to her the next time I see her.

Speaking of my pincushions...I was at Nifty 50s yesterday. I took along my latest creations to show the gals, and sold the BFF - Snowbirds set. My client asked me to add a little bling to it for her and her sister (who will be gifted with the second one). We agreed that I'd bring it back in two weeks for her.

I brought them home, chose the embellishments and then added them to each one. They're all finished and wrapped, so I'll just set them aside for safekeeping until our next get-together. Life really is a happy "bowl of cherries"!

BFF Pincushions...

I always set aside studio time on the weekend, so on Saturday I went to my "bag-o-selvages" with simple trimming on my mind. As I cut away excess fabric, I was inspired to create something. With that, this idea was born.

Perhaps you remember the two-part Mitzpah Coin. You know. The coin that you would share with your BFF. She (or he) wore one half and you wore the other. I seem to remember it having the verse, "May the Lord watch between thee and me, while we are absent, one from the other."

As I was cutting away on the selvages, I found myself thinking of my girlfriend in Wisconsin who used to be my sewing buddy. I was in my early 20s and she, her daughter and I would sew together every single evening after having dinner with her husband and sons.

We were prolific. I worked in a law office during the day and sewed with my girlfriends at night. I had a new business outfit to wear every week! When I moved back to my hometown, I couldn't sit at my sewing machine for over a year. I was lonely for my sewing BFFs.

That's when the idea struck! Why not create something for sewing BFFs? I came up with weighted pincushions that were mirror image of each other...one for one girlfriend and another for her treasured friend. That's how the BFF Pincushion was born. I was off and running.

The pincushions measure approximately 4" wide by 8" long. They're made with fabric selvages and filled with crushed walnut shells. Not only do the walnut shells sharpen your pins and needles with use, but they prevent the pincushion from scooting around on your table, too.

I managed to finish three sets this past weekend, and have added these to my Etsy shop. I'll add more as I make time to sew them. 

 

I'm also going to do a couple other variations on the theme. I'll show you as they come off the assembly line. With all the ideas for BFF Pincushions swimming around in my head right now, the sky's the limit!

 

I have a lot going on this week, but there's always time to be in the studio. Don't forget to take time to pursue your creative muse, too. Everyone needs to set aside time to "get your craft on"! 

 

After all, "Seven Days Without Crafting Makes a Person Weak"! 

(I know...groan...I couldn't resist.)