Put A Pin In It

I'm finally starting to kick this cold's butt to the curb. Good riddance! Funnily enough, it coincided with finishing the binding on Scrap{Bee} 2.0. ;) I'll share it next week once I've taken some good photos of it.

Our OMQG swap this month is a pincushion, maximum size 6" square. I made this one for my friend Jan from The Pickle Dish.

I was trying to channel some Zakka. I used Essex Linen (natural?), some aqua fabric I had in my stash and Little Matroyshka by Carly Griffith for Riley Blake that I found in Jan's shop. I'm very happy with how the pincushion turned out. So much so that I will just have to make another one for me. :)

Edited to add: The pincushion is filled with crushed walnut shells. I bought them at Pet Smart and they look like this. You can fill a pincushion with all sorts of things, but I like the weight and shape that the walnut shells give it. Walnut shells are allergenic, I'm told, so you need to make sure that the person using it doesn't have allergies.

So here's a question for you. If you are supposed to include some coins in a wallet or purse that you are gifting someone for good luck, should you gift a pincushion with a couple of pins in it for the same reason? Inquiring minds want to know!

Have a great weekend everyone!

TGIFF! - Purple Radiant Orchid Madness

Happy Friday, all! I'm in a bit of a purple phase at the moment. Kind of à propos given Pantone's 2014 Color of the Year, eh?

Earlier this week, I showed you my little Mini Me block. Through the magic of the Internet, it's been transformed into this little pincushion.

Although it seemed mini compared to the 12.5" Diamond Ripples block on which it's based, doesn't it look big compared to this other selvage pincushion I finished this week?

 

But that's not really purple madness, M-R, you say. Okay, so how about these placemats made with the purple and lime green scraps from Carsick? Yay for using up more scraps!

I did some free motion matchstick quilting on these and I love the texture. Kind of looks woven, doesn't it?

My kids immediately claimed them, but I'm holding firm that one of them must be mine. Negotiations ensued and concessions made. Expect to see some more placemats in the near future. :)

The back - Big scrap pieces

Still not enough purple for you? Next week, my friends, next week there will be more…

I'm linking up to TGIFF!, which is over with Jess @ Quilty Habit this week. Her fun and fabulous quilt features Brrr!, the Laurie Wisbrun line I used in the quilt in my header.