Friday, October 21, 2016

I think the worst of the fever has passed...

It all started innocently enough.  My daughter and I were out running errands, one of which was to pick up a bag of cat litter.  While we were in the pet store, I decided to take a look and see if they had lizard litter, aka crushed walnut shells.
Aha!


Indeed they did.  They were out of the 5lb bag, but the 10-pounder was only slightly more expensive than buying a half pound at a quilt shop, so I grabbed one.  Then the very helpful young man who worked there told me that there was a sale - buy one, get a second one at half price.  While the thrifty part of brain was going "Ooooo!", the sensible part was asking "Just how many pounds of pincushions are you planning to make, exactly?", so I just got the one bag.
Which is probably just as well.
The other day, I left you at this point -


but I didn't stop there.
There were more.


Many more.  Originally I was just going to make two.  Honest.  Three at the outside.
I don't know where it all went off the rails.
And even with that stack up there, I still kept having more ideas.
Like fussy cutting this cute little kitty.


 And making a log.


The log was the first one I completed - stuffed and stitched and ready for action.
Because I needed a place to park my needle while I filled the next one, of course


I've been making four-patches for leaders/enders for over a year, so I always have lots of those laying around.



And I got to use some cute fabric for the backs, too.





A three inch Ohio star was fun.



Especially with this on the bottom.


For this one, I not only got to test out my Dresden ruler,


but I also got to learn how to do the buttonhole stitch on my sewing machine!


That cushion is bigger than the last bunch - finishing at about 5" - so I framed a 3.5" square for the back.


This next one is my favorite, I think.  I used a modified monkey for it.


And then I though, "Why settle for just square shapes?  Why not branch out a little?"
So I made this.  From the top, it just looks like a pinwheel -


but step back a little and you'll see it's a biscornu.


And then...  And then I remembered that I'd just spent 5 months playing with improv and make-it-up-as-you-along and being liberated, so I just grabbed the closest scrappy bits and made a more freeform sort of construction.


I'd gotten down to the very last pincushion when I had one of those slap-myself why-didn't-I-think-of-this-an-hour-ago moments.  From the very first step, I'd been struggling to keep my homemade paper funnel lined up with the opening in the pincushion, while simultaneously trying to dump in walnut shells.  Three hands would have been useful.  Possibly four.
It finally dawned on me to just pin the funnel to the fabric.


Duh.
The last one definitely went a lot more smoothly...



So here's the whole gang!


Well, except for the log.  That one's already been put into service and didn't make it into the group shot.

And I still have about half a bag of lizard litter left.  In other words, I only have half a bag of lizard litter left!


Do you suppose that sale is still going on?

19 comments:

Jan @Cocoa Quilts said...

These are all so cute. I didn't know that about lizard litter. Good to know,. I think you should have went with the 2 bags. I'm sure there will be a need.

Libby in TN said...

I was given a small baggie of lizard litter this week soo it looks like I'm on the pin cushion bandwagon, too. Did you line your cushions with muslin? I know it helps with sand, but question if needed for walnut shells.

Sue SA said...

I am sure you are going to have a good supply of gifts now for friends at Christmas time, but yes it was a good thing you only brought the one bag!

Judy said...

I like enabling, so you should definitely go check and see if the lizard litter is still on sell. Grin!

I think there may need to be a support group for quilters who make pincushions...because...link to Crazy Mom Quilts: https://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2016/09/scrap-it-up.html#uds-search-results And she is not the only one!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

I knew you wouldn't stop at two! Lovely variety, and they will make great little gifts!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

It is so hard to stop at just one! I haven't tried making one with a gusset. I am going to have to try that :)

Wanderingcatstudio said...

They are all so awesome! But those kitty ones!!!! OMG!!! I love those!

Chantal said...

So happy to hear the fever has abate ... some what! Will you have a quilting bee at your place to use all those fantastic pincushions? On the other hand, they would make great stocking stuffers. Enjoy the insanity ... uh I mean, the sewing! lol
;^)

Quiltdivajulie said...

SO much fun!!! What a terrific post!

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

It seems making your pin cushions is a little like eating potato chips...you can't eat just one. They are so cute and I totally understand why you would want to keep such a good thing going. Pretty materials.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

You always seem to go big! That's a lot of pin cushions, but what fun with scrap play.

Sally Trude said...

Why are you making pincushions when you could be making something useful like cat toys?

Respectfully,

Molly

Deb from frugal little bungalow said...

These are all adorable and I didn't even know there was such a thing as lizard litter! :)

Kate said...

Looks like you made a dent in your Christmas gift making. All of them are cute and fun. Even if you don't sew, they'd make great desk decorations.

Mystic Quilter said...

Are you going into business with these pin cushions???

Janice Holton said...

Wow! You really went to town on those pin cushions. I really enjoyed seeing all the different ideas you had with them. Thanks for sharing!

Vic in NH said...

Oh boy, now I know what everybody on Santa's list is getting for Christmas! They are fabulous!

kmkat said...

Love your pincushions! And thank you for the new word, biscornu -- love to learn new words!

Magpie Sue said...

Gayle! I had no idea I needed to look for lizard litter for pin cushions! I'd heard of using walnut shells of course but had no luck locating them in our local pet supply store. And what a wonderful mountain of pin cushions you've created! My mouth is watering... I may have to do something about this...