Finally, a Pincushion.

Let me start with saying that I have a horrible habit of not keeping track of my pins while sewing. Mom can attest to this, as the habit started way back when I first started learning to sew for 4-H. She had a red tomato and a magnetic thing and a small black case... I would use these if they were next to me when I needed them; however, if I was in the middle of sewing and I didn't have a pincushion near the machine, the pins would end up on the table or the floor.

Well, out here in Big Sky country, my pins' home is the little case the pins came in when I bought them. Within our little apartment, I'm usually pinning in the living room or on the ironing board - neither of which are close enough to the sewing machine on the kitchen table for me to keep track of my pin case when I'm in a rush to be creative (and yes, when I'm being creative, I'm ALWAYS in a rush to see the final draft!)

Well, Grizz is getting a little annoyed with my habit of having pins on the floor EVERYWHERE. I just keep walking without thinking about it (it's all I've known), but he is a little worried about pinning his bare feet (scaredy-cat)

So, I finally buckled down to sewing a pincushion, and the plan is to always keep this next to the machine. The pin case will travel with me to where ever I am pinning a project that day.

 I used inspiration from here; and the heirloom tomato tutorial here; and wondered if I should do something more like here; but I decided just to wing it!

 I took this little "Cherry Blossom" pink depression glass dish that I've had sitting around since college. Someday I'll explain my affinity to antique stores and thus explain why I was in one during college. But for now, just know I like depression glass, and I had this on hand :)

I filled the cushion with a bit of rice to weigh it down (and as it turns out, to also help it form into the dish), a bit of dried lavender petals (leftover from our wedding), and some polyester crafting stuffing (Martha says cotton would be better). I used a thicker thread to wrap around it 4 times (I probably should have at least used embroidery floss) and added the button (yay craigslist!). The fabric is scraps of a vintage sheet from a thrift store (imagine that!).

I really like my new creation... and I have a feeling Grizz will like it too - no more worrying about stepping on pins! (HOPEFULLY!)