On Pins and Needles with Sandra, Part 2

In my last post, I shared about the pincushion swap Sandra and I did together and showed you the beautiful pincushion she made for me.  Today, I'd like to show you the starfish pincushion I made.  When I was searching for ideas, Sandra had just returned from a trip to the seashore and she mentioned that she loves the sea.  So I chose a seaside theme for her gift.  I forgot to photograph the beachy batik jelly roll and the crabby card I sent along with the pincushion to Ireland, but you can see them on her blog, Studio Sew of Course, if you pop over there for a visit.  

Here is the starfish pincushion: 

Starfish Pincushion - top view

The top looks like it is beaded, but it isn't.  Those are little glass headed applique pins, in light and dark blue, which I thought would be much more useful.  I like to stuff my pincushions with cured sawdust.  It makes them very firm, gives them a nice heft, and holds the pins in very well.  If you've ever used an old red tomato pincushion, that's what they are stuffed with.   

Starfish Pincushion - belly up

The starfish sits a little bit off the surface of the table and its arms are curved.  It has a really deep, chubby shape, which I liked a lot for holding pins.  I used a very well done Starfish Plushie - pattern and tutorial, which I bought from Metroidhat on Etsy.  The pattern is for a plush toy, but I just resized it to make a smaller starfish.

Have any of you tried doing a private swap with other quilters and crafters?  I know some of you have, because I've seen some wonderful posts about it!  Swaps are a great way to get to know your blogging friends better. "Stalking" them, to fine tune your gift to them (it sounds sinister, but isn't) is a lot of fun.  Personally, I much prefer the private swaps and think that they are Head and Shoulders over the big public ones... No flakes!    (Ha ha)    

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Sarah, who blogs at Cedar Fork Stitches, created another beautiful quilt for Moda Bake Shop, called "Prairie Rose Garden".  It's such a pretty design - perfect for both modern and traditional fabrics. Her tutorial is excellent and she uses a really neat construction technique when she chains stitches, called the web method, which was something very new to me.  Definitely worth checking out!    

When I mentioned that her enthusiasm made me want to give the Moda Crossweave fabrics a try, she sent me some in the mail, along with some pretty orange gingham.  Such a sweet and thoughtful thing to do... Thank you Sarah!  :)  And that Moda crossweave fabric is everything you said it would be!  LOL

Sarah's Sweet Surprise

That's all for today.  Next time I'll show you a mug rug swap I did with Ruth of Charly and Ben's Crafty Corner, which was also a great lot of fun!   

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