Thumb Pincushion

I have added how to make a thumb pincushion to the list of tutorials. Please read the story that goes with it. This is for personal use only. You can make them for yourself and to give away only.

I designed this pincushion 5 years ago in memory of a friend who fought and lost her battle with cancer. She was a courageous woman whom i am honoured to have known. She maybe gone, but not forgotten.
She loved her family and her friends and was generous in spirit. I wanted to celebrate her and spread her love.

When i am sad, i sew. When i am happy , i sew. This was a little of both.
I wanted to share her story with others in a simple way and spread her love.

I made these Thumb Pincushions.
I made 150 of them all the while thinking of my friend and what she meant to me. It was almost Christmas and i thought, How can i share my feelings about her? So i went to Spotlight in Mill Park with the now large bag of Thumb Pincushions and gave them out to the staff, telling the story of my friend as i went. The manager was very kind and generous in spirit too and allowed me to give them freely to people in the fabric department all day long telling my friends story as i went.
I wanted to share with other fellow crafters my feelings and her story.
At the end of the day all 150 of the Thumb Pincushions were gone, I felt i had celebrated her life with complete strangers. I am not a loud or flamboyant person, I am a shy quiet person and have been making them ever since.

Please feel free to make and give away to friends. Please don't copy and sell.
This is just to share with those you love.

Doll Continued

This is the doll so far. the rest is just finishing off by hand. adding hands, sewing on embellishments, adding the cat and lastly the face.

Giveaway

Who would like a thumb pincushion?
The first 5 people to respond to this post will get a couple sent to them, one to keep for themselves and another to give to a friend. Sounds Cool?

All 5 have been responded too and this post is now closed. Do not worry, I have written up a tutorial if you still would like one anyway.

Cat Pattern

I have now added the cat pattern to my free pattern and tutorials list. If you make one or have an idea on how to make the instructions clearer, let me know!

Doll Continued

This is the hair i am going to use on the doll.
I have to brush and clean it out first and then having drawn a hat line on the doll i will use a felting needle to poke the hair in just on that line i drew and above it on the head to hold it in. I am looking for a messy fly away look so styling is not so important. This brush is actually a pet brush, exactly the same as they type of brush you get in teddy bear stores but much cheaper.
All witches need a broom and this is what i had.
Some lavender from my niece. I tied it up and here it is.

Doll Continued

All witches need a cat, I thought hard on what i wanted, and thought about the basic shape of a cat. So idea in mind, back to my trusty tools, cardboard, scissors and masking tape i set to work.
This is his basic pattern shapes. a back, front, underside, tail and face.
Front view taped together.

back view taped together.
This cat is going to be made out of soft cashmere and wool coat material. I am going to put iron on interfacing on the main body to help it give it body and sew it by hand. This is now going to be traced onto freezer paper, adding seam allowances and ironed onto the fabric. cut out and hand sewn together. I hope it works!

Cat of the Day

The Cat of the Day is Meg, She is happily munching on cat grass on the windowsill of the kitchen.