Amore for Amaranthus

A couple of weeks ago I popped into one of my local patchwork supply shops and picked up two kits for pincushions.  Now, pincushions are not my thing, and neither is buying kits. I often don’t like the fabrics and would rather use my own imagination. However, one pincushion kit used 1.5 inch squares, and as I’m thinking about doing one of those postage stamp scrap quilts, I thought this would be a good way to see if I wanted to try the bigger project.

I’m happy to say that chain piecing 1.5 inch patches is quick and kind of meditative.  The round pincushion kit was short of one patch and minus one button (which meant I got to use the heart buttons I won in a give-away several years ago, instead).  Sewing this pincushion was a breeze and I’m especially happy with my rustic cross stitch. I used Perle 8 cotton instead of the recommended embroidery floss.

I was less happy with the other kit because the wool felt fabrics are much duller than those pictured on the pattern. But, I like the folksy look this has.

I went to our local organic food shop and bought Amaranthus seeds to use as the filler for each pincushion. These were recommended to me as an alternative to crushed walnut shells.

The Amaranthus seeds add a lovely weight and feel to the pincushions. They remind me of the ‘Beanie Babies’ my sons used to pester me for when these toys were all the rage in the early 90s.  

It was a nice break to sew these little projects – and good to finish something – amongst the eternal hexie stitching. 

oooOOOooo

I read a blog a while ago where the author (sewing a Martha’s Garden quilt by hand) was told by a relative that it “would break her heart” because it would take so long.  I didn’t fully understand what that meant.  Now I do!

Hubblebird