Last Scraps of September

There's been a lot of effort in The Magpie's Nest this week but very little of it has been in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month, orange. I did manage to make up these four blocks:

one 12" Ohio Star and two 10" Wrenches

But more time was spent auditioning blocks for another round on the Parts Department medallion top I've been building. You can see its' inception in this blog post. This is what I had on the design wall when last you saw it:

This is what it looked like earlier this week:

(those are 9" Shoo-fly and Ohio Star blocks around the perimeter)

It's 72" square at this point, and technically too big for my design wall anymore. I am determined to make it big enough to use on a double bed however, so it has to get a bit bigger. I have already auditioned and applied six inch Bow Tie blocks to two sides. That was several days ago. Looking at this picture now is making me question whether that was the best choice. I had my doubts at the time but plowed ahead, anxious to get as close to done as possible. Perhaps I need to reconsider my options. Or try to get a photo of the top with the two new borders and see what my reaction is. Or I could just continue on and add the remaining two sides of Bow Tie blocks and see what I think then. I'm not super-glueing the blocks in place after all. If I don't like it I can always take them off again. I'm not afraid to use the seam ripper when necessary!

I'm joining in with the linky party over at SoScrappy (late, as usual).

Perfectly Pleasing Pincushions Update

Remember when I showed this little jar/lid at the end of my Pincushion Parade post?

I did some research online, looking for ideas or tutorials for turning it into the base of a pincushion. The best resources were found by doing a search on make-do pincushions. The tutorial I ended up using can be found on Needletraditions Blog. You should go check out the lovely handmade pincushions on view there. So very pretty!

Using the steps outlined in the tutorial I made this paper pattern,

and then cut a muslin base in that shape. I pieced appropriately themed scraps onto the muslin,

and sewed it into a cone shape.

Then came the question of how to stuff it. I had some wool roving I needle-felted into the tip and then worked more into a rough approximation of the cone shape. I couldn't completely fill the shape out though. Back in the day I'd read that human hair used to be used to fill pincushions. The oils in the hair are supposed to help to keep the needles and pins lubricated while at the same time providing enough abrasion to keep them sharp. My children were still young at the time and my daughter had long locks. When she finally decided to cut off length I saved those curls. I finally remembered those cuttings after a few days of casting about for a way to firmly stuff this pincushion . Yup, that's what I used, and it seems to have worked well!

It also took some time to find a way to secure the stuffed strawberry shape in the glass jar/lid. I didn't want to use an adhesive because of my chemical sensitivity issues. Nor did I want to rely on a husband or son to do the job for me. In the end I found a nearly empty spool of thread - a short spool - that fit inside the jar. A couple of wraps of cotton batting made for a more snug fit. To disguise the batting and gathered end of the strawberry I covered the neck of the jar with a bit of ribbon that just happened to be printed with a zig-zag stitch. Ta daa!

When the Pincushion Parade had come to an end I realized that I'd left out a pincushion I'd been given for my birthday this year. And since completing this make-do pincushion I've received another, from an online friend.

Christina gave me the needlepoint doggie and Annett made the mini with the tiny thimble in the middle. I'll have no excuse to have pins or needles lying around loose now!

September Stars

Those little 16 Patch blocks I made and showed on Tuesday (scroll down to the previous post) have been transformed into these eight inch stars:

The yellow one is my clear favorite. :- )

I've also made a few more 12" Ohio Stars in orange, the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

I'm linking up with the rest of the RSC bloggers over on SoScrappy. There's a ton of inspiration to be had over there!

I've been busy building a couple of quilt tops so haven't been online much this past week. I have a lot to share, I just have to get my act together and get the pictures edited for you. :- )

ScrapHappy Day

I missed the link party on Saturday for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge but I haven't quite missed out on Kate's ScrapHappy Day!

I didn't feel like dealing with random crumbs this time around. I actually find it more relaxing to work with precision cut pieces. I keep my shorter 1.5" scrap strips in this box next to my cutting table:

I found this beauty in a thrift shop some years ago. It was meant to hold tissues but I've never used it for that purpose. I love the tole painting all around the box however, so I had to find something to keep in it! It hasn't been closing snugly of late.

I decided to cut 1.5" squares from the shortest of these strips to make 16 patch blocks. After half an hour's cutting this is what I had to work with:

And this is what I made from them:

It may not be today, or anytime in the near future, but my intention is to turn them into 8" Sawtooth or Variable Star blocks eventually. Like this one:

More fodder for the Parts Department!

Pincushion Parade Straggler

During my tour of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge bloggers this past weekend I came across a Pincushion Parade hosted by Ida over at My Sister Made Me Do It. I can't resist bringing up the rear with a few pincushions of my own!

First up we have a patchwork cushion I made for myself several years ago, along with the traditional dressmaker's wrist cushion.

These live on my cutting table, very near the design wall so I can grab a pin or two when a flimsy gets too heavy to stick to the flannel on the wall without assistance.

This one lives next to my sewing machine and gets daily use.

It's simply a felted wool ball sitting inside a little bowl one of my children made when they were young. How could it not be a favorite? ;- )

These are my more unique pincushions:

A Victorian style pedestal cushion with a velvet top embellished with buttons, a country cardinal, a black-faced sheep made from another felted wool ball and some pipe cleaner, and a log cabin block hen made by a friend. All but the cardinal get stuck with pins and needles. He's so tall and spindly I worry about stability. I don't often look what I'm doing when I have a pin to dispose of!

In the process of rounding up these pin keepers I came across this small, squat jar without a lid.

Wouldn't it make a cute pincushion? :- )

I'm linking up with the rest of the Parade over here.

First Taste of Orange

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for the month of September is orange! I've been looking forward to indulging in the use of this cheerful color. I have what I consider to be a lot of orange in my stash. It has been surprising therefore, that I don't seem to have many remnants (or scraps) in that color. I guess I just haven't dipped into it to any degree. I think there's some hesitation in that I want to use what I have in a "special" way. You know, a quilt that really showcases orange in all its' glory. So far I have not come up with a plan for such a quilt. Maybe that will come as the month unfolds.

One of the first scraps I pulled out was an old Patrick Lose plaid. I have always loved his use of color and whimsy. There wasn't enough left to make a 12" Ohio Star, which is my primary block for the RSC this year. However, I did manage to cut triangles big enough for the 10" Wrench blocks I'm setting into the delightful scattered dots print I found early in the year.

Then I made a 6" Shoo-fly in reverse:

And squeaked out quarter-square triangles for a variation on a 9" Ohio Star:

Next up was another orange plaid. There was plenty for my 12" Ohio Star...

And it may show up in other, smaller blocks in future.

I have one more block to share with you. It truly speaks to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge as it was made from the leftovers of the Color Wheel block I made for the Foot Square Freestyle swap (see previous post).

Is that fun or what?!

Check out what the other Rainbow Scrappers are making over at the link party on SoScrappy. :- )

S is for Swap

I haven't shared much about the Foot Square Freestyle block swap since Kate and I organized it. Life has been getting in my way very effectively the last couple of months. Fortunately, Kate is more organized than I am digitally and has set up a wonderful gallery of all the blocks that have been made and swapped so far. You can see them here (scroll down a bit). Now it's September, and it's MY turn to receive blocks!

I've already made the blocks for my set. I've actually shared them already but I didn't reveal they were for this blocks swap (I'm so sneaky!). I've requested the other players use black and white and bright colors. Like this:

Or this:

Or this!

I hope the other F2F swappers will have fun with this palette. I sure did!