pincushion trials and tribulations!

My mission for wednesday
was to make a pincushion
i had the idea in my head
i was in the mood for making
so off i went to my craft room to get to work

after a quick rummage through my
vintage embroidered linen cloths
i found this tray cloth
i used a large embroiderey hoop
to select the section i wanted
marked out a circle and cut it out

i then made a suffolk puff
but didn't pull the threads tight

then i made another the same size
with a plain linen napkin

i filled the plain puff with a LOT of polyester stuffing
next i pulled the threads tight - very tight

*POP*
oops that was too tight and the thread just wasn't up to it so it snapped under the pressure

feeling slightly annoyed i re-did the puff with stronger thread
and tied it up as tight as i could
whilst wishing i had an extra pair of hands to help

i popped the plain stuffed puff into the embroidered one so that the hole was on top under the embroidered linen and stitched a vintage dorset button on to the outer puff and a plastic button onto the plain puff pulling nice and tight to get a nice dimple in the middle

hmmm anyone else thinking this is all rather over complicated?

then i pulled in the threads
to finish the puff and tied them off

okay so it does looks quite pretty
but at the end of the day it's wasting the plain napkin 'cause no-one can see it.
So i left it on the side and cracked on with making another version which i'm not going to show
as it's for a swap ;op

********
After working on the secret pincushion and having learned from some of my previous mistakes, i came back to this one and decided NO i don't like it and dismantled it!
That plain area NEEDS something i thought
so i got out a hoop and sewed on this little phrase that's been going round and round my head
it seems very familiar {not the words themself as i know they are song lyrics} and i'm worried i may have lifted the idea from someone else
but i've no idea where the inspiration came from?

the pin marks the spot for a button
to give a nice middle dimple

dimpled!
i used the plain green stuffed puff for the inside again with them placed in opposite directions so the button sits nicely in the hole off the puff, i didn't bother with a button on the bottom as it's a real faff trying to get the needle through the holes of both buttons and it was nice to see the green showing through the puff-hole!

The lettering's a bit distorted where it got stretched
for the dimple but it's only for me so hey-ho!

For some reason i always seem to over-complicate what should really be a simple project, everytime i take part in a swap i make twice as many things as i need because i can't work out how to make something and have to make several prototypes!!!

Now i've got a couple of different pincushions under my belt, i think i may make a few for the shops
do you think they would sell?

vintage embroidery transfer overload!

on my way home from dropping
my son off at pre-school
i had an overpowering desire
to check out the charity shops . . .

ooohh - what do we have here then? my little heart skipped a beat when i saw what was peeking out at the edges . . .

an antique folder full of very very vintage embroidery transfer patterns

and vintage christmas cards

the more i flicked through the folder
the more i NEEDED it!

some are over a hundred years old!

it felt almost wrong to be looking through
someone elses treasures

every now and then i'd find a little newspaper clipping from the war on how to make and mend

i think this is my favourite pattern

love these snippets too

so much treasure - such an amazing find!

right at the back was this story
saved from the paper
dated new years eve 1940

skippity skip i went off to the counter
more than happy with my find

*****
then i noticed these

vintage woman's magazines -
these are definately good for a giggle
oh i would've been so bad as a 50's wifey!

Wow it really was my lucky day . . .

and d'ya know what?
i also scored three pairs of vintage knitting needles three of which are now bangles!

yep there are only two here
pesky teenage daughter strikes again!