Tuesday, April 20, 2010

peacock swap...

pin cushion

It feels like such a long time since I was last involved in a swap... so this was lots of fun!

The theme was PEACOCK colours...

The idea was to crochet an item, and team it with a few surprises for your swap partner.

This time I was really stumped for ideas.

Sometimes I just get inspired and know EXACTLY what I want to make for my partner - it might be weird... or impractical... or just damn crazy.... but I KNOW what I want to create.

Not this time.

Zilch

Nada

Nothing

No inspiration whatsoever...

So, what I've come up with feels a bit boring, and pedestrian... although I believe it will be appreciated, and it's definitely a practical gift which will get a lot of use.

It's just missing the FUN FACTOR...

So here it is...

My partner enjoys quilting, so I've made her a pin cushion... and teamed it with some fat quarters in peacock colours, and some glass headed quilting pins.

swap

The pin cushion is crocheted using embroidery scraps. In fact, I used these scraps which Bec sent to me a month or two back.

Only thing though... because I was looking for a neat finish (rather than my usual scrappy style) there were loads and loads of ends to weave in. Ahhhh... one of the joys of working with scrap lengths, I suppose.

But it's all done now... and posted... and received.

Forgot to mention that I used two squares of denim (old jeans) for the cushion part. Just cut them out using a pair of pinking shears, and zig zagged around three sides (about 50mm in from the edge) Then I popped some stuffing in, and zig zagged the cushion closed. After that, it was just a matter of sewing the crochet granny square in place on the top. The granny square itself was crocheted using a 1.25mm hook.

Oh, and two wooden buttons... stitched through centre top and bottom... just to give it some shape.

Think that's it...

But if I've forgotten anything, just ask!

pin cushion front pin cushion back

11 comments:

misha said...

How can I say that I like it if you say it is pedestrian? :) It isn't! I like it a lot, especially the colours and the combination with jeans.

Katherine said...

I actually really like it too. I actually did a little gasp sound when I saw the first picture lol. I love the colours, and how they blend with the demin. I then went straight to ravelry to see if it was on there so I could add it to faves!

Katherine said...

Oh dear... I wrote actually twice in 2 sentences :(

Anne Marie said...

Wow do I love this - please tell me how you sewed the granny to the finished pincustion - did you just hand stitch it down?? Thanks for the help.

Kat said...

This is such a neat idea. My mom is a master quilter too. I can't sew to save my life but I can crochet and probably can sew just enough to make something like this for her. I may make her one of these too. How did you sew the granny square onto the denim pouch? It is just a whip-stitch using regular thread?

Sharon Maher said...

misha - lol! it's not that I don't like it... I think it just doesn't demand the same attention that some of my other pieces do!

Sharon Maher said...

katherine - aren't you a treasure! I've added it over at rav now ;)

Sharon Maher said...

anne marie and kat - the granny square was sewn by hand... using regular cotton in a similar colour to the final round

I just stitched around the outer edge of the granny square, making sure that each stich was tugged a little, so that it pulled into the crochet, and disappeared from sight

I didn't need to worry about attaching it anywhere else, as the button holds it securely in place at the centre

Katherine said...

Yay! I have favourited it on Ravelry :)

Annie said...

Sharon
I just found this on your blog!
It was wonderful to be the recipient of this swap ;))))
Thank you..
We are actually going to try out the pincuchion idea in a small craft group I run...I will take photos.
AnnieL

Sharon Maher said...

annie...

you're welcome :)

I've been meaning to make one of these for myself... but haven't done so yet! maybe I should make one and pop it under the christmas tree this year...

would love to see the photos, too!