May Pincushion for CQJP 2014

The May pincushion for the CQJP (Crazy Quilt Journal Project) 2014 is complete!


This one started off with this little box of inspiration from Helen Gibb.

I fell in love with the lily of the valley ribbon and knew I had to make a pincushion using elements from this little inspiration box! 

When I first pieced the block, one of the long edges of the lily of the valley ribbon was tucked underneath the other fabrics.  It just wasn't right, so I unstitched the seam and basted the ribbon on top.

I used feather stitching to catch the edges of the heavy ribbon down.  Some of the ultra-suede leaves and a lavender ribbon flower from the box trimmed the bottom edge of the ribbon.


A small bit of the lovely net lace was added along one corner.


At the other end of the ribbon, I added a seam using some flower sequins in forget-me-not blue!

On the other side, I added a silk ribbon embroidered stalk of lily of the valley and another seam with flower sequins.  

The back received my usual signature ~ plus a little cat hair!

That's because, I cannot work on any project without both kitties having to look and see what I'm doing!  The lint brush is in constant use here!  

Mollie Kitty had to see what was happening too.  Here she is giving me her "winky" eyes happy look.  She's always winking both eyes at me and I can rarely catch her in a photo without her eyes half closed as a result!

I finished the pincushion the same day that the lilies of the valley were in full bloom in my garden!  With snow predicted for the following day, I picked them all and brought them inside to enjoy!  The little aqua blue glass vase is from the Roman Bath at Bath, England! 

Love having beautiful spring flowers on the windowsill over the kitchen sink!  So cheery!

Loved having so many of these sweet little flowers blooming!  Last year, there were just a couple, but this year, there were so many!  Such a heavenly scent!  

I also brought in a few lilacs from the neighbor's bushes that edge my yard.  They have filled the dining room with my favorite floral scent!


When the tree guys were here last week, I kept a few blooming branches of the wild plum to enjoy.  They are still blooming beautifully!

After a week of lovely warm weather, winter returned on Mother's day with cold rain that turned to snow.  The quaking aspen leaves just shrug off the snow and look as beautiful as ever! 

The burning bush gathers the snow though and all the branches were leaning hard to the side under the weight of the wet snow by the end of the day.  Thankfully, we didn't have a huge accumulation as most of it melted off as it fell.  We did receive over an inch of moisture though, which is lovely for our arid high desert region at this time of year! 

With the snow and cold, it was a good day to stay inside!  I made a batch of donut spice muffins in the morning.  Perfect with a pot of tea! 

In addition to working on the pincushion, I've been playing around with ideas for this denim shirt.  Way back... w a y  b a c k . . .   I used to have a denim work shirt that I'd embroidered to go with my embroidered jeans.  I think I started it when I was in 8th or 9th grade.  I wore it everywhere for a long time ~ until my kids were small!  I'm sure it wore out long ago.  I also had embroidered shirts for my Mom and Dad that were covered with birds.  My Dad often wore his when he went bird watching and hiking!  Well, I've been hunting for a shirt for myself, that I could wear as a lightweight jacket.  I found this one in the Men's section at a local thrift shop.  It's roomy enough to wear over another shirt and possibly a lightweight sweater if I like!  The cloth is in great shape, yet soft and comfy feeling!  

So, I've been sketching up ideas for how to embroider it.  We'll see how it evolves!  I'll keep you posted!