Ring Pillow (July Pincushion for CQJP)

When my daughter first got engaged, I knew right away that I wanted to crazy quilt her a ring pillow for the wedding.  We looked at lots of ideas, but she decided that what she really wanted was one of my crazy quilted CD pincushions!   When I decided to do pincushions for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project, I knew that July's entry would be Jessie's ring pillow pincushion!  

The first block I pieced was this one in the shades of blue that Jessie chose for her wedding colors.  But after looking at it, we realized it was too dark and that we really wanted something much paler in color.  

So I pieced this one using bits of white and ivory silk that I had.

The biggest issue for me was how to attach ribbons that would hold the rings, yet could later be removed.  This little bullion and cast on stitch flower was the answer. 

Since embroidered seams are my favorite part of crazy quilting, that's what I focused on.  Jessie chose a few of the seams to be done out of my stitching inspiration book that I keep, while I choose the rest.  

All the embroidery threads are silk threads which I've been gathering for a year in preparation!

The little blue crystal beads have been in my stash for years, waiting for a special project!

Jessie loves bling, so we had to add a little bit to the pincushion.  Hobby Lobby carries a whole bunch of blingy buttons and some of them were in her wedding blue color! 

We also found these little hearts!

I've had this bit of vintage bling for many years and never had a project it quite worked on.  It worked perfectly on the pincushion!  

It all came together lovely!

I got the idea for the ribbon and lace ruffle from some of the Russian pincushions that I've seen online.  

It adds a bit of extra special-ness to the pincushion and makes it seem like a bit more than just a fancy pincushion! 

Jessie's junior bridesmaid, who is also a ballerina (who has danced occasionally with the Colorado Ballet!) will be carrying it down the aisle at the wedding!

The completed top. 

The bottom.  When stitching the bottom, I discovered that soft wool isn't the easiest to embroider.  If I had it to do over, I'd have backed this with an iron on tricot or cotton first.  At least the lettering would have come out slightly more even!


Once completed, I threaded the ribbons under two of the bullion stitches in the center of the flower.


The rings were added and bows tied!


Just lovely!  We are so happy with how it turned out!


Hard to believe that my daughter is getting married in just a few days!  Getting the pincushion finished definitely makes it seem a bit more real!