Selvedge Pin Cushions

These have been brewing for a long time now, in one form or another.
When I first started quilting I was desperate to see any and all examples and we frequently travelled long distances to visit small village quilt shows just to fulfill that need. On one particular visit we saw all the usual suspects, all the traditional quilts, the appliqued quilts, the pictorial quilts, but we also saw one specific quilt that has always stuck in my mind. The show was held by the local quilters guild and as usual, was made up of mostly older members with a penchant for big flowery quilts. Which was why I was surprised when  we were viewing the last row of quilts and there was one that screamed of originality

.
The quilt was made entirely of the selvedge of all the quilters cotton that the maker used. She had been collecting it for years and finally had enough to make a reasonably large quilt.
I loved being able to read the names of the fabrics she used and I loved the graphic pattern that the cut edges created.
Since then I've been collecting my selvedges in a big baggy. Not quite sure what I was going to do with them, but knowing that they were definitely worth squirreling away. (I've only ever shown the baggy to one person and even she  looked at me like I was a little crazy!).

My post about Suzies pincushion the other day was a bit of a precurser to this one. I've been playing around with pin cushions for a while but have never been happy with the outcome. And I've been at the stage of wanting to use my collected selvedges for a while now too. But to be honest I haven't been able to face the idea of making a quilt out of them.
But then recently I was cutting the selvedge off a piece of fabric and tossed it to one side.as I always do. As I continued to work I glanced up and saw that the selvedge had landed on top of my pin cushion.  And that quick glance sparked the whole idea. And I love it when that happens. because the ideas that come from catching sight of how different pieces work together, are  usually the ones that  work the best.

Sometimes when I start something new, I work at it and work at it and it just doesn't feel like the end results justify the amount of sweat that's gone in to it (made all the worse when friends or family see it and say 'oh that's nice"). But that wasn't the case with these. And not because I didn't put the work in. I mean I drew patterns and basted and everything! But the difference is these turned out exactly how I wanted them too. And even better, when family saw them, they loved them (I'm checking my mom's handbag when she leaves tomorrow!).

You know, when there are amazing examples like these , it's pretty hard to be happy with your own work, but I am truly happy with these. And better still, it's opened up a whole new avenue for me with using the selvedge. All this time I've been limiting myself to the idea of a quilt. But not anymore. And believe me, I've got a lot of selvedge saved, so we're going to be seeing it used in a lot more of my products.

These ones are over in the shop right now.

Bella is a lot better - thank you to everyone for your good wishes! And hopefully in a few more days she'll really be back to normal, but at the moment we're watching far more tv than I would like and eating far more chocolate, but what you gonna do?

Comments

[liz r.]

Totally adorable pincushions! I love the story of your burst of inspiration. Thank goodness Bella is better. As for TV and chocolate, sometimes they are just what everyone needs.

[French Knots]

Glad Bella is feeling better, chocolate is always good for what ails you!
Love the pincushions and the idea behind their creation

[Sarah]

LOVE these! What a clever idea!

And what ailment doesn't chocoloate cure (or at least help)?

[hazeljoy]

chocolate eh? it is the best medicine. cracking pincushions - i love nice typography in good colours

[Cassi]

Manda - these are gorgeous! I love the details of each one and the design is so cool! Thanks for the link too :)

[Jenn Jones]

these pin cushions are adorable! perhaps you could use the extra for a pillow...or a seat cushion for your sewing room...I'm sure you'll find many more fabulous ways to use it. :)

Glad to know that both of you are doing good!

[Judi]

How lucky am I?

I, for some reason stopped my day to check on my favorite blogs..... and to see how you and Bella are doing!

And there it was...... my new pincushion! I am so glad the very one I wanted was left for me to buy and BOOM..... I jumped on it and snagged it! Lucky, lucky me!!

I'm so glad to hear that you and sweet Bella are doing great!

[erin]

i saw the title and first photo, i thought, "she is brilliant!" great idea, great execution, everything. love, love, love it manda!

[bigbucketgirl]

Love them. I don't think I'm in danger of copying the idea...seeing as I tend to re-use fabric from clothes etc, I don't think even the most colour co-ordinated M+S labels would do it...
Oh and I went to the shop but SOMEBODY beat em to the yellow one. Are you up for commissions? Say you can do it...purleeeese.
xxx

[Tania Ho]

these are brilliant, Manda ! And glad to hear that Bella is doing better .. have a great weekend :)

[Michelle]

They're super! Book-worthy. :)

[lera]

Those are so stinkin' cute! What a great way to use the selvedge.

[fibrespace]

I love them, what a great idea!!

[sara]

these are amazing pincushions! i had to pop over and buy one before they sold out! oh the cuteness!

['The' Kristy]

Why didn't I check in earlier? I so wanted that Amy Butler one as soon as I saw it.Tell me who bought it and I'll send a little Elf to steal it!
I wasn't looking at you crazy when you showed me the baggy just mad at myself for not thinking of it first!

['The' Kristy]

I just noticed the 'non-commercial use' selvedge! Very funny!!!

[Beth]

Oh I think these are so great...too bad I was too slow on the trigger to get one! DARN.

If you want me to save my selveges...just let me know...I'll send them to you.

[kelly]

wow...love your new invention manda! they are totally cute + quirky...pure treefall :)

glad to hear that bella's on the mend + plenty of chocolate is being consumed for medicinal purposes! xx

[capello]

hey! that one says GRIFFIN!

[tracy]

firstly, so glad miss bella is feeling better x
secondly, LOVE the pincushions - skipped over to your shop already thinking.....i'm too late, i'm too late....... and then - there it was!!
the one i loved - with tea cups xx
thank you lovely lady x

oh- and tv and chocolate is THE thing to do when you are feeling a little under the weather.
tracy x

[pixie]

see how fast they went? they're fantastic. and my advice for the day is indulge, eat chocolate, watch cr*p on tv. just be. and then make some more pincusions, a blue one please!

[nicolette]

Good to hear Bella is feeling better. The pin cushions look lovely! I just designed a quilt in which I also use the selvedges of fabrics and when I showed it to my husband, he said, well, just let me see the finished thing, I don’t know...! I will show him your pin cushions! .... I just see they are all sold! Good for you!

[Levineke]

bugger.....i'm too late :(
that's the problem with living in australia i guess. or maybe it's the fact that my kids wear me out so i go to bed too early.

i sincerely hope you make more and that i am able to snag one. even though i know the postage will probably cost more than the pincushion itself, i would love to own one.

i've just discovered your blog and i'm enjoying it.

keep well

[meg]

Oh good grief - these are fantastic!! Must you convince me there's a reason to save even the tiniest (beautiful) strips and scraps?? ;)

[Lilbird]

**sniff sniff*** (shedding tears)

All gone. So sad. I really wanted the amy butler one. Boo hoo.......

These are genius. What are the chances of someone who already bought one changing their mind? Better yet, what are the chances of commissioning one?

I'm so sad.