Saturday, June 30, 2012

Pincushion o' plenty

It has been awhile since I finished one, but don't think for a second that I have left my pincushion obsession behind! This latest beauty was the November kit from the Shabby Fabrics Pincushion Club.

Cornucopia pincushion, side view

It is the Cornucopia pattern from Mary Jo Hiney Designs. (And I just noticed that she has a whole slew of other gorgeous pincushion designs available as well... oh, my!)

Cornucopia, back view

As much as I love the finished pincushion, I have to say that of all of the kits in the Pincushion Club I received, this one was my least favorite. The kit for this one included only the fabrics. Albeit, they were gorgeous silk fabrics, but in order to complete the pincushion as designed, additional embellishments are not just enhancements-- they are required to cover up holes and the like. I really wish that the kit had included some of those elements. Fortunately, I have a nice stash of beads, and I was able to procure some buttons and wired ribbon without too much difficulty. But it really felt like the "kit" was incomplete.

That said, if you want to make this gorgeous pincushion with these same lovely silk fabrics, Shabby Fabrics does still have kits available. Just be warned that you're gonna need more than silk to make this one.

Cornucopia, front view

The instructions were concise and clear and there wasn't anything too tricky. Turning the cornucopia right side out was a challenge as it was a very narrow opening, and then there was a bit of handwork (mostly long running stitches for gathering) and lots of hot glue involved. Hot glue is not my forte. I accidentally made a little glue puddle. It looked horrible and so I tried to cover my mistake with seed beads. That looked weird, so then I ended up adding little piles of seed beads all over to make it look less like a mistake. I think it was a pretty good save. Yay! My only other variance from the pattern was that I didn't use any paper products as she did (the original has a little paper fan and paper tag embellishments); instead I just added additional fabric and ribbon leaves to fill in those spaces.

Cornucopia, another side view

I really do love this design. Not only is it beautiful, but it also brings to mind thoughts and memories of autumn and Thanksgiving-- my favorite times of year!

6 comments:

  1. It's beautiful! I'd be tempted to skip the pins and use it as a holiday decoration!

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  2. That is really lovely, it looks like a piece of art, a fabric sculpture, I don't think I would be using it for my pins either.

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  3. Oh, my goodness. It is a piece of art work. I don't think I would use it as a pincushion but I would put it out in the fall to decorate your kitchen.
    Beautiful!

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  4. That my friend is one fancy pincusion! I think it is way to pretty to put a pin in! But would look great sitting beside the machine! I love the shimery fabrics you chose!

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  5. That my friend is a work of art.

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  6. You can use this in a center piece for thanksgiving: dual pincushion use. :)

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