"A Flea Market Find, Repurposed"

I have been finding and 'saving' various pieces of vintage dishes....sugar bowls, creamers, cups, etc., some damaged, some not, thinking I would make pincushions out of them...thus giving them a completely different life from what they've had before. Last year, you saw me do this with candlesticks. There are still candlesticks in the Nest waiting to be made into lovely new pincushions. You know how the collecting bug can be.

Then, last week, as I was reading some of my favorite blogs, I read that sometimes you should just stop and make something for yourself. Just because. You know how it is when you are reading several different blogs...I can't remember which one sugggested we do this, but I do remember thinking...oh, what FUN...something for ME! When you are making things for a variety of people, and with a deadline, sometimes you forget you'd like a little something too.

With that in mind, I looked through all my collected 'goodies.' Here you see some of them. Notice I said SOME. That cup with the bright pink roses is one of my favorites, so I decided that would be 'something for me.' I sat down with a piece of paper and made a little sketch of what I thought would look nice as pincushion embroidery and got to work.

I filled about the bottom third of the cup with sand, the rest with poly stuffing. I am currently crazy about Morning Glory Premium Polyester Fiberfill stuffing which I buy by the box at the local Walmart. For the fabric, I chose a small scrap of vintage dresser scarf fabric and marked a circle on it with a blue, washable pen. Then, I embroidered the stem, the leaves, and the little lazy daisy flowers, followed by random French Knots here and there. Then, I removed the blue ink by submerging the embroidery in warm water, pressing the excess out using a fluffy towel, and as I always do, ironing it dry. To do this, I place the embroidery face down on a couple layers of towels, and with a hot iron and no steam, I iron it dry. Most times I also place a piece of muslin over the embroidery as I iron. I also use this method with hand applique. This makes everything look just gorgeous and nice and smooth. Note: I do this when using cotton fabrics....you might not want to use that hot iron when using 'fancy fabrics.'

Using E6000 glue, I attached the fabric to the cup, holding it in place for a few minutes so it wouldn't come right back up. This was not the simplest thing to do, but it did work. After that, I stitched some trim around the fabric edge, almost covering the edge of the cup. My friend, Sherry, gave me that trim and I just love it. Next, I sewed in some lime green beads.....over and under the trim. That was easy and before I knew it....the project was done! Once you do the embroidery, the rest is quick and you have a finished pincushion!

I think it looks pretty cute! I'll be taking that to our guild retreat on the 26th. Guess I'll find out if it 'passes' inspection then. So, there we are....a vintage cup with a tiny hairline crack...too beautiful to throw away...now here to cheer up my day! And, with a little more work, I could have those other dishes made into something similar. I should get to work on that idea. You know, no telling what I could get done out in this Nest if I didn't have to cook, clean, do laundry or SLEEP!!! Y'all take care and I'll be back Thursday night or Friday. pat