Stitching Without a Machine

With my sewing machines away being serviced and not wanting to stitch bindings down (another story for another day) I joined Sarah's Little Things Club. There are six paper pieced projects that finish at approx 12" x 14", and each project is a different English Paper Piecing shape. A great way to try out different shapes without taking on a large project or ending up with odd bits of paper piecing that don't make anything.

The first month was clamshells and Sarah has sent this in French General fabrics, oooh so nice! At first I didn't like doing these but after a few rows I got the hand of it and flew along. Mr Busy saw it one night and when I told him about the others he suggested that I join them all up for a larger quilt. I thought it was a great idea but with each mini quilt being not identical in size it wouldn't work; also these are coming in different fabrics so my choice is to keep them as individual projects.

Back in March the girls all went to Girls Day Out in the Country at Nundle. I stayed home because I was due to have a baby shortly and wasn't up to a big day out. The guest tutor was Sue Daley and I wanted to join in so I started on this paper pieced pincushion for an October birthday present.

I think I got about half of the pincushion completed then it sat aside until October, of course! I finished it a week before the birthday (lucky this was later than I thought the birthday was!) so it arrived in plenty of time.

I intended to fill the pincushion with some silica sand or crushed walnut shells but having no machine meant I was unable to sew up an inside lining to keep the insides in, so I filled the pincushion with toy fill. Kylie loved her pincushion, and making it in some of her favourite fabrics was an easy choice. The hard part was choosing buttons!

While my sewing machines were away (about three months gone in total) I bought another one. A beautiful early 1900s Singer treadle machine. I have wanted one of these for a few years now but Mr Busy was dead against it before, and for some reason he agreed to me purchasing the 'dust collector' as he calls them.

It needs a bobbin and a stitching plate but I am sure I will come across these somewhere. The kids are fascinated with it,can't wait to try it out. The day this came home my seven year old son sat at it and sewed up his teddy bear by hand - very inspiring!

Bec xxx