Pin Cushions and Thread Catchers!

 The nice thing about a blog is that you can post whatever suits your fancy!  So today I’ll introduce my somewhat new friend!

Meet Pearl!  Our former faithful companion, Cowboy, whom some may have seen in posts or on videos, passed away more than a year ago.  It was very difficult as the final year of his life was tough.  So we decided we weren’t ready to give our hearts to another for awhile.  But, this past fall we learned about Pearl and she won our hearts!!  Pearl is a hunter and truly never stops moving except when she’s exhausted; even then it takes effort. But she brings great joy to our hearts and we absolutely adore her lively and happy personality.

Now that you’ve met Pearl, let’s talk sewing!!!!  I have gotten fixated on thread catchers!!!  It started with this one given to me some time ago by my friend, Debbie.

I absolutely love it, but I got sooooo frustrated, as it kept falling off where I set it.  After several years, I added some shelf liner and “presto”!  Not only does it not fall off, but it stays open much better as well!

So then I started looking at pin cushions I already had.  I love pin cushions!  But none of those had a thread catcher!  And I loved this thread catcher!

This was the first one:  I had made three, two to give away in December:  one at the annual pin cushion giveaway during our Christmas  Sewing Club  at the Sewing Center of Cheyenne, one to give to my friend and neighbor, Bev, and one to keep.

The only problem was, I couldn’t add a thread catcher because it was too big to fill with weight, so it only had stuffing.  But it was a good time to see what could be done.  After adding some weight on the bottom and using Annie’s soft and Stable in the catcher for stability, I ended up with a huge, but pretty useful pin cushion/thread catcher. 

Bev loved hers too and calls it monkey because from the back she sees the face of a monkey (see third picture down)

For hers, Bev gave me a gorgeous pin cushion that reminded her of my Singer Featherweight.  So this  time I got out a combination of wool and felt from my stash and did another.  Absolutely love this one.

Each of these pin cushions were made with an outer fabric cut at approximately 9” x 17”. The inner was either the same size or cut at 10” so I could fold it over the outer fabric.  But I needed to make one more and see what would happen if it was shorter.  So I took a pin cushion I had made from a free pattern on Laundry Basket Quilts years earlier and cut it only 6” x 17”.  Once the bottom was made, it was pretty shallow in depth, maybe 3 1/2 to 4”. But I like it.  I don’t have to dig inside to pull out the threads and trash.  This one was made completely from wool. I think I prefer felt but I do like the way it sits.

So if you want a break from quilting or would just love to try a thread catcher, be inventive and give it a try!  Finally, here are some of the other pin cushions I’ve received from our annual pin cushion giveaway at sewing club.  I made the iron for my first giveaway.  I always make sure I get to keep one.  These ladies are creative!  See you next time and have fun quilting!!!