magnets and memories

i've been working on rephotographing a lot of items in my shop now that we have all these lovely sunny windows in our house. the use of natural light is really a big improvement i think while the other side of my perfectionist's brain says, "there is always room for improvement!"

so far, i have gotten through all the fabric magnets and i'm especially happy with these "action shots." ahh, haha, well they at least show the magnets in use and how fun looking it is to have these guys on ones fridge...i suppose that's as much action as magnets can expect to see! The little matroshka magnets in the shot i've included here are actually holding up a picture of me and some friends from waaay back when during vacation bible school—that's me in the middle there with the big floppy hat! i love how the little blonde girl seems to have great medical ambitions while the other two of us are much more interested in being generally fabulous.

just click to the image below to see a full selection of these little darlings:

progress and pincushions

I have had this crazy, possibly tacky, and dearly loved pincushion ever since I started quilting with my granny as a kid. Now that I am working on multiple projects at a time though, I find myself holding extra pins between my lips, poking them in the arms of chairs, finding them built up like sediment at the bottom of the antique ashtray turned holder of odds 'n ends at my bedside, mixed in with my bobby pins in the bathroom, or perhaps hidden away in some dusty corner where the cat hoards her varied and massive stash of shiny thing-a-ma-bobs (And yes, from this information and the photo of artfully arranged pins above, you are correct to assume that I have a slightly serious case of ocd and am only a little bit scatter-brained...what, can't you see that combination being part of a winning personality?!).

well, back to the point though (pun kind of intended i regret)...since realizing this pin problem, i've been doing a bit of pawing around on etsy and i've found some fine pincushions that might just be able to hold their own next to my current one. You can click on the image to go straight to the listing or check out the links to each shop's home page for all kinds of good stuff!

color and more color, that's what i like :)
found this little lovely at Zemphira's etsy shop

this comes to us from The Daily Pincushion which has a huge selection
—plus i just can't get enough of this color lately, so pretty in an unexpected way i think!

and last but certainly not least, here is a stylish number from picciolo

quite a modern design appeal but down-to-earth and charming as well, don't you think?!

p.s. I've recently been working with some really fun Alexander Henry "pantry" fabric which is what is shown up top there with my own pincushion. i'm close now to being able to post a few of the pieces I've made with it so start getting excited.