New Pattern – Pinwheel Pincushions

Posted in Finished Projects, Patterns for Sale, Sewing Accessories by lorimillerdesigns

I am pleased to offer my own pattern for this adorable pinwheel pincushion. It was featured in Quick to Stitch Precuts Magazine in 2015 and I have had a wonderful response for this useful and cute pincushion. It is really very easy to stitch up in pairs using mini 2 1/2″ square charms.

I made these delightful versions using Color Theory charms by V & Co. They coordinated beautifully so it was easy to make the pinwheel shapes.

I used vintage buttons and stacked buttons in the centers of the pincushions for some extra pizazz.

For these pincushions, I used tiny newsprint for the neutral background. I think it makes them very modern and bright.

These pincushions measure 4 3/4″ x 4 3/4″ x 1″ finished. I hope you enjoy the pattern.

You can purchase my Pinwheel Pincushions pattern as a PDF download by going to MY PATTERNS tab and following the link to My Etsy Shop

Thanks for letting me share! Tag me on Instagram at lorimillerdesigns, I would love to see your version!

27May2015

WIP Wednesday and my travels

Posted in Patterns for Sale, Work in Progress by lorimillerdesigns

Here is an update on some works in progress and an update on my travels. I just got back from visiting my hometown, Des Moines, Iowa and seeing my family. Everytime I go home, I take my mom on an adventure which usually involves quilting or fabric. This year, we headed about 2 hours southwest to Hamilton, Missouri. It is just a tiny rural town. My husband was actually born in Albany, Missouri which is just a few miles away. We went to the Missouri Star Quilt Company, a small business that has just about taken over the town. The week after our visit, they were named the 2015 National Small Business of the Year.

Here is Mom in front of the main store with lots of precuts! There are other shops in town with every kind of fabric you may have ever wanted. It was hard to leave. Everyone was very friendly and we ate BBQ at a new restaurant on the main drag. It was a fun adventure and definitely worth the trip. They have a building just for retreats too. If you are in the area, I would recommend stopping for a visit.

It is hard to tell in this picture, but I am making another pillow with a paper pieced bra on it for a Breast Cancer fundraiser. It does not matter where he is in the house, once I start to quilt something, Cookie Cat suddenly appears. I think he thinks every quilt is for him.

This quilt is a variation on a design from Robert Kaufman fabrics using the Boy Scouts of America fabric they produced a few years ago for the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

While I was traveling, my son Colin attended his board of review and passed to receive his Eagle rank, the highest advancement rank in scouting. As parents, my husband and I could not be more thrilled. We still need to wait for the official paperwork but I had made this quilt and had been keeping it for this occasion. I even embroidered an eagle in the center of the quilt. I think the fabrics are now out of print, but you can still find some if you dig around online.

I embroidered the scout law all around the quilt in my cursive handwriting, I think it adds a little something to the overall quilt.

Here you can see some of the fabrics. Maggie Smith quilted it on her longarm machine. I had her quilt the scouting fleur de lei symbol along with stars. There was even some fabric with designs of all of the badges. I gave the quilt to Colin to celebrate his accomplishment. We will have a formal Eagle Ceremony later, but I really wanted him to have his quilt.

My talented Sister-in-Law, Sue, requested one of my Dizzy Daisy Threadcatchers to use for knitting. She wanted the weighted pincushion to have it sit on the arm of her chair and to put her ball of yarn in the little bag so it would not roll around. She said she liked purple and green, so I made one for her. I had just enough to make another one with a needle book and tiny nine patch pincushion. I will be adding these items for sale in the shop soon. I had been using sewing themed fabric to make them, but this one turned out pretty cute. Make one for yourself, you can purchase the pattern as a PDF download. Go to MY PATTERNS tab and follow the link to My Etsy Shop.

Here is a sneak peek at my next post. I finally finished embroidering the sunbonnet sue nursery quilt blocks. It only took me 10 years to finish them! I only worked on them in the winter and I guess I was a little slow. More to come!

What quilty things have you been working on?

1May2015

Published – Pinwheel Pincushions

Posted in Finished Projects, Published by lorimillerdesigns

From Quick to Stitch Precuts Magazine 2015

Here is my second project featured in a new magazine, Quick to Stitch Precuts 2015. These super cute Pinwheel Pincushions are made using mini charms, in this case V & Co Color Theory. These colors are so bright and cheery. I used new and vintage buttons to set them off. The tiny newsprint fabric background makes a great neutral to make them pop. You can also find my Summer Harvest Quilt on the cover of the magazine. I blogged about that HERE. But I thought I would show you a few pics of my prototype and share some of my design process.

I was trying to come up with designs to use Precut fabrics for the magazine. Precut fabrics include mini charms 2 1/2″ squares, charm squares 5″ squares, 10″ squares or layer cakes, jelly rolls and fat quarters to just name a few. I had some extra mini charms floating around and started to play with them. I scribbled some designs on paper and had the idea to create a pincushion of some kind. This was the first prototype that I made. I ended up just sewing a fabric back to it like a little bean bag to start.

Now I knew that I wanted to use 2 1/2 ” mini charm squares, I wanted to find some fun fabrics. V & Co Color Theory was just coming out so I quickly ordered some packs. I went through the stack of squares and started to put together squares I wanted. The beauty of a coordinated fabric line is that the colors match and they all go together. I matched up the colors. When you make my pinwheels, you end up with two pincushions each spinning the opposite way. That was sort of cool.

From Quick to Stitch Precuts Magazine 2015

I liked the idea of a boxy pincushion, so I added the side pieces to my finished design. I had just bought the tiny newsprint fabric and it made it look so fresh and fun. I dug out some fun buttons including quite a few vintage ones from my stash. What a great way to highlight some special old buttons! The designing and sewing part is the best part to me, afterwards, I write up my directions and type them up. Then I use my directions to make the pattern again and make updates and corrections. If I have time, sometimes a sewing buddy with take my instructions and make up the project with a fresh set of eyes to offer suggestions and corrections. Those are great friends.

Then you wait for the magic day when the magazine comes out. I did not have an exact date, so I actually discovered the magazine while I was shopping in Kroger! And I got a big surprise to find my quilt on the cover. Have you ever whooped really loud in a Kroger store? I couldn’t help myself. People were wondering why I was trying to take a picture of the magazines with my phone, LOL.

There are a ton of great projects in this issue of the magazine. Look for it at JoAnn Fabrics, Kroger, Meijer or your local stores.

Happy Stitching!

17Feb2015

New Pattern – Dizzy Daisy Threadcatcher, Needlebook and Mini Pincushion

Posted in Gift Ideas, Patterns for Sale, Sewing Accessories by lorimillerdesigns

I have been making this cute little dizzy daisy pincushion and threadcatcher for my friends for years and they have been asking for the pattern. I added a Needlebook and Mini Pincushion for some cute bonus items to go with it. You use a threadcatcher to well…catch the threads and little snips and bits as you are sewing. It helps keep your sewing area neat and it is simple to carry to the trash can to empty it out when it is full. The little daisy on the attached pincushion is pretty and clever – you can park your needles here so they are easy to find.

I have several. One is perched on my sewing table next to my machine where it is handy but I won’t knock it off. I have one in my travel bag for sew-in days and retreats. And I have one to carry with me to my recliner. I have it hanging off the arm of the chair when I am doing hand sewing and watching tv. I like to think I am being productive while I watch my favorite shows.

I added this cute little Needle book too. I have several of these too. One for embroidery needles, one for applique needles, and one for quilting betweens. I even have a special one with my big eye needles for Big Stitch Quilting. It makes it easy to grab what you need for any project.

Use it for pins or regular needles too when you are sewing on your quilt binding if you do it by hand like me. I find it to be relaxing to do it by hand.

Finally, there is this tiny mini pincushion. It is a 3″ x 3″ 9 patch. I even tried to fussy cut the center square on this one.

This tiny size is easy to throw in a hand sewing bag or for a travel pincushion. It is so simple and quick to make. I stitched up a bunch of them for stocking stuffers this past Christmas. I think they would be a fun gift to make for your sewing group too.

Here is an example of another set I stitched up with a natural linen. I embellished the items with embroidery floss in a running stitch and some twill tape.

I even changed up the little pincushion but it is still a petite 3″ x 3″. Once you have the pattern, you can explore your own creativity to create something that is one of a kind.