Pincushions in 2024 and How I Got Here!
PINCUSHIONS, ALL MADE FROM ORIGINAL FEEDSACK FABRIC AND VINTAGE EMBROIDERY
Pincushions!! They have become my love, my obsession, my therapy, and mostly, consume many hours of my day. Folks ask how I can give them up and sell them. I remind them it’s my job, well, my ‘hobby job’. Seriously folks, I am blessed. Who gets to do a job like this, make and sell pincushions?!!
If you are just joining me in this adventure, it all started back in 2019. I was dealing with a small bit of breast cancer……GET YOUR MAMMOGRAMS!!……and my summer had essentially been postponed. All of my teaching and travel had been put on hold so I could deal with the appointments and treatments. (all is normal and A-OK now!) During August of 2019, I was doing daily radiation and honestly, was bored with my usual quilting. I stopped in a downtown shop, Stitch On, in Lawrence, KS, to do some retail therapy. Now, to be perfectly honest, I don’t buy new fabric. So, I look for notions and other fun things. A book caught my eye, Pinpals, by Carrie Nelson. I snapped it up, went home, and immediately made a pincushion. I never opened that book again! (but it’s a good book!)
I started to look around my sewing area and grabbed vintage bits, pieces, fabrics, and created the first vintage pincushions with what I already had. I posted the first one on my Facebook page and someone asked if they could buy it. I said, SURE, how about $18! I had never sold any of my quilts or small pieces, but thought this might be something that I could finish quickly and I might not mind letting go of.
FIRST PINCUSHIONS!
These were the first pincushions made in August of 2019. I started with vintage fabrics I had in my stash. Very quickly I moved on to tops that had lace, embroideries, and all kinds of embellishments.
AUGUST 2019 PINCUSHION
SEPTEMBER 2019 PINCUSHION
OCTOBER 2019 PINCUSHION
Let’s just say, since the beginning, I’ve learned a LOT about making a pincushion! When COVID isolation happened in March 2020, all of my travel, teaching and speaking engagements came to an abrupt halt, like everyone else’s lives! I was having so much fun at home making pincushions, that it honestly didn’t bother me at all. I only went more online with my craft and probably created more than ever before!
PINCUSHIONS IN PROGRESS, JUNE 2020
Sometime at the end of summer in 2020, I could see my love of traveling for work, might be over. That, along with folks wanting more pincushions, made me think I needed to work completely from home. I was also a little nervous to fly or be with crowds of people. I also thought, wouldn’t it be great if people could make their own pincushions!
Just like that, it happened! Early in the fall I found Madison, a University of Kansas sophomore student, majoring in communication, video, social media, all that good stuff!! Madison and I spent the next month, filming and creating my online class, Create Your Own Vintage Pincushion. She did a terrific job filming, editing and creating the content for the class. You can see the trailer video she made below.
The class is $40, an hour and twenty minutes long, and you’ll own it forever! You will go back to the link to sign in with your email and password. If you forget your password, you can reset it. At any time, just send me a note with problems or questions. You can email me at kellyclinequilting at gmail dot com.
I teach everything from cleaning your pieces, cutting, quilting, beading, filling and finally assembly. I also give you all the supplies you’ll need, but you have most of them if you are a sewist. The only addition might be the crushed walnut shells for the filling. All of that information is in the class. Use what you have!! I also have an AMAZON SHOP where you’ll find most of the tools I use in pincushion making. There are also lots of extra tips and techniques in the class that will help with all your other sewing and quilting projects.
Along with the class, I created a private Facebook group as well. We are now over 800 people in the group! It is a wonderful place to share work, ask questions, and enjoy others who have the same love for vintage and making small things. I do continued tutorials in the Facebook group and I also host a few retreats per year. I can’t begin to tell you the friendships that have been made in this group!! THAT, has been the blessing of this class!!!
Currently, I sell all my pincushions through social media on my Facebook page and then in my ONLINE SHOP . I post daily on Facebook and let folks know when the next pincushion sale is coming up. I generally have 16 pincushions ready for sale about once a month. The prices range from $48-$65.
***PS!!! If you’ve purchased the class and are on Facebook, watch the first segment of the class for the link to join in. We are missing a few hundred folks at this point!
I ALSO QUILT TOPS ON THE LONGARM
I had Madison come back over a few months after we made the complete class to film a shorter version to Quilting a Pincusion on the Longarm. This one is only 30 minutes and $15, but helpful if you are a longarm quilter!
2023 RETREAT HELD AT KINDERHOOK LODGE IN ILLINOIS
2023 RETREAT HELD AT HOTEL HAMILTON IN HAMILTON, MO
I really can’t say enough about the people I’ve met through pincushion making and the quilting world in general. They are simply the BEST! Maybe you’ll join us one day. If you’re looking for a new, fun project, try the pincushion class. You might just love it!
Happy sewing! Kelly