Just as the pioneer ladies at quilting bees gathered around the frame, enjoyed food and stories…and shared quilt patterns, you can mingle with the other guests at Tottie’s party.

Incidentally, Noreen has created a whole world around Tottie, the doll she designed and made.  Maybe you have a patchwork doll you’ve created who would like to meet Tottie!

Noreen even has a gift for some lucky guest…read more about it at her blog.

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Quilters Love Tea Parties, Too!

*Christine has some  delightful Altered Take Out Boxes over at Mad Cropper.  Also check out the Halloween Mini Project Book here.

*Tammy shows us a Beaded Halloween Card at Jewelry and Beading.  Her Candy For Kids Jewelry project features a Candi the Corn pin.  Scroll Tammy’s Jewelry and Beading blog for a number of Halloween designs in earrings, pins, and charms.

*Josh at Junk Creation gives us some ideas for Leftover Pumpkin.  He even has a recipe for Autumn Pumpkin Pie.

(Halloween design by Yvonne Russell of Home Biz Notes.)

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Potpourri of Halloween Ideas at the Arts & Design Channel

The theme is Halloween or Day of the Dead crafts.  For more details on Noreen’s blog  about  linking your blog post, click here.

The showcase is scheduled for October 21.  Noreen would like all links and a short blurb by a deadline of October 19.

See you there!

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Arts & Design Showcase Open to All Quilters & Crafters

I don’t know if she bought it, or found she had an extra.  However, it was one of those tomoato red ones with the little red ball or tomato attached for keeping needles and pins sharp.  This remained in my sewing box for years.  (I have no idea where it, and the little sewing box Nanny gave me, disappeared in my many moves.)

When I was a 4-H leader, I taught the girls how to make pincushions for a sewing project.  Many of them exhibited theirs at the local fair.  

                 My treasured pincushion is one I use today.  My daughter made it during our 4-H years.  It consists of blue and white fabric with a piece of white lace around the middle.  The pincushion is shaped somewhat like a flattened ball with stuffing (the girls used polyester pillow fill).  However, it still serves me well.

My mother-in-law made me a crocheted pincushion one year as a Christmas gift.  It, too, has disappeared.  But for awhile I had both  my daughter’s and Mum’s pincushions to use.

Pincushions as Collectibles – Pincushions, along with other antique sewing accessories, are among the items that quilters often collect.  My daughter (now a quilter herself with her Meandering Threads blog) and I are always looking for sewing and quilting related items to add to our collection.

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Quilters’ Passion for Pincushions

Since I enjoy tea myself and often write about it in “one of my other lives” as a newspaper columnist of the Country Kitchen column, I thought the idea of a bridal tea simply a delightful one.  This could be adapted for a quilter who’s getting married by using patchwork placemats or appliqued table cloth.  Perhaps there would be napkins to carry out the theme.

Would there be some type of quilted or patchwork favors? What about an “inchie” for each guest to take home? 

The idea could go on and on for a Patchwork Bridal Tea! 

Let me know if you’ve ever done this….or have some ideas to add to mine.

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A Patchwork Bridal Tea for a Quilter…or Any Bride

I’ve always enjoyed collecting buttons, ever since I explored my grandmother’s and mother’s button jars.  In days ago, ladies didn’t run to the store for buttons.  They saved them from worn clothing relegated to the rag bag.  They cut the buttons off and put them  into a jar or tin.

When my daughter was small and we lived in a distant city while my husband attended airline pilot training school, I made friends with a lady who operated a used clothing store.  Anything that wasn’t salable, or had been in the store too long, was fair game for the button jar.  She cut them off and sold me buttons for a minimal amount.

Buttons are great playthings for youngsters, once they’ve passed the “everything-into-the-mouth” stage.  They sort by color, make designs, and even practice sewing with buttons.

Noreen at Hankering for Yarn tells about using buttons for a crocheted Butterfly Bag.  She also has another post, Button Reveries: Evoking Memories, Inspiring Creativity,  relating the role of buttons in her life and her creations.

My daughter and I collected so many buttons we had to sort some out and sell them at our yard sales.  Now that I’m seeing them used as embelishments more and more, I may have to accumulate some more!

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Button! Button! Quilters Are Using More Buttons

I discovered delightful tatted butterflies at Noreen’s Hankering for Yarn blog that would be ideal for quilted and fabric art projects.  You might want to take a look at the butterflies Noreen is making for her daughter’s wedding dress, as well as for original purse designs.

(Here’s some additional instructions for making tatted butterflies.  Noreen also takes lovely photos of her work.)

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Butterflies on Quilts & Fabric Art