I'm Stuck on Something to Talk About

One of the pincushions above is not like the others...of course, it is the one that is a coaster. The others, though, are usable pincushions, and they sit by my machines. The one in the upper left corner was made by my friend Kim. She took pieces of wool and wrapped them tightly together. The wool is good for the pins; the ones that live there are very happy! The middle, small tomato, was given to me by my friend Bonnie. She got it at the estate sale of a mutual sewing friend, Lucille. It still has her pins and needles in it. The bowl holding pins is made by a pottery artist, Emily Dyer. Her family members are sewers and quilters. Her pieces have quilterly nods, with painted stitches and applique motifs. Check out her etsy store at Emilydyer.etsy.com. How does this fit in with my other pincushions? My friend Jane always kept her pins by her sewing machine in a little yellow plastic bowl. That system worked great for her, and when I saw this little bowl, I knew that Jane would have thought it a proper bowl for pins. The little knitted pin holder is simply garter stitches, rolled up, and sewed shut with a vintage button. It was a fast knit. I used leftover cotton yarn, but wool would have been better. The natural wool oils would have made the pins living in that pincushion a bit happier. Sew Complete in Eau Claire has a red pincushion as their logo. Whenever you buy a sewing machine there, they give you a pincushion. Over the years I have purchased a lot of machines, and I wish I would have kept all of the gifted tomatoes. I wish I would have written on them the name of the machine I bought, and the date. It would have been a fun record. Sewing memories. Friends that have moved away. Friends that have passed away. Sewing machines that have moved on to other owners. Some people have scrapbooks. I have pincushions. Jerilynn