Bird Pincushion & Needle-Keep a.k.a. “Just Leave It”
This past Wednesday, my M.I.L. and I got together for a sewing party. She had a project she had been saving up to work on that was recommended by her dear friend, Robin, who is amazing quilter and sewist. [Aside: Robin made Mark and I a beautiful quilt for our wedding that combines so many unusual fabrics. For color ideas, she looked at our registry, and used her genius to create this beauty:
Anyway, Robin recommended this bird pincushion and needle-keep as an easy and fun project. Well, I can attest, though we had fun and laughed a lot, it was anything but “easy” for us. I felt like I went from Sewing 101 with my denim skirt to Sewing 505. But you have to admit, even though it took me from 9a – 9p to complete two birds, they are rather adorable:
The best part: choosing your fabrics. Robin had shared a big stack of her fabric remnants with us to use, and I loved trying to find coordinating yet contrasting fabrics. Here are some fabrics I pulled for my next bird.
The toughest part: where to begin…? I think getting the three different seams to all line up without puckering or overlapping or underlapping (yes, I invented a word).
The most time-consuming part: all of the hand-stitching, which you have to do on five different sections. By the end, my hand-stitching was looking a little sloppy, I’m not gonna lie.
We fondly nicknamed this project “Just Leave It.” Let me use some dialogue to demonstrate why:
M: “Uh oh. My bird looks like it has a hunchback.”
L: “Let me see.” Pause. “I think it’s fine. Just leave it.“
or
L: “I’m having neck issues again. His little neck looks pinched.”
M: “Hmmmm.” Pause. “Nah. I’d just leave it.“
Now I know Michelangelo didn’t say “just leave it,” when sculpting the David and da Vinci didn’t say “just leave it,” when painting the Mona Lisa; however, when you go from T-ball to the Major Leagues in a matter of a few days, “Just leave it,” is perfectly acceptable in my mind. Our birds may not have noses that sit straight or wings that perfectly match up, but I’d like to think that that adds to their charm.
Here are a few tips if you decide to tackle this project:
- Use an iron to press your pieces throughout your project.
- Use the back of a paintbrush to poke the nose and wing edges through.
- When stuffing your bird with walnut litter, use a funnel and REALLY stuff it well. Use your finger to stuff the head and tail to the point where the litter is almost overflowing. In order to help you hand-stitch the opening shut, use a layer of saran wrap (brilliant idea by my F.I.L.) to help keep the exposed litter inside. You’ll sew that saran wrap inside.
- When notching, don’t make your notches too long. 1/8th inch or so should do it. Also, don’t be afraid to add notches on your wings. I think mine could have used them to help ease up those tight curves.
- Sew both button eyes on at the same time by sewing through the head. You can even pull your thread tight to draw your eyes together a bit.
- Your second bird will be MUCH easier than the first, so don’t give up if it’s too challenging. I was definitely encouraged after completing bird #2.
- Name your bird…Chirpy, Hunchback, whatever name suits it best. It will help you keep a sense of humor about your “just leave it” moments.
And speaking of humor, we were both pretty slap-happy by the end, giggling at about anything. Here was our attempt at a timed photo, right after I had accidentally sat on Maggie-the-Dog’s tail.
Our second attempt. Not much better than the first!
And here are all of our completed birds lined up for the bird parade (including one of Robin’s!).
So, if you’re enticed to make your own, here’s a link to the pattern that we used by Susan Maw. And if you want to download a similar pattern by Joel Dewberry for free, I found this video tutorial and pattern on The DIY Dish. (This design is missing the separate top-piece, though it appears easier to create.)
And remember, if you’re feeling overwhelmed about your bird being lopsided, “just leave it.” This is not the David.
I link up here!
Your link to the bird pattern is no more, it is extinct.
You’re right! I searched and searched to see if I could find it elsewhere online and to no avail. Alas! If you find a comparable pattern, let me know. The bird pincushion & needle-keep is just so cute!
Love it — thanks for sharing – joining from Whatsit Wednesday
Of course! I appreciate you stopping by; love all of your steampunk projects. So unique!
ADORABLE !!
Thanks, Justine. I love your blog!
Reblogged this on debsthoughtstoday and commented:
Some of the prettiest little birds I ever saw. 😀
Cool beans! And thank you!
Lauren, I love your pincushion bird and it looks fabulous just the way you left it! lol. I’ll be sharing it tomorrow night (Monday) at the Highlight Party. Thank you so much for sharing it at Project Queen’s Link Party.
Sweetness! And thanks for the kind words. 😉
I love this post! Some things that stood out to me–“just leave it,” of course. And after reading some of the comment section, it seems like I’m not alone in that! 🙂 Also, I like that the pins go under the wings–so creative and safe at the same time. Last, I think I’m most inspired by your perseverance. It’s so tempting to give up and move onto other things when a project doesn’t come easily. Thanks for modeling a steadfast perseverance for us!
Aw, Bartlebee, thanks for the affirmation. Learning to have perseverance. It really does help to have a buddy. I definitely couldn’t have done it without Rachael.
Adorable! And the fabrics are wonderful as well. Would love to learn how to sew so I can make one too!
I’m in the process of learning to sew right now, so it’s do-able! You should go for it.
I love that bird pin cushion! I agree that picking the fabrics is the best part.
I found your blog on Eye Heart Linky Party.
We are 4 friends who share a passion for crafting and we call ourselves “craftmates”. I hope you can come and check out our blog.
http://craftmatesetc.blogspot.ca/
Craftmates! I love it.
These are simply gorgeous!
Great job
I appreciate your kind words, Winnie!
These are “sew” cute!! So, my question…have you attempted any more & is it getting easier? Thanks for sharing this cute idea (stocking stuffers for those who sew!).
Good question! I have a few other projects that are in the works, so I haven’t created any more yet, but my M.I.L. has and she says it just gets easier and easier. She even worked on two at the same time and said she felt more productive. I’m definitely planning on making a few more before the holidays – – sewist stocking stuffers, indeed!
I’m so glad that I found you on Sugar Bee Crafts! They look great. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome work:)
Katie
http://www.funhomethings.com
You’re so sweet. I’m glad you stopped by! Will have to check out your site.
The pincushion is so cute! And I love your “just leave it philosophy.”
Haha, thanks! Love the fabrics in your etsy store; I think finding fabrics is my favorite part of sewing! 🙂
Thank you so much for linking up to Tell me tuesday!!
I love these!! I Want one so bad, they are soooo dang cute!! AWESOME job!! thanks for the tips although im sure mine wold be not even close to cute haha
Remember I JUST started sewing – – so give yourself a little more credit! I bet they’d be loverly.
A very lovely bird parade! Loving the bird pin cushions so cute. I am a big sewer so can appreciate the time and tired eyes you put into them! Thanks for sharing your inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!
Thanks much, Cathy. You’re so sweet to comment!
That is the most adorable pin cushion I have ever seen! Great job!!!
I appreciate it, Virginia. Their adorableness redeems the challenge of creating them!
Adorable!! I’ve always used a boring old round one. Your little bird pin cushions are so darn cute!! I love it when I laugh at everything and nothing. Glad you had lots of fun. 🙂
Oh, yes. A joyful heart is good medicine!
Great post!
I love the birds!
I appreciate that!
Very nice. Good sewing. I tried making birds like this but they didn’t turn out quite right. Best wishes, Linda
I think the photos are forgiving…but thanks, Linda.
These are adorable! I found you from the linky par-tay at 1929 Charmer and I’m so glad I did. I’m making one too.
Yay! Do let me know how it goes, and I’d love to see pics!
Did you get a giant bag of that walnut litter for this project? I went to Petco today and they only had one size. I would have enough walnut litter in one package to make 400 birds! any other suggestions?
First of all, I’m SO glad you’re actually trying this! To answer your question, my M.I.L. picked up a pretty big bag at her local pet shop. We made five birds and still had plenty left, which sounds like your dilemma.
Some ideas: 1) You could seize this opportunity to have a bird pincushion party with the whole neighborhood. 2) You could put out a call on facebook to see if any friends already have a bag of walnut litter for their bird and borrow some. 3) You could bite the bullet and buy the big bag, trusting that new opportunities to use the material will arise. (In my internet research, walnut litter was most favored among sewists for pin-cushion stuffing.) 4) Or try an alternative stuffing: white rice, fine sand, or steel wool. Let me know how it goes!
And if anyone else has ideas, please chime in. 🙂
Thanks for the ideas. I put the word out on FB and craigslist in my area, hopefully I don’t have to meet some weirdo in a parking lot for bird bedding and hopefully I don’t have to buy the giant bag either. I did find a man on craigslist that uses it for sandblasting and wants me to buy ALL of it for $800. That’s a lot of pincushions. In the end, I have a strong feeling I will be using the brown rice I bought ages ago when I was in a mood to eat healthy (and then wasn’t). If I can sift out the cat poo, I may consider raiding my kids’ sandbox as well, haha.
Haha! I’ll be curious to find out which of these options pans out…hopefully not the sandbox! 😉
I really like your bird pincushions! I’d love for you to share this at my new linky party, Submarine Sunday. I hope you’ll stop by!
T’onna
http://navywifeypeters.blogspot.com/2012/10/submarine-sunday-1-linky-party_7.html
Many thanks, and congrats on starting a link party! I linked up three times. 😉
Thanks for linking up at Submarine Sunday! Link up as much as you like! 🙂
These are so neat – I’m going to forward this to a sewing friend! Crafting with friends and family is fun…as long as you can laugh! 🙂 Found you on the Eye Heart blog hop!
I agree, Kathie! Crafting is always better with a buddy, especially when you can laugh together. Started following you on Pinterest!
What a wonderful way to spend the day….not only did you end up with something so pretty and practical, but you gave yourselves the gift of laughter and imperfection!! Let’s hear some tweets from the birds!!
Tweet! Tweet! (I’m not on Twitter, so that’s the best I can do. Wink.)
What a clever idea …. they are delightful.
Thanks, Kate! They were definitely worth all of the hard work in the end. 🙂
So LOvely!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I’d love for you to visit my blog.
Hugs from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
http://www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com
G, you crack me up. A hot dog! You know you’d make it at least a hot dog with wings. 😉
They look better than just leave it to me! If I was doing it, I would have ended up making a hot dog and just left it! Looking great 🙂 I love all your projects and I do wish we were closer so I could hang out with you while you make all of them!
A hot dog…LOL!! That would have been me, too!
This was a very entertaining “episode” as pop-pop said. I thought you were going to play on MJ’s “just beat it”, but you didn’t and now I can’t read your post without the rhythm… just LEAVE it….dudududu-dudu-du… that is a good idea though, thanks to your writing I feel more free to try stuff now that I might not be good at. Thanks!
Darn it! I can’t believe I missed an opportunity to reference M.J. in my post. (Now it’s in my head, too!)
Mor mor and I thoroughly enjoyed your bird pincushion episode! We laughed along with you and Rachel. But we’ve both decided we won’t try it – we’ll “just leave it.”
This comment made Mark and I laugh out loud…literally. (You’re so witty, Pop Pop.) Glad you and Mor Mor got a kick out it!