Explore Your Crochet's free patterns blog and discover inspiring ideas to ignite your creativity. Read our post, 'Cupcake Pin Cushion Free Crochet Pattern'.

I enjoy embroidery, and these little cushions are (relatively) quick and easy to make. For the examples above, I used odds and ends of Anchor and DMC embroidery cotton and 22 count Aida cloth. I wo…

Explore Your Crochet's free patterns blog and discover inspiring ideas to ignite your creativity. Read our post, 'Cupcake Pin Cushion Free Crochet Pattern'.

One thing is for sure, you can never have enough pin cushions. Okay maybe you can and I just lied, whatever the case, you can’t have enough CUTE pincushions. Am I right? Yep, thought so. This little guy finishes at 4″ x 4″ and uses up any of those favorite little scraps you have left […]

I've been doing a little bit of finishing off. This cushion was stitched before I even started blogging, sewn together in Feb 2014, and finally stuffed last night. Better late than never! Some lonely experimental hexies turned into a pincushion for an upcoming swap. More leftover 3/8" hexies, these from the FiS Christmas swap in December 2013. Now a new mini waiting to be quilted. Very similar to one I made with 1/4" hexies for myself here. And a little giveaway to finish. I won this set of smaller fabric pieces at a retreat, and they are just not colours I would use. The largest piece is 13" square, so suitable for a small project. Leave a comment and I'll draw a winner on Monday. Susan x

Is in session! I'm so excited to invite you to join me for an afternoon (or an evening) of softie making! I will be teaching my Elephant Softies pattern twice this month at the fabulous fabric shop, Let's Sew, August 22nd (5:30-8:30pm) and 24th (1-4pm). Let's Sew is in Evansville (southwestern Indiana). Tommy & Tilly Elephant is one of my easiest (and possibly, most fun) patterns, so if you are new to sewing and want to make your first pattern project, or if you are more experienced and want to spend a few hours of sewing and socializing in a gorgeous fabric shop, sign up by calling the store at 812- 471-7945. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or e-mail me! The cost of the class is $35, and materials are not included, but you will receive a discount on the supplies and pattern when you have paid for your spot. I am so looking forward to meeting a few of you in person, I hope to see you there! Happy Stitching,

Another crochet pincushion! I love this one! I came across it on Rivalry last month where I saw it finished in red and beige. I thought ...

I know. It's not even Halloween yet and this is looking very Christmassy. What can I say, Christmas is my favorite holiday, and when we're all coming down from our candy buzzes in a few days, it will be time to kick into all-out holiday crafting mode, so why not get a head start? Don't you love a cute house ornament? I made a little fabric house last year, but it bugged me that the door and embroidery disappeared into the bottom of the house (Exhibit A), so I changed the design to avoid that problem. These scrappy house ornaments don't take very long to make, and they do include a hanger, I just tucked them under for the photo above. I mentioned before that I was in the mood for a tutorial, well...here it is! Fabric House Ornament Tutorial Materials: Pattern (click here to get pattern) Quilting cotton scraps for house back, roof, window, and door Fabric with numbers or fabric selvage for house number Linen, linen/cotton blend, or cotton quilter’s linen for house front Wool or wool-blend felt scraps for bird 10” length of ribbon, 3/8” to 1/2" wide (satin, grosgrain, velveteen, picot edge, twill tape, etc.) Rick rack (1/2" wide), miniature pom pom, or other trim Wonder Under fusible web (1/8 yard) Sheer weight or lightweight fusible interfacing (1/8 yard) All purpose thread Embroidery thread Button Polyfill or other stuffing material Tools: Scissors, rotary cutter/quilting ruler/cutting mat (optional), sewing machine, iron/ironing board, pins, seam ripper, hand sewing needle, disappearing fabric ink, chopstick or turning tool *Seam allowances are 1/4" unless otherwise noted, finished house is 4-1/2" tall, not including chimney. *Always backstitch/backtack at the beginning and end of each seam. Instructions: HOUSE 1. Cut a piece of fusible interfacing slightly larger than the house pattern piece. Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the linen with a hot iron according to package instructions. Press with iron on the linen side until the interfacing is completely fused. Use a ruler and rotary cutter to cut around the house pattern. 2. Draw the cutouts at the bottom of the house with disappearing fabric ink (the cutouts are 1/2" x 1/2"). Cut on the lines with scissors. Cut another house from quilting cotton (there is no need for interfacing for the cotton house). ROOF 1. Place a length of rick rack or pom pom trim on the linen house fabric, indicated on the pattern with a dotted stitch line. Center the trim over the line. I find it helpful to draw a line with a fabric pen 1-3/4" from the top of the house (the solid line on the roof of the house pattern). The top of your medium sized rick rack should meet this line, as well as the roof fabric when you place it over the rick rack (see Step 2). Mini pom pom is a little narrower than rick rack, and so sits a little lower than 1-3/4". 2. Place the roof fabric on top of the trim, right sides together, with the edge of the fabric 1/4” above the stitch line. Sew a 1/4” seam along the stitch line. 3. Fold the roof fabric up. If you use rick rack, go ahead and iron the fabric. If you are using pom pom trim or other synthetic trim DO NOT PRESS WITH IRON!!! Pom pom trim melts very easily. Finger press the fabric only. 4. Turn the house over, and trim the roof fabric to match the outline of the house. 5. Turn the house back over and machine baste the roof fabric in place, very close to the edge of the house. DOOR, WINDOW, & HOUSE NUMBER 1. Cut a piece of Wonder Under slightly larger than the appliqué piece. 2. Adhere the Wonder Under to the wrong side of the appliqué fabric with an iron (bumpy side of Wonder Under to wrong side of fabric). Let cool. Lift up an edge of the paper backing to loosen it from fabric. 3. Cut out the piece of fabric that is fused to the Wonder Under. 4. Remove the paper backing from the fabric. Place the pattern piece on the sticky side of the fabric and cut around it. 5. Remove the pattern and iron the appliqué in place on the front of the house. Do this for the window, door, and house number, using the pattern as a guide for placement. DO NOT decorate your house below the line marked on the pattern, and remember to keep the iron away from any heat-sensitive trims! 5. Using a straight stitch on your machine, sew around the outside edge of the appliqué, just off the fabric edge. Sew a second line just on the inside of the fabric edge. For the door, I used thread that matched the door on the inside of the fabric, black on the outside. For the window, I used black thread only. I sewed pretty fast, not aiming for a super straight line, I like the hand drawn look of wobbly lines. For the house number, I only sewed one seam, on the inside of the fabric edge. BIRD 1. Cut a bird from felt and place it on the house. Sew in place by machine with matching thread, just on the inside edge of the felt. 2. Divide the embroidery floss and use three strands for the bird. Hand embroider beak, feet, and wing with backstitches. 3. Make a French knot eye. BUTTON DOORKNOB 1. Add the button last so you don't have to worry about bumping into it while sewing the birdie or other appliqués. CHIMNEY & HANGER 1. Fold chimney fabric in half. Sew across the top and down the side with the raw edges. 2. Trim corner and seam allowances. 3. Turn right side out and press. 4. Place chimney upside down where indicated on the pattern, right sides together. Sew in place very close to the edge of the fabric. Fold ribbon hanger in half, place on the top and center of the roof and sew in place very close to the edge. 5. Alternate method: you may press under the top and side edges of the chimney fabric 1/4", right sides facing out, and hand sew the chimney closed with a ladder/blind stitch before attaching to house. FINISH 1. Place the front and back of your house right sides together and pin. Make sure your ribbon will not get sewn into the seams. Sew around the bottom, sides and top of the house, leaving a 1-1/2” turning hole on one side. DO NOT sew the notched cutouts yet. 2. Reach inside the house to pull open the cutout on one side. Flatten it so the seams match up, and the seam allowances go in opposite directions. Sew across this short straight edge with a 1/4” seam allowance. Repeat for other side. Make sure the seam allowance on the bottom of the house is folded the same direction on both sides. 3. Turn the house right side out, stuff, and close the turning hole with a ladder stitch. 4. You're finished! Hang your ornament on a tree, doorknob, wall or stocking hook. Happy homemaking! Kim P.S. The number fabric is Annie's Farm Stand Seed Catalog from Lakehouse. It has lots of different numbers in several fonts and sizes, perfect if you're going to make a bunch of these. P.P.S. For those of you who don't sew, I will be adding the house ornaments to my shop soon! All the ornaments are on their way to new homes, thanks so much! P.P.P.S. Don't forget that I am having a sale this week, just enter the code CELEBRATE during checkout at my Etsy shop for 20% off your order. The patterns in my sidebar are already discounted. The sale goes through Wednesday, 10/26. Sale has ended, thanks! UPDATE: just editing my sale and shop info, so as not to be confusing :)

Hello and happy winter. I know its been cold and snowy and icy, but there is an upside to the colder months. There are those long days of studio work. I don't know about you, but some of my happiest days are days I spend creating. In the spring, all I can think of is flowers and plants. I am happy to get out and walk in the warm sun. I'm dreaming of gardens and planning beds and containers. In the winter, its the 4 walls between me and yet another snow storm or this year, the dreaded arctic vortex. What the what is that? Well, I have had my shop in a no custom order mode for too long. I'm afraid it will be a bit longer. However, I think you will find it worth the wait if you are one of my collectors. My goodness, you can only order so many tomatoes in so many colors. I don't know if I can make another strawberry. I made over 60 in 3 months. I long for new designs and I have lots of fabrics to inspire them. I am a vintage junkie and one of my new designs uses some of my favorite embroidered designs. \ This weekend I picked up some beautiful red and white fabrics. They are inspired by redwork embroidery. In fact, I thought I heard them whisper, "Take me home! You need to create some stitchery for me." Okay, I don't actually hear fabrics talk to me. I think I am more likely to walk into my studio and ask, "Who wants to play today!" Those new red fabrics definitely were ready to go. Well I hope you like my new things. I am going to digress a bit when I'm finished with my next order. I am dying to get back to my little houses. Aren't they fun? They are so much fun to make. I'd do a tutorial, but I have seen some on-line tutorials which seem to use a much simpler pattern than the one I use. Here are a few of what you will find in my shop soon... I also have a new idea for little wallets/needlebooks. I think they will be so handy when you are on the go. I have the designs all ready to go. I just have to create a pattern and start to play! Now I have a question for you. If you have a moment, I'd love to know what you would like to see me try in the upcoming months. If you would like a tutorial on a specific design, I'll see what I can do. I kind of like to hold on to my best designs as my little secret. But there are things I wouldn't mind sharing. I also plan on creating some patterns to add to my shop. For those of you with mad skills, you will now have my plans to try a few of these things on your own. Its all so much fun! Stay warm and stay creative. Winter is nearly heading into spring. Before you know it, there will be a thousand distractions keeping you from your sewing machine. Take advantage of your cabin. You don't have to see it as a negative when there are so many wonderful things just waiting to come to life and only you can make them! In Addition.... I wanted to add one more new item. I've had it in the works for a bit and I finally finished it! Watch for a tutorial coming soon on how to create a pattern using your own vintage doily! I'll take you step by step in creating a custom shape that fits any doily you have on hand!

For the pincushion you’ll need approx. 25 g sock yarn for the body and 20 g for both the upper part of the dress and the skirt. For the hair you’ll need approx. 15 g yarn. The ruffles are worked of crochet yarn size 80. The pattern is written out. There are no charts but many pictures and sketches to clarify the instructions further. Die Anleitung für das Nadelkissen ist in Englisch und Deutsch (2 files) You can download an ENGLISH and a GERMAN Version of the pattern

I have been playing with my Serger lately. So far I have altered some clothing and made a blanket with stretchy fabric. There were many clo...

Black Eyed Susan Linen Pincushion Lavender and Linen Pincushion Sometimes it you need to add that one last detail to take something from average to extraordinary. Perhaps it is adding function and ease of use, sometimes it means you need to pop on one more detail in the design. I've had a lot of requests for this pincushion. Its so nice and big and pretty. I began with the Lavender design and just finished the Black Eyed Susan version. This particular design is simply the "classic". You can find that tutorial on my blog. What makes this one better than the rest is the embroidery. Its simple yet really pretty. I even hand embroider a covered button to completely customize this design. A standard detail in most all of my pincushions is the pocket of emery enclosed in each cushion. It adds just enough emery to keep your pins sharp, without over-polishing them to the point that the finish is worn off. The emery pocket is simply a small disc, made of muslin. Its filled loosely with emery and stuffed inside each classic pincushion. You can feel it if you give your pincushion a squeeze. The emery is surrounded by polyester fiber fill. This gives each pincushion a lofty, plump appearance. It also provides a safe way to store your pins and needles long term. To find out how to go about creating the button for this pincushion, go to my list of tutorials on the left side of my blog.

Learn how to make a mason jar pin cushion from an old jar and a scrap of fabric. These pincushion jars liven up your sewing room.

Hello my dear friends, I have had a lovely time creating something new yesterday after not having a single creative thought in almost weeks ...

Art quilts, fabric art, fiber art

Heather Bailey pin cushion pattern made with Michael Miller fabrics.

Hundreds of free crochet patterns from baby blankets, apparel, home decoration, flowers and more. Be inspired and get ready to crochet something amazing!

I know. It's not even Halloween yet and this is looking very Christmassy. What can I say, Christmas is my favorite holiday, and when we're all coming down from our candy buzzes in a few days, it will be time to kick into all-out holiday crafting mode, so why not get a head start? Don't you love a cute house ornament? I made a little fabric house last year, but it bugged me that the door and embroidery disappeared into the bottom of the house (Exhibit A), so I changed the design to avoid that problem. These scrappy house ornaments don't take very long to make, and they do include a hanger, I just tucked them under for the photo above. I mentioned before that I was in the mood for a tutorial, well...here it is! Fabric House Ornament Tutorial Materials: Pattern (click here to get pattern) Quilting cotton scraps for house back, roof, window, and door Fabric with numbers or fabric selvage for house number Linen, linen/cotton blend, or cotton quilter’s linen for house front Wool or wool-blend felt scraps for bird 10” length of ribbon, 3/8” to 1/2" wide (satin, grosgrain, velveteen, picot edge, twill tape, etc.) Rick rack (1/2" wide), miniature pom pom, or other trim Wonder Under fusible web (1/8 yard) Sheer weight or lightweight fusible interfacing (1/8 yard) All purpose thread Embroidery thread Button Polyfill or other stuffing material Tools: Scissors, rotary cutter/quilting ruler/cutting mat (optional), sewing machine, iron/ironing board, pins, seam ripper, hand sewing needle, disappearing fabric ink, chopstick or turning tool *Seam allowances are 1/4" unless otherwise noted, finished house is 4-1/2" tall, not including chimney. *Always backstitch/backtack at the beginning and end of each seam. Instructions: HOUSE 1. Cut a piece of fusible interfacing slightly larger than the house pattern piece. Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the linen with a hot iron according to package instructions. Press with iron on the linen side until the interfacing is completely fused. Use a ruler and rotary cutter to cut around the house pattern. 2. Draw the cutouts at the bottom of the house with disappearing fabric ink (the cutouts are 1/2" x 1/2"). Cut on the lines with scissors. Cut another house from quilting cotton (there is no need for interfacing for the cotton house). ROOF 1. Place a length of rick rack or pom pom trim on the linen house fabric, indicated on the pattern with a dotted stitch line. Center the trim over the line. I find it helpful to draw a line with a fabric pen 1-3/4" from the top of the house (the solid line on the roof of the house pattern). The top of your medium sized rick rack should meet this line, as well as the roof fabric when you place it over the rick rack (see Step 2). Mini pom pom is a little narrower than rick rack, and so sits a little lower than 1-3/4". 2. Place the roof fabric on top of the trim, right sides together, with the edge of the fabric 1/4” above the stitch line. Sew a 1/4” seam along the stitch line. 3. Fold the roof fabric up. If you use rick rack, go ahead and iron the fabric. If you are using pom pom trim or other synthetic trim DO NOT PRESS WITH IRON!!! Pom pom trim melts very easily. Finger press the fabric only. 4. Turn the house over, and trim the roof fabric to match the outline of the house. 5. Turn the house back over and machine baste the roof fabric in place, very close to the edge of the house. DOOR, WINDOW, & HOUSE NUMBER 1. Cut a piece of Wonder Under slightly larger than the appliqué piece. 2. Adhere the Wonder Under to the wrong side of the appliqué fabric with an iron (bumpy side of Wonder Under to wrong side of fabric). Let cool. Lift up an edge of the paper backing to loosen it from fabric. 3. Cut out the piece of fabric that is fused to the Wonder Under. 4. Remove the paper backing from the fabric. Place the pattern piece on the sticky side of the fabric and cut around it. 5. Remove the pattern and iron the appliqué in place on the front of the house. Do this for the window, door, and house number, using the pattern as a guide for placement. DO NOT decorate your house below the line marked on the pattern, and remember to keep the iron away from any heat-sensitive trims! 5. Using a straight stitch on your machine, sew around the outside edge of the appliqué, just off the fabric edge. Sew a second line just on the inside of the fabric edge. For the door, I used thread that matched the door on the inside of the fabric, black on the outside. For the window, I used black thread only. I sewed pretty fast, not aiming for a super straight line, I like the hand drawn look of wobbly lines. For the house number, I only sewed one seam, on the inside of the fabric edge. BIRD 1. Cut a bird from felt and place it on the house. Sew in place by machine with matching thread, just on the inside edge of the felt. 2. Divide the embroidery floss and use three strands for the bird. Hand embroider beak, feet, and wing with backstitches. 3. Make a French knot eye. BUTTON DOORKNOB 1. Add the button last so you don't have to worry about bumping into it while sewing the birdie or other appliqués. CHIMNEY & HANGER 1. Fold chimney fabric in half. Sew across the top and down the side with the raw edges. 2. Trim corner and seam allowances. 3. Turn right side out and press. 4. Place chimney upside down where indicated on the pattern, right sides together. Sew in place very close to the edge of the fabric. Fold ribbon hanger in half, place on the top and center of the roof and sew in place very close to the edge. 5. Alternate method: you may press under the top and side edges of the chimney fabric 1/4", right sides facing out, and hand sew the chimney closed with a ladder/blind stitch before attaching to house. FINISH 1. Place the front and back of your house right sides together and pin. Make sure your ribbon will not get sewn into the seams. Sew around the bottom, sides and top of the house, leaving a 1-1/2” turning hole on one side. DO NOT sew the notched cutouts yet. 2. Reach inside the house to pull open the cutout on one side. Flatten it so the seams match up, and the seam allowances go in opposite directions. Sew across this short straight edge with a 1/4” seam allowance. Repeat for other side. Make sure the seam allowance on the bottom of the house is folded the same direction on both sides. 3. Turn the house right side out, stuff, and close the turning hole with a ladder stitch. 4. You're finished! Hang your ornament on a tree, doorknob, wall or stocking hook. Happy homemaking! Kim P.S. The number fabric is Annie's Farm Stand Seed Catalog from Lakehouse. It has lots of different numbers in several fonts and sizes, perfect if you're going to make a bunch of these. P.P.S. For those of you who don't sew, I will be adding the house ornaments to my shop soon! All the ornaments are on their way to new homes, thanks so much! P.P.P.S. Don't forget that I am having a sale this week, just enter the code CELEBRATE during checkout at my Etsy shop for 20% off your order. The patterns in my sidebar are already discounted. The sale goes through Wednesday, 10/26. Sale has ended, thanks! UPDATE: just editing my sale and shop info, so as not to be confusing :)

Spring? Well whether mother nature is telling us it is Spring or if she is still covering you with a blanket of snow where you live, the calendar says Spring has arrived. With that in mind I spent the weekend shopping for some new herb plants for my garden and at the same time purchased some crafting items at the garden center. I brought my love of flowers and gardening into my sewing area by creating a fun and useful Flower Pot pincushion. I used my handy E-6000 glue and attached a small clay flower pot to a clay flower pot saucer, adding the saucer gives you a great place to hold thread, buttons or other sewing notions you may need while sewing or crafting. You could even add a larger saucer to give you more space for extra stuff. I showcase two versions of my pincushions, in the first one I used a salad plate as a template and cut out a fabric circle, gathered the edge with a needle and thread then stuffed with fiberfill. In the second version I inserted the tomato pincushion I made a few weeks ago into the pot to use as my pincushion. Because of the tight fit in both I did not have to glue the pincushion into the pot, the pins are corsage pins and I added the flower beads to give them a really fun garden look. As always I found a tutorial to share if you would like to create your own flower pot pincushion to give as a gift or just add a touch of Spring to your sewing area. Flower Pot Pincushion The tutorial gives you an easy way to make the pincushion that requires no sewing and you use a hot glue gun to attach the pincushion into the pot. A great tutorial that is fast and easy to put together. I hope you create your own little garden to display in your sewing space, anywhere in your home or share a little bit of Spring with someone else. If you drop in and check out my blog please leave a comment and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy a walk in the sunshine and don't forget to stop and smell the roses as you take an inspirational walk down "life in the craft lane".

Have you seen the #PinnieParade fun which is happening over on Instagram this month? A pincushion (or pin cushion) is a small, stuffed cushion, typically 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) across, which is used in sewing to store pins or needles with their heads protruding so as to take hold of them easily, collect them, and keep them organized. Source: Wikipedia Cheri of @TinkerEllen was inspired by all of the gorgeous pincushions which Crazy Mom Quilts creates and set the community challenge of creating and sharing a pincushion for each day in August. I must admit, I am ALL OVER this challenge. The best part of this challenge, is that we can share old pincushions already in our sewing rooms or pincushions that we may have made and gifted to sewing friends. Here are the first few pincushion pictures which I’ve shared. I think it’ll be fun to make a collage at the end of the month with pictures of all of the pincushions :) Do you like to make pincushions? Whats the biggest one you’ve ever made? How about the smallest?

Cute Purple Elephant Counted Cross stitch pin-cushion design. Purple Elephant with a blanket, surrounded by a geometric border. Lots of lovely detail, Quick and Easy for beginners. Perfect for children, great party gift. This listing is for the digital chart download only A great way to use up odds and ends of thread, Aida and canvas. This design has been created for using Counted Cross Stitch on 14 Count Aida in Anchor Stranded Cotton. The download comprises of:- Full Colour and Symbol Design Chart Full Colour and Symbol Thread Key Design Simulation This listing is for the digital pattern. There are no materials for making it included. The thread quantities are calculated using the suggested Anchor Stranded Cotton and 14 Count Aida Suggested materials Anchor Stranded Cotton 14 Count Aida Final size 3" x 3" approximately Please be aware that if a larger or smaller HPI is used, then the size of the final product will be different. Design Charts are subject to copyright and can not be copied and resold. They are for reasonable personal use only and should not be used commercially or incorporated into another product.8

Do you like your eggs over easy? Do you like your free pincushion patterns to be overly easy? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then do yourself a favor and make one of these adorable pincushions!

The DIYideaCenter.com is filled with the best do-it-yourself ideas for creative minds of all ages. From making your own shampoo to creating easy DIY projects for your home, we have everything you need to create a lifestyle all your own.

Make a Pin Cushion Egg Cup with this quick little tutorial. Unlike many other pin cushions that can roll away or get misplaced, this pretty pin cushion lives inside an egg cup. This is a great sewing accessory to add to the desk in your sewing and crafting room. It would look adorable pretty much anywhere, however. So, if you tend to sew in your living room, it can double as some DIY home decor.

I was asked how I made this pincushion after posting it on Instagram, so I decided to share by making another one with a tutorial. It’s easy, goes together quick and doesn’t require muc…

I love pincushions. They're a handy way to keep your pins organized, but they also are a decorative way to express yourself in your sewing space. Once I learned how to make pincushions, which is almost as simple as making a pillow, I was making them...

Charm About You by Lucy Brennan is all about patchwork and quilting, sewing, embroidery and fabric. Featuring projects, patterns and free tutorials.

Use this wrist pincushion tutorial to make your own pincushion using fabric scraps and a jar lid! This fabric scrap project would make an easy, quick gift!

Flickr is nothing without you, our community. We want to make sure this community continues to thrive, grow, and inspire, so we've made some big changes.

"Love making your own pincushions? This easy peasy DIY pin cushion craft will show you how to make a frame pin cushion in just a few minutes, using a recycled photo frame! If you’re anything like me, you’re always in need of more pin cushions! For some reason I keep adding pins to my collection and I find it hard to part ways with the old ones, even though they’re in such a bad condition! So I had no choice but to make another DIY pin cushion to accommodate my new pins."

ESSE TRABALHO NÃO É MEU, É APENAS INSPIRAÇÃO PARA NOSSOS FUTUROS TRABALHOS.

Our current enCOUNTER exhibition Yarnscape has been quite the hit, with most of the works snapped up already. In light of its success you'll be happy to see that our promised interview + studio visit with Odds&endS is finally ready! You might remember Odds&endS from Craft Hatch many, many moons ago in 2010 where they debuted their knitted cacti at one of our City Library markets. The label has since blossomed and they've gone on to do many marvellous things - and we must say how glad we are that we were able to contribute to their success in the beginning! On CLOG today, Andrea from Odds&endS has taken a break from changing the world one knitted cactus at a time to give us a peek into her work space as well as answering a few questions. Yay! L-R: Andrea's studio, painting by Andrea's sister Renee and Odds&endS co-crafter that hangs in her studio: "I love its intense red color and serene face of the subject." Please tell us about Odds&endS and how the knitted cactus began! When did you launch your label and what encouraged you to do so? The label started last year as a outlet for my sisters and my love of vintage textiles and craft techniques. We both have trained in design, Renee in Fine Arts and Printmaking and my own in Industrial and Fashion Design. We are also self confessed hoarders, and really Odds&endS was born out of our want to share our collections of ephemera with others, by incorporating it into unique handmade items. The knitted cacti are my baby, the concept came from 2 sources the first, my knack at killing just about any plant that enters my home, and secondly a sweet little fabric cacti shaped pin cushion (pictured below) that I collected years ago from a thrift store. It is wonderful to see just how happy the knitted plants make people, I guess there are a lot of well intended gardeners like me out there, that can't bring themselves to bury another cactus... the knitted variety are perfect! Vintage sewing patterns + craft books + being highly organised = lots of inspiring material! In between your fashion industry job and being a mum, how do you manage to balance everything while being so excellent? What’s a typical day like for you? Life is pretty busy I must admit, but I have the best family who support and encourage me every day. I could not do it without them! No two days are the same, and often I find that I am most productive at night. Particularly when the house is quiet with a cup of tea by my side and my knitting/sewing needles in hand. While it is pretty tiring at times, It's so rewarding to finish a project and to see someone else appreciate the time and effort which has gone into a making it. During these moments it really doesn't feel like work in the slightest. On the topic of making, what’s one thing that you can’t do without while working? And what gets you inspired to create? I am forever loosing sewing needles...It's like the sock monster has developed the taste for metal sewing needsl! My grandmother gave me this little embroidered pin cushion (pictured below) which she brought with her from Germany, it is so sweet and beautifully made I love it to pieces. What gets me inspired? It really could be anything, a colour, pattern, shape, music. There is no one source. I do however have a weakness for mid century design and the simplicity of this era's aesthetic. Please tell us more about Yarnscape – how did you plan it, where did you derive your inspiration and what landscapes did you research? It must have also been quite fun (not to mention time-consuming!) sourcing those lovely pots! My husband came up with the title of Yarnscape, it seemed to sum up the concept perfectly. The landscape is loosely based on the Arizona desert, one of the first cacti I designed was the signature Odds&endS 'Arizona' forked cacti with his 2 bent arms and soft spikes. It has turned out to be the most popular design, and I guess set the environment for the Yarnscape collection. The vintage pots are very special, and at times I do find it hard to part with them, it's so easy to get attached to the amazing colours and textures, but we only have so much mantle space! It can be very time consuming sourcing them, as I focus on finding good quality vintage ceramics and they are becoming harder and harder to locate. But I have some wonderful friends that help me with the sourcing from time to time, so I do share the footwork. Some of the pots sourced by Andrea - you may recognise a few of them that are currently part of the exhibition! A pencil sketch by Andrea for the backdrop of Yarnscape What can we look forward to for Odd&endS? When I started Odds&endS, we really wanted for the label to evolve as a business. As I have so many interests, we didn't want to focus on just one medium or product type. If we were enthralled with making jewellery one month we would, and if we wanted to sew garments another we could. I would dearly love for the label to continue on this journey. Of course the cacti have become a real favorite, and the plant collection will certainly keep on growing. I am forever being inspired by new varieties of plants or interesting woollen materials, so who knows what will be next. I have been approached to make some larger-than-life specimens... which should be fun! Ceramic sticks (for the pots)! Another Odds&endS product: soft little bears made from upcycled woollen materials like angora, cashmere and mohair. Sketching and planning expressions Your blog is such a wonderful source of DIY projects, beautiful imagery and fascinating finds. What’s caught your eye recently? Gosh, it's hard to pin point just one source of inspiration, there are so many amazing resources available now. Blogs: I am totally smitten by AM on The Present Tense, Ana Monteil is a Spanish Graphic Designer who posts some of the most inspiring print resources and fascinating objects. The Beautiful Soup is another daily read, lots of amazing interiors... dream worthy! Objects: Anything by Ray and Charley Eames, their appreciation for form and function is unprecedented. All photography courtesy of Andrea Bell, Odds&endS

This beehive pincushion makes a lovely gift for the queen bee in your life. Dress it up with flowers or keep it simple and regal. The bee pins are a functional but fun addition that will allow you…

I have had this idea rolling around in my head for quite some time and I finally found the time to make it. I want to show you how to ...