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Pillow Moss Pincushions

I went too far taking apart my sewing machine while cleaning it, and now I need to take it to the repair shop.  Where I went wrong was removing the tiny parts for the automatic thread cutter.  There was a big dust bunny under the mechanism and I just couldn't get it out without removing the parts.  It was a struggle getting them back in place, and I must not have done it exactly right. 

While my favorite machine is out of commission, I'm going to try to get a few hand sewing projects completed.  The materials to embroider moss have been sitting on my desk for a week now, so that seemed like a good place to start.  So today I made another pillow moss pincushion: 

I've been using the first one and I love how it looks on my sewing table.  It sits so nicely next to my machine, and it is also really easy to just grab and take with me to the cutting table.  

Here it is with a mushroom pin:

These are spun cotton mushrooms where I've cut off the wire and glued a pin to the bottom.  They are great for the fake moss because I can move them around easily. 

 

SE Portland Art Walk

This Saturday and Sunday the annual SE Portland Art Walk is taking place and a bunch of artists in the building are taking part.  I'm not officially involved, but will be in my little corner sewing.  I go to my work space almost every day of the week, and I'm especially fond of working on the weekends because I can find a parking space!

My neighbor down the hall convinced me to set up a display of terrariums, so I'm in full on terrarium embroidering freak out (in a fun way).  It is also a good excuse to clean up the sewing mess and take some photos of where I work!  Look for those next week.

If you are out and about come by and say hi.  I'm in suite 219 of the Ford Building.  I will be there from 12:00 - 4:00ish or so.  There are a lot of talented people in the building, so there will be a lot of stuff to see in our building.  It will be an excellent stop on the walk.

Forever Moss Terrariums

I've been off on a terrarium tangent lately.  I've been trying to hunt down more of the hanging globes, but in smaller sizes, or some interesting jars with nice lids.

The great thing about the globes--besides looking super fabulous--is the glass is easy to see through.  They are made from borosilicate glass, which is the same glass as test tubes and beakers, so it is thin  and clear and also able to withstand temperature fluctations.  Which doesn't really matter with the terrariums, but it does make the globes useful as candle holders too!

Here are some of the terrariums:

This one is really, really small. 

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This one is about 4.5" high x 3" wide. 

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The glass globe used with this one is 6" diameter.