Pincushion on Parade - Victorian Boot

Here is the second of Mary Jo Hiney's Pincushions on Parade Club mailings. The Victorian boot is done both in silk and cotton and called Travelin Boot and uses the Sweet Silk Packet or fabrics from the July/August, 2010 Issue of The Cotton Club. If you join the club now you would receive the current mailing.

When we introduced Mary Jo's Silk Club, she designed a new project for every month. We expected it to be some little project to give you ideas on how to use silk, but instead, they were these fabulous projects: scarves, purses, pincushions, pillows, eyeglass holders and more. We are so excited about the pincushion club, because it gives us a chance to see another new design from her every month for another 12 months. Mary Jo will choose a theme for each month and if you sign up now, you will receive the first shipment now. The next one will be sent in October. These are keepsake pincushions and will be treasured for years to come!

Also, when you sign up for the silk club, we will enclose an information sheet on how to work with silk and some facts about it. Mary Jo backs hers with a lightweight Fusible Interfacing which we have available. From her Silk Fun Facts, did you know that according to legend, in 2640 BCE, Chinese Prinsess Xi Ling Shi was the first to reel silk from a cocoon that had dropped into her cut of tea, so they say. It could have been her bath water... Silk farming, harvesting and weaving processes became a closely guarded secret for the next 3000 years, known only to the Chinese.

For more information on Pincushions on Parade, Click here and scroll down to see the entire Silk Catogory.

To see all of our clubs, Click here.

1/16" Round Hole Punch

We have been selling this tool since 1984. We ran it in our first display ad in Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. At that time, we thought it was extravagantly expensive at $16.95, but, we were all making our own templates, drawing around them, cutting them out and "marking the intersections" so we could hand piece. We loved to get it just right and this tool allowed us to punch a hole in the intersection of template plastic, the exact size we needed it. Every year the tool goes up in price, a little and now, in 2010, it is $39.95. When you consider that cars and houses are 10 times more expensive than they were then, I guess it isn't too bad.

Sally Collins, of miniature quilt fame, still recommends this notion and Debra Wagner recommended it too. The truth is, even now it is one of those tools that is always there when I need it. Recently, I had finished 8 wedges that had to be sewn together in a 360 degree circle and it came in very handy. I made a template of my triangle with the 1/4" seam allowance added then punched the intersections. I laid it on my wedges, marked the intersections, then drew sewing lines to connect the dots. I then was able to sew them together with confidence. I used a method I learned from Marsha McClosky years ago, when we first started piecing on the machine which she called, Precision Machine Piecing. I just sewed from dot to dot, leaving the 1/4" free at the ends, so they could be ironed any direction. It was her pinning method along the drawn lines and those dots that made it go together so easily.

To go to the 1/16" Round Hole Punch in our Online Catalog, Click here.

We carry a very extensive collection of notions and supplies. All of our favorites and the new ones as they prove themselves as useful.