Wrist pincushion

As promised, here this is my new wrist pincushion. Although I did say it would be blue, so I did end up using a different fabric than planned.

I've been meaning to make one of these for ages, literally years, and never got around to it. But lately I've been inspired by all the great pin cushions I've been seeing on Flickr and other blogs. I've already mentioned Nicole at Craftapalooza's beautiful creations, she made this pincushion tutorial at whip up. And the next step will be covering my tape measure using this tutorial! Can I just mention that I can't even keep up with all the great posts at whip up. It's such an inspiring site.

My wrist pin cushion followed Nicole's instructions to start. Then I sewed a ribbon to the back and hemmed the edges of the ribbon and added a snap closure. Next I cut a circle of cardboard a little smaller than the pincushion. I covered this with fabric and sewed it to the back of the pincushion. I'd like to think that I wouldn't stab myself with pins while using the pincushion, but I prefer not worrying about it and having the cardboard backing there! Because let's face it I'm the person who lost forty-four needles in the old one. Obviously I'm not as careful as I could be. And to make one last disclaimer on that front, I did actually have that pin cushion since I was a kid, so we're talking decades of sewing. And in case you're thinking "aww, you had it since you were a kid? Why did you cut it up?" I must reiterate that it was a drab old ugly tomato - and they haven't changed as far as I can see.

There are lots of other handmade pincushions that have inspired me. Of course there are Bella Dia's gorgeous creations. I don't know if I could put a pin in them though, they're more like works of art! Also, I was inspired by Michelle at Green Kitchen who has made some pretty pins for her lovely pincushion. And finally how inspiring are these gorgeous pins at Wee Wonderfuls? I'm planning on making some of those next.

p.s. there was a question about Kate - all her measurements are given in the knitty.com pattern. If you use thinner yarn and a corresponding smaller needle size she'll end up looking the same proportionately but a bit smaller, which is what I did for the blue version.