Thursday, July 18, 2013

Off the Hook: Cactus Pincushion





My sister saw a photo of this little guy somewhere on the Web, posted it on my Facebook page, and said if she had one, she would be inspired to take up sewing again. I couldn't resist the challenge and set out to make her one. The pattern is from Ana Paula Rimoli's November 10, 2007,  post in her blog "Amigurumi Patterns & Random Cuteness."

I used odds and ends of acrylic yarns from my stash. The pattern works up pretty fast; I think I spent barely a couple of hours on the whole project, except for the trip to Joann's for the pearl head pins. The only change I made was to the filling of the planter. Ana used poly-pellets, which I didn't have. I stiffened the bottom with a round piece of heavy card. Then I thought I'd substitute dried beans for the pellets, but didn't have any on hand. Instead, I used white rice wrapped in a scrap of fabric, which gave enough weight to keep the pincushion upright.

I think my sister will be pleased with the results. Can't wait to take it to her.


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Well, this is such a cute little critter, Carolyn! The question is: did it work? Is your sister sewing again?!

Carolyn Kotlas said...

Katie, she's gotten as far as hauling out and setting up her Bernina. But it seems it needs a part replaced to get it back to perfect running order. When that's fixed, hopefully, she'll be back to sewing.