Panoply of Pincushions

For the last couple of weeks I have not had enough time or energy to work on a challenging garment sewing project.  Instead I've been working on small projects that don't take up too much space and are easy to complete in small steps.  Most recently I've been sewing baby bibs from a pattern that I drafted but I'll tell you more about that in another post.  Right now I want to share the pincushions I've been making.  I've been sorting through all of the fabric scraps I have and using them to make small, square pincushions.  I've filled them with crushed walnut shells so they have a nice weight to them.  They are so fun to make that I created far more than I could ever use.  Some of them will be tucked away to be given as gifts in the future.  Some of them have gone up on ebay and have already made their way to new homes.  Here is my favorite one which has a wool felt top with an embroidered flower that I cut from 2 colors of wool.  The fabric for the underside is from the Tailor Made line by Cosmo Cricket. 

Close up of the flower on top:

The top:

The underside:

Here are some pictures of the others I have created.  These are made with cottons (no wools) and have fabric yo-yo's and button centers. 

All around these have been a quick and fun way to use up some of my scraps and keep sewing at a time when I didn't feel like tackling any huge projects.  What are your favorite stash-buster projects?  Do you have any strategies to keep yourself sewing when time and energy are in short supply? 

Um, have you seen this?!!

I ran across a flickr group today that has hundreds of lovely projects all made using patterns and tutorials that are totally free!  Fun.  It is the appropriately named Free Sewing Patterns and Tutorials flickr group.  I took a quick cruise through the photo stream and found a cutesy pattern for these felt matryoshka dolls:

You can get the pattern and instructions for the dolls at Sew to Speak blog.  I also found a nice pattern and tutorial for cloth baby shoes which you can download at the Stardust Shoes blog.  So, if you have spent every last spare cent on fabric and need some nice patterns on the cheap, visit the Free Sewing Patterns and Tutorials flickr group and prepare to be inspired!

Welcome to Three City Mice

This blog is intended to be a spot where folks can come to see what sewing-related stuff I've been up to.  It will also be a place for friends and family to come to see some pictures of our 3 little ones and hear a bit about anything fun happening at our house, projects that I'm working on and any other nonsense I feel like telling you.  Unless you know me "in real life" or you like to sew I expect that this blog may get tedious for you.  Even if you do know me and you love sewing - I make no promises to entertain or inform!  I am too tired to make any blog-related commitments.


Ok, now for some cuteness.  One of my oldest and best friends, Jen (of Sweetpickle Photography) took these pictures of my kids.  Adorable right?!