Welcome to my Pincushion Swap!!

I *LOVE* pincushions and have quite a collection. Quite a few are gifts, a number have been purchased, and many, many, many, were made by me. Sometimes making a pincushion is a quick fix to losing my sew-jo on days when I feel like I am lacking motivation to make anything.

So I thought it would be so much fun to host a swap!!!

Here are the basics – The swap costs $5. All participants will receive my Whirl and Twirl pincushion pattern. You do not need to make that pattern for the swap, it is just a special gift to you for joining! For full Swap info go to my SWAP INFO PAGE.

If you want to make the Pincushion without joining the swap, you totally can!! It’s available in my Etsy Shop.

I’ve gathered up some of my favorite pincushion patterns to help inspire you.

Cassandra Beaver of The Not So Dramatic Life has the CUTEST 4″ paper pieced quilt blocks with her Fortuitous Trinkets pattern that can be turned into amazing pincushions. This is my horseshoe pincushion from those patterns.

I took a smocked pincushion virtual class with Cheryl Sleboda that was absolutely wonderful. Keep an eye on her website for a restock of the pattern or a new class.

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The most beautiful pincushions ever are made by Lesley Storts of Stortsmarket. You can keep an eye on her Instagram for her sales or purchase a copy of the pattern to make your own salt cellar pin cushion. I do own quite a few made by Lesley, but here are a few I made myself using her pattern.

Pin Pals: 40 Patchwork Pinnies, Poppets, and Pincushions with Pizzaz by Carrie Nelson is amazing book brimming with ways of using up scraps to create adorable pincushions. These patterns are the best when feeling low on inspiration. Grab your scrap bucket and this book and sew away!! I haven’t made all forty yet, but I’m getting there.

For more 4″ finished block patterns to turn into pincushions, check out the I Spy Book by Kimie Tanner and Missy Winona of On Williams Street. This strawberry block was perfect for me, and with 100 patterns you can really personalize a block for your partner.

Are you inspired? Ready to join in?

Click >here< for the Swap Page I’ve created with all the info and the Google Form to fill out. Sign ups will close by March 28, 2021 or when we hit 250 swappers.

This is the first time I am hosting an online swap so remember to be kind!

It’s gonna be a blast!!

Lovingly,

Lissa

A few years ago during a visit to my in-laws, I found several large trash bags in the kitchen. It turns out my Father in law was cleaning out the linen closet and in these bags were quilts made by my husband’s great grandmother that he was going to toss.

Ummm….no.

Both bags were quickly placed in the back of my car to come home with me. Inside there were three hand made Cathedral Window quilts, in fairly good condition and two more quilts in need of love and care.

This one is the youngest quilt, born in 1959.

I believe the flower petals are all from old clothes. Many are worn through and every single flower center is worn out.

There was definitely enough of the quilt that could still be usable, but how?

A quilted coat!!! That is the answer. I knew it would have to be for my daughter as she slept under this quilt for many years. She and I sat down to make some decisions.

First, I was going to have to replace all the yellow centers and we needed a binding color. She found a light yellow grunge in my stash and we sat down with my Kona color swatches and she chose the Sage Green as a binding.

We chose a short jacket as we weren’t sure just how much of the quilt we could use. The Lilliana pattern from Seamwork is a cute jacket and perfect for both the small amount of quilt I could work with and my daughter’s figure. I laid out the pattern first, centering my daughter’s favorite flower on the back piece and making sure there were flowers on all the other pieces. There were just enough flowers!!!

Taking that first cut into the quilt was terrifying!! It soon became so exciting as I hung each piece on my design wall.

I was even able to cut and save the corner flower were the quilter had embroidered my Mother-in-law’s name and the year it was made.

I began replacing all the yellow centers. Wow, what a difference such a small change made!

Sewing the jacket together was extremely easy. After all there are only 5 pieces to it. I made a ton of bias binding using the Sage green Kona and used it to finish all the raw edge seams inside the jacket. I pressed all the seams open and finished them separately before hand stitching them to the inside lining (formerly known as the quilt back). The shoulder seams were trimmed and finished together. I did not hand stitch those down to the lining.

After that it was just a bit of binding on the outer edges of the jacket.. I machine stitched it 1/4″ from the raw edge and then flipped it to the back and hand stitched it down. Just like a real quilt edge.

It was ready for her on her 18th birthday!!!

The very first thing I did after our photo shoot was text all the images and tell my Mother-in-Law what I had done. I am happy to say that she is quite pleased that the quilt lives on and is still keeping someone warm.

Honestly, so am I.

Lovingly, Lissa

New Year new blog hop!!

A New York Beauty Block has been on my quilty bucket list FOREVER. How could I say no when Cinzia White asked me to participate in a blog hop for her newest book that is ALL NEW YORK BEAUTY BLOCKS!!!!!

The quilt she made was originally a wedding present, what a lucky couple! It is absolutely gorgeous, the interplay of the circles and the radiation of all the segments, the colors and dimension. This is definitely a quilt you would be proud to have in your home.

The directions for a variety of ways to piece the quilt and the templates for all the blocks are quite clear. The blocks are named after Australian animals to keep them orderly. And there is even instruction on how to interchange some of the templates to come up with a personalized block.

I was only asked to create one block, but I couldn’t pick just one, I picked four!!! Starting at the top left and going clockwise you can see Glider Too, Cuttlefish, Fairy Penguin, and Tasmanian Tiger.

I was able to use the templates and a lightboard to help guide with the fussy cutting.

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The piece called out for big stitch hand quilting, and I think it really enhanced the beauty of the block designs.

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When it was all done, I had a brand new pillow cover for the comfy chair in my studio!!

Isn’t it absolutely perfect? I think so.

Now for some very exciting news! Cinzia, along with CT Publishing, is allowing me to give away 1 copy of the ebook! To enter, please head over to Instagram and find me @lovinglylissa I will have a giveaway post there, just look for the book cover!!!!

There are a number of talented creators working on the blog hop. Please make sure to visit them all.

You can purchase your own copy at CT Publishing

Monday 18th Jen Frost from https://faithandfabricdesign.com/blog
Tuesday 19th Bea Lee from https://www.beaquilter.com/
Wednesday 20th Lissa LaGreca from https://lovinglylissa.com/
Thursday 21st Laura Strickland from https://orangeblossomquilt.com/blog
Friday 22nd Susan Smith from https://www.stitchedbysusan.com/stitchedbysusan.html
Saturday 23rd Tammy Silvers from https://tamarinis.typepad.com
Sunday 24th Laura Piland from http://www.sliceofpiquilts.com
Monday 25th Audrey from http://www.theclothparcel.com/blog/
Tuesday 26th Cinzia from https://www.facebook.com/groups/NYBSampler/

Lovingly, Lissa

About a month ago I received a package in the mail. Enter Mr. Inquisitive who needed to know right away what I received. When I pulled out the new book, “I Spy” by Kimie Tanner and Missy Winona of On Williams Street, Mr. Inquisitive started in with questions.

I told him I needed to make three of the quilt blocks and before I could say another word, he took off with the book. When he returned it there were three post it notes marking the blocks I was told I needed to make.

Well, thank goodness, he made the decisions! If it were up to me, I would still be deciding!! There are ONE HUNDRED absolutely adorable 4 inch paper piece blocks to choose from. I mean it, they are all just too cute!!

And if you are nervous about paper piecing, don’t be. There is a difficulty scale that helps you start with the easiest ones and move your way up to the harder ones. You can be an expert in no time. And it will be that fast. Each block can be made in under an hour.

Oh, so what did he choose? Well first he chose a cell phone to show his love of electronics.

Next was an apple to show how smart he is.

And finally an Ice Cream cone because he loves ice cream.

I put all three blocks together into a personal placemat for him.

There are so many possibilities of what you can create with these blocks. There are seasonal blocks, food blocks, transportation, etc… You can make placemates, mug rugs, a whole quilt!!

Here are some wonderful makers who are creating with this book currently. And after you are inspired by all of this, head over to On Williams Street to purchase the book. Use code ISPYBLOGHOP for 10% off, good until December 16th, 2020.

November 30  Kimie and Missy – www.onwilliamsstreet.com/blog

December 1  Audrey Mann – www.theclothparcel.com/blog

December 2  Jen Frost – www.faithandfabricdesign.com

December 3  Bea Lee – www.beaquilter.com

December 4  Sarah Goer – www.sarahgoerquilts.com

December 5  Joanne Harris – www.quiltsbyjoanne.blogspot.com

December 6  Susan Smith – www.stitchedbysusan.com/stitchedbysusan.html

December 7  Simone Fisher – www.simonequilts.com

December 8  Lissa LaGreca – www.lovinglylissa.com <——– You are here!!

December 9  Catalina Barcelo – www.amararcreacions.com/en/blog/

December 10  Laura Strickland – www.orangeblossomquilt.com/blog

December 11  Laura Piland – www.sliceofpiquilts.com

December 12  Carolina Moore – www.AlwaysExpectMoore.com

December 13  Tammy Silvers – tamarinis.typepad.com

December 14 Kim Niedzwiecki – www.gogokim.com

Lovingly, Lissa

HI!!!!

Welcome to The Garden Party Row Along! My name is Lissa, and I am thrilled to present to you my row, Children’s Garden Aglow.

My inspiration came from the fairly new Children’s Garden at a local Conservatory. In the winter they host a Garden Aglow program where the conservatory is lit up in spectacular color. To enter the Children’s Garden you walk through a brilliantly lit rainbow tunnel.

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The flower blocks are wonderfully simple as you DO NOT HAVE TO MATCH POINTS! This is a planned improv technique and can be so liberating. The resulting flowers remind me of flowers drawn by children.

Love the flowers, but not sure how to fit my row in with others? You can just take the single flower pattern to make a block of any size to fit in empty spots on your quilt. So Versatile!!

Here are all the other talented designers participating:

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Blue Heron Quilting
Carolyn Butterfield
Made By Marney
Pumpkin Patch BC
The Devoted Quilter

Thursday, September 10, 2020

Bobbin In Quilts Blog
Kissed Quilts
Patchwork Breeze
Songbird Designs/Brenda’s Blog
Stitchin’ at Home

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Daughters of Dorinda
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Just Let Me Quilt
Lovingly Lissa
The Quilt Rambler

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Fabric Bash/Carpe Blogum
For the Love of Geese
Kathleen McMusing
Ms P Designs USA
QuilterChic

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Heleen Pinkster Quilt Design
Patti’s Patchwork
Quilt Schmilt
Scrapdash
Your Sewing Friend

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Charisma’s Corner
Clever Chameleon
Dragonfly’s Quilting Design Studio
Kathy’s Kwilts and More
Mountain Meadow Designs

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Cynthia’s Creating Ark
Miss Loreen’s Schoolhouse
Moose Stash Quilting
Tuning My Heart Quilts
Cheryl LaPlante

Thursday, October 01, 2020

Barbara Dieges
Linda B Creative
Orange Blossom Quilt Design Studio
Sunflower Stitcheries and Quilting
Ursa Minor

Tuesday, October 06, 2020

Bumbleberry Stitches
Charlie’s Daughter
Seams To Be Sew
The Quilting Room with Mel
Words & Stitches

Thursday, October 08, 2020

Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Lynn’s Beauty
Quilt Art
Renee’s Quilting Addiction
Sew Incredibly Crazy

You are going to be able to pick and choose, mix and match to your heart’s content! And the result will be such a beautiful quilt, so personal and one of a kind!

I’ve had so much fun participating in this Blog Hop, and the fun is not over yet!!

Electric Quilt is offering a discount code of 20% off any products except for EQ Academy. Use GARDENPARTY20 for the discount.

And because Marian Pena of Seams to Be Sew is the Hostess with the Mostest, I have a giveaway to offer!!! One queen size 80/20 Hobbs Heirloom batting could be yours!!! I love Hobbs and you can find some Tuscany Wool in most of my quilts.

You can enter the giveaway HERE Please read all the rules in the raffle-copter box before entering.

I don’t post on my blog as often as I like, but you can follow me on Instagram, @lovinglylissa I’m fairly active there and have so much to show and share with you! If you haven’t already, you can find the download of this pattern for free at the top of this post. It will be available throughout the bloghop. I hope you enjoy it.

Lovingly, Lissa