Bee Skep Pin Cushion FUN !!

A friend of mine sent me a link to the cutest pin cushion pattern she had come across, and thought that it would be a great project for the members of the Queen Bee’s quilt bee.  As the bee leader, she thought that I could entice the members into making something quite cute and fun.  The pattern is by Lea Anne Brummett , on a blog called Podunk Pretties – https://podunkpretties.blogspot.com/2018/07/bee-skep-pin-cushion.html  .

If you want the pattern, go to Lea Anne Brummett’s blog, and at the bottom of the page is a link to the whole pattern.  The link will take you to her CRAFTSY store.  This is a free pattern!

Once I got my pattern printed out, I debated about cutting those circles.  I messaged another guild member who has an accu-quilt dye cutting machine. She had 2, 3, and 5″ circles.  I needed more sizes than that. So, I bit the bullet, got out some carbon paper, and traced over the circles onto a manilla file folder. I cut those circles out and marked them with the sizes.

The pattern calls for assorted yellow prints.  I decided to use my yellow/gold/orange scrap box, and started pulling out pieces, and getting them starched and ironed.  I doubled the fabric so I could cut 2 pieces at once.  I used a fine point sharpie to outline my templates. I put a pin in the center of each circle to prevent shifting when I got ready to cut.  I had so much fun cutting out the first set, I decided to cut a few more.  I did all the cutting with my Fiskars scissors.  It went quickly!  (The secret is the heavy starch!)  (People who know me KNOW that I hate using scissors….I always look for a way to use a rotary cutter….)

Before long, I had 12 sets cut out, one for each member of my Queen Bees Quilt Bee.  I played around with the circles, and arranged them in pleasing groups and bagged them up.  Then, it was time to sew my Bea Skep!!

In no time at all, I had all 5 layers of the  pin cushion stitched, clipped, turned and stuffed. Took me longer to hand stitch all of them closed after they were stuffed!  I put ground English walnut shells in the largest circle to give weight to the Bee Skep.  The rest were filled with poly batting that I shredded into fine pieces as I stuffed.

I decided to use a metal shank button on the top instead of a yellow flat button. I like the dimension it gives.  I made 2 or 3 extra passes through the bottom cushion with my needle to make sure the knot doesn’t pull out. When I finished, I glued a circle of rubber shelf liner to the bottom of the pin cushion.  I used that thick Elmers craft glue, and made sure I had good coverage on the rubber shelf liner.  I used a plastic sandwich bag over my hand to press on the rubber circle to make sure it stuck well.  I let it rest on it’s side for a few minutes to dry, and made sure to only set it on the plastic bag until I was certain the glue was dry and would not stick to my table etc.

I like the way it turned out.  It is only about 3.5″ tall.

Looks cute with my flower headed pins and butterfly pin in it.  (I don’t have any of those fancy pins that Lea  Anne has….yet….)  It stands about 3 1/2 inches tall.

Take away – I would use a different needle next time when I am doing the stitching with the crochet thread.  The needle I used was too big to pass thru the holes in a standard button, and I wanted to put a flat button on the bottom to give extra security to the threads on the bottom.  Since the needle was too broad, I made those extra stitches.  Check the needle size through the holes in the buttons before you get started!

Cost – $0 — everything came from stash, scraps, the button box and items already on hand like crushed walnut shells, pieces of poly bat (from an old pillow), and crochet thread.  Thanks Lea Anne for the free pattern!

This is a fun fast project.  I hope you go to the blog “Podunk Pretties” and download your free pattern and make this cute Bee Skep pin cushion.

After I finished my own set, I decided to add some bits to the  kits I am gifting to my Bee buddies.  I opened up the sets I made for my Queen Bees and added 2 buttons, and a round circle of shelf gripper, and a length of yellow crochet thread.  Then I bagged up some ground English walnut shells for each of them to use in the bottom round or 2 of the cushion. They can use either poly bat or wool in the top sections.   I will take an extra bag of metal shank and flat buttons with me to the next Queen Bee gathering and they can select any additional buttons for their own projects.  All they need to do is download the pattern and start sewing!

Thanks LeeAnne of Podunk Pretties for the great fun, free project.  And thanks to my friend Pat for sharing the link to Lee Anne’s blog.  I had fun with this fast and easy project.

Have you found a quick and easy project that is worth sharing?

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