patchwork, please!

Writing a book is not unlike planting a seed, giving it plenty of love and water, protecting it from persisting worms and then anxiously waiting for the tiny sapling to grow into a big beautiful tree. But when sweet smelling flowers start to appear on every branch all that hard work feels satisfying beyond any measure.

 I can only imagine how gratifying it must be for Ayumi when she finally got her precious book in her hands. All those months of sleepless nights and endless thought process cannot be forgotten but it surely becomes more meaningful now that the results of this toil are blooming brightly right along side the cherry blossoms.

I feel so fortunate to have known Ayumi for many years. She is the most sweetest lovable person, always so kind and amazing in every way. Her projects reflect equal amounts of that sweetness and incredible talent with only sky as the limit! 
Having her new book "Patchwork please" with me feels like Ayumi is here at home on a friendly visit to guide me through any project I pick. I find this book gives me an opportunity to explore many techniques from simple to complicated that I haven't tried before but would love to learn.

There are 19 Patchwork projects to make which are both stunning to look at and very practical for everyday purposes. I want to make many of these lovely things as presents for friends.

Taking baby steps, I thought for my first attempt 'Prettified pincushion' would be perfect. It eases you slowly into Ayumi's magical world of Paper-piecing!

..a fairy tale of a prince, princess and their pet squirrel. He is eating a yummy acorn while the prince and princess are enjoying their favorite hobbies. This is their afternoon routine :)

They live in a simple home with a flower garden on the side. I used Shinzi Katoh fabric for fussy cutting them.

This light green dot fabric is last of the scraps left from making a bag. I kept thinking what to use for the bottom, luckily I found another scrap in similar shade, but I had to piece it together to get the correct size.

 I filled the pincushion with ground walnut shells instead of polyfill as I readily have them at home. There is a slight risk of staining the fabric in the long run with these walnut shells even though it helps in keeping the pins sharp. So after finishing the paper-piecing part I lined all the pieces with a cotton fusible which is light and thin like a muslin.

It is hard to believe I survived without a pretty pincushion in my sewing room until now.  Maybe without knowing I was waiting for Ayumi to come up with this adorable version ;)

I am looking forward to the Sew-along starting on June 3rd. Hope you will join us in this fun event! Thank you, Ayumi for this amazing book to make us drool and feel inspired. Wish you all the success and happiness for your future endeavors too ( ' v ' )