Pins, Pins, More Pins and a Pattern!

Despite being glued to my laptop as much as my body would allow during the past month or so, I actually have some new little goodies to show off! My website and blog were in much need of some tidying and changes to make things easier to navigate from one to the other, and also to all of my online shops scattered over the web.  I also wanted to change to banners that were more similar to keep “my look” on each site. It is amazing what a not-so-tech-savy mom can do with enough perseverance. (Google is very handy for finding answers to coding questions.)  I managed pretty well on my own and my tech geek son, Zack, needed to only take a few minutes to fix a couple things I couldn’t figure out on my own.  That felt good to actually accomplish something!

Group of 3 newest pins made while writing my new pattern.

Group of 3 of my newest pins made while writing my new pattern.

In addition to “remodeling” my online presences, I have been buried in writing a pattern for making my little Beaded Art Quilt Pins. I already have patterns available for other items that I make and sell in my Gift Items Shop on ArtFire. Those patterns are available in my Pattern Store on Craftsy. I decided the pins would be great to write a pattern for since they are not too hard to make, use small to tiny scraps of batting and fabrics, and make wonderful gifts to give.  To anyone who has never written a pattern, it may look like an easy task, but it takes a LOT of time, especially for a person like me who has a problem getting ideas from my head into words that other people can understand.

Fabric pieces cut for  pins.

Fabric pieces cut for pins.

Since I have trouble finding and using words, I use many, many photos of each step in the processes in my patterns.  I probably use too many words too, but I feel the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is very true. If you don’t understand what I am saying, hopefully  my photos say it better.  Beginning from step one, I made up a batch of pins from “scratch”. My pins were born when I wanted to find a use for a bunch of tiny fused quilt sandwiches left over from making fabric bowls.  With a  bit of playing, I came up with my pins in various shapes made up of the little triangles I had so many of.  For the pattern, I  had to show how to make the little sandwiches first, since I am pretty sure most people don’t have a stash of them on hand like I did.  Each time I did a step in the process, I took photos… LOTS of photos…  As the major steps in the pin making process were completed, I chose the photos, modified them for publishing, and wrote the directions.  This broke the writing process into three chunks of writing which was a bit less daunting than writing the whole thing at once.

Photo showing pins about half done.

Photo showing pins about half done.

Since I never can make “just one” pin at a time, and wanted to show different variations, I made a number of them. Yea, these little guys are like potato chips… you can’t have (or make) just one 😉 Also, if someone is going to pay me for a pattern, I want to be sure they get their money’s worth. I try to show many variations and give lots of tips and  techniques along the way that can also be used in other areas of their art quilting.

Another group of pins.

Another group of pins.

I hope that my patterns are easy to understand and follow for creating the projects, as well as being jumping off points for creative minds to take things in their own directions.  The photo, above, shows some variations from the original pins I began with.  My pins make great little canvases for playing with beads, crystals and more in many ways. They can be made to coordinate with every outfit you own for every season.

Keep watching my blog here  to find out when the pattern will be available from my Craftsy Pattern Shop.

About

I am a former textile artist and new pattern designer with a degree in horticulture, wishing to share my love of nature, flowers and gardens with everyone through my photos, sunprinted fabrics, and now pattern designs. Chronic Lyme Disease has caused major changes to the direction my life. I have to limit the amount of time spent digging in my gardens, and quilting has become more difficult. I discovered pattern design as a way to get art back into my life. I now use my gardens and photos to inspire designs that can be used on fabrics and print on demand items.

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