Today it was beautiful. The sun was out all day long. I had intentions to join it and maybe even putter a bit in the gardens which, due to lack of our usual snow fall this year, are still very much visible. Unfortunately how it looked outside was not how it felt.....bitter cold!
Step 5 - Attach a Faux Yo-Yo
From the selected fabric cut a 3x12 piece.
Fold the piece in half with right sides together.
Stitch the two ends together using a 1/4" seam allowance. This will give you a fabric loop.
Use an iron to gently press the seam allowance open.
With wrong sides together this time, fold the fabric loop in half so the raw edges meet. Make sure to line up the seam as you do so.
Pin the raw edges together all around the loop and get ready the do some gathering!
Starting at the seam lines, make gathering stitches 1/4 inch from the raw edges with an average of 3 stitches per inch.
Once the stitches meet back up at the seam line pull the thread tight cinching the raw edges into a circle. Take one more stitch and knot it to hold the fabric in place but do not cut the thread off.
Before we actually join these two together it's best to take a moment to tidy up that floss tail left dangling from the lily pad last week. If not you'll find it to be quite a nuisance!
First, draw it through the eyelet to the bottom side of the lily pad.
Next, insert two straight pins into the pad and wrap the floss back and forth around them.
Finally, tuck the last of the tail under and push the pins firmly down into the cushion.
Back to the top side of the lily pad, take a moment to decide what will be the back of the pincushion. You might want to put another straight pin in as a marker. . . . .see my tiny blue one up there?
To attach the two pieces together, take the needle and thread down through the gathers of the "yo-yo". . . . .
. . . . . . continue straight through the inner edge of the eyelet. . . . .
. . . . . and out to the bottom side of the lily pad.
Now from the bottom, position the needle 1/4 inch over and pull the thread back up to the top (alongside the eyelet and through the "yo-yo' gathers.) Keep passing the needle up and down this way until the entire eyelet has been circled.
On the last stitch up from the bottom pass the needle alongside the eyelet but emerge BETWEEN the lily pad and the "yo-yo". . . . .
. . . . . and then ending with a tiny stitch on the underside of the "yo-yo" seam.
Since the "yo-yo" is only attached down in the middle it tends to pop up. Although kind of cute, if left this way it would hinder the dressing of the doll later on.
Take a few moments to pin down the edges making sure to create an even distribution as you do so.
Bit by bit make tiny tacking stitches by first picking up a small segment of the base fabric. . . . .
. . . . . and then a small section from the underside of the "yo-yo." 
Work your way all around removing the pins as you go.
Once you've circle round, the thread can be knotted and finally cut free!
There's a bit more gathering is in store for you. . . . .this time however it involves supplies and not fabric! Have yourself a look see for some rick rack, pom pom trim, or other such decorative garland that suits your fancy. We'll be using it next week to gussy up the lily pad a bit more.
And what about my project for the day? The weekend turned out a bit more hectic than anticipated so I found myself turning to an old standby. . . . .yes yet another little doll pillow for the shop.
Today I had to scramble a bit and finish up the companion heart to the one I made on Valentine's Day. They are to be a prize for my mom who is hosting us for a post Valentine feast this evening! And what about a prize for my poor dad who will be doing his fair share of dishes?
Why the rest of the basket's contents of course!
Hmmm. . . . . seeing the little buttons in a whole different light today and I think I like them. Could be I'll give another go at painting some more. . . . .minus the coffee!
Found a packet of wooden buttons I'd picked up ages ago and decided it was about time I painted them up. Little did I know what an endeavour I was getting myself into! Only three out of the ten buttons were successfully completed and while I'd like to blame the condition of my brushes on the poor painting skills displayed on the other seven, the truth of the matter lies in the amount of caffeine consumed by one little old me. My hands had the jitters!
Even taking a photo proved beyond my capability! In the end I set the camera down on the table, lined up the shot, and snagged my youngest to press the button. 
Dismal and gray in our neck of the woods today. Decided to cheer things up and make another happy garden pincushion to replace the one that sold last week. It's always good to have one hanging around to put a smile on your face!
I used to make these little heart sets several years ago and thought it would be fun to revisit the process in honor of the holiday today. Unfortunately with all the Valentine hoopla going on, time got away from me and it's mate must await final stitches for another day. Meanwhile I'm off to make my mate a sweet cup of tea and catch a bit of Downton Abbey to end the evening.
Although it may not seem so at first, a chunk of my day was spent at the sewing machine. . . . .
. . . . .where I stitched paper pockets. . . . . .
. . . . .on a new supply of insert cards to send out with orders.
Step Four - Shape the Base
Use a stick or wooden spoon handle to make sure the far side beyond the eyelet gets firmly stuffed. Your probably going to be surprised at how much stuffing it's going to take to fill this thing up. Sometimes the process seems endless!
As you progress the lily pad is going to take on the appearance of a donut. The goal is to get it beyond that soft honey dipped variety and instead make it the heavier cake type that tastes so good with a hot cup of coffee. If your at that point it's time to thread up a needle and stitch the base up tight.
Insert the needle 1/2 inch away from where the opening begins to secure the knot in place.
Pull the needle back through to the opening and begin picking up tiny sections of fabric along the bottom. . . . .
. . . . . . and top edges.
As the seam begins to close often times it starts to "sink" in upon itself. 
. . . . .more stuffing!!!
Several of these mini stuffing sessions may be required along the way but it should fill out nicely if you do so.
Once the opening has been stitched closed, wrap the thread around the needle several times to knot it off. I then make one final stitch into the seam before clipping it free.
Remember those skeins of embroidery floss collected several weeks ago? Dig them out again! It's finally time to tie the lily pad into it's petal shapes and we need the floss to do it.
Pick a color. To measure out the length needed wrap the floss around the lily pad at least 12 times before clipping it. This will give enough length to double thread the needle and knot the loose ends together.
From the bottom side of the lily pad insert the needle along the inside edge of the eyelet.
Pull it through to the top side. Making sure the threads don't twist pull them up and around to the back again.
Insert the needle alongside the knot where the first stitch was taken.
After the thread is pulled through it will look like this but. . . . .
. . . . . in order to get the petal shapes it's going to need to be pulled fairly tightly so put a little muscle in it and make that indent!
If we were to say this first floss loop around was made at the 12 o'clock position, the process should then be repeated at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock as well.
Four petals down, four to go. 
To finish off make a knot in the thread but do not clip it close to the base. Rather clip up near the needle leaving the thread tails to hang loose.
Next week we'll add the faux yo-yo so your only going to need to make a selection from your fabric stash on hand.
And what about my project for today?
