Granny Square Block Needle Book and matching Pin Cushion (and a giveaway!)

I am so glad my partner Terry, who blogs at With a Cup and a Sword, received my swap mail and liked it so much. I was worried about the envelope arriving safely and luckily it did! Now all has been revealed to my partner, I can show a few photos here!

Needle Book with matching Pin Cushion and Scissors Fob.

I fell in love with the Granny Square Block and decided to try it (here is the post about the technique I used and the Vlieseline product) for this swap. I wanted to make a needle book and a matching pin cushion that you could carry with you, without having to carry bits and pieces. The needle book fits onto the pin cushion. The pin cushion has an elastic that hooks onto the bobbin button on the needle book and, to close the needle book, you hook the elastic on a bobbin button on the pin cushion. That sounds a bit complicated but it's easier to look at the photo that read my explanation!

Have a peek inside!

This is the first "page" with a pocket in the cover and a pretty patch of Suzy Ultman's fabric. I saw Terry likes birds in her sewing and decorations.

Terry also likes linen. I love using linen and I especially love the contrast between linen and bright fabrics and trims. In case you're wondering what's in the corner, here is a close up...

It's a mini mini pin cushion, about half an inch wide (about 1.5cm). I forgot to take a photo with a pin in it. It was Ella's idea to use it as a pin cushion. We tried it out and a part from looking cute, it really works!

Mini pom pom trim. Can't resist pom poms!

 Another pocket at the back. Two vintage pearl buttons and a pretty ribbon.

This is the pin cushion by itself. You can even use the elastic to hang it up. I love how the bobbins turned out. I fixed orange floss around a wooden bobbin, one of those ones they sell for making brooches, like a charm.

The Need a Needle Book Swap has been so fun and there have been so many beautiful needle books to look at! If you haven't already read it, here is my post about the wonderful needle book I received and this is the Flickr page for the Swap. How about a Need ANOTHER Needle Book Swap? I keep collecting ideas on my Pinterest board Pincushions and Needle Books! Thank you Amy (@ Amy Made That!) for organising this great swap and can't wait for the next one! 

Don't miss Amy's giveaway here, you could win a $25 gift certificate to Zipit!

The Need a Needle Book Swap

Look at the beautiful treats Cindy sent me for The Need a Needle Book Swap! I was so surprised when the parcel was opened and I wasn't the only one to be surprised. "Was opened" because my daughters insisted on opening it and of course I couldn't say no, could I? It was difficult to have a look at what was inside afterwards because their hands were all over the place! When, at last, I managed to have a look myself this is what I saw:

I love these bright colours and Cindy was so good at guessing my tastes. I love everything included and of course my favourite is the lovely needle book she made for the swap.

Look at the hand stitching on the front: vintage and modern at the same time...

I love how she quilted it, with lots of diagonal lines. I find that very modern too, an original choice on this beautiful fabric, perfect!

And the inside is so clever too. There are pockets, in two different directions on the inside of the cover. 

My favourite part of the inside is how she fixed the felt using a central strip of fabric. It's a very sturdy binding that looks beautiful. Love it!

Thank you so much Cindy, I couldn't have been happier! Can't wait to organise a picnic to use the plates and serviettes!

Feast your eyes on all the other swaps on the Flickr Need a Needle Book Swap page here. And if you want to see some more incredible needle books, pincushions and sewing accessories take a look at our Pinterest board Pincushions and Needle Books.

Don't miss The Need a Little Needle Book Swap + SMS Giveaway Winner

Don't miss my bloggy friend Amy's new swap: The Need a Little Needle Book Swap! Entries open until May 31, 2014. Create a needle book for your (secret) partner and mail it out by June 30, 2014. 

Just look at this beauty she's made to introduce her new swap and she's actually giving it away to somebody who joins the swap!

This is going to be as fun as her last swap: the Skinny Pinnie Pincushion Swap. Have a look at the Flickr page to see how we enjoyed ourselves!

This is the Hang it Up skinny pincushion I made for Debra, my swap partner:

If you're looking for more inspiration take a look at my Pincushions and Needlebooks Board on Pinterest. My personal favourite needlebooks at the moment are the super famous Nana Company Needlebook (you can find the tutorial here) and Nicole's Envelope Needlebook at Snip Snippets. So original and pretty!

And now the winner of our Sew Mama Sew Giveaway is,

drum roll please,

number 40:

ROSA

Congratulations, Rosa! 

We would like to thank everybody who participated. Thank you for taking your time to answer our question about "what you are sewing at the moment or your next project". We were impressed by all the different answers we received. We read them all with great interest and are planning to write a post with a little statistics. There are quite a few surprises...