i got sunshine on a cloudy day...

...when it's cold outside, I got the month of May.
This is my "sewing angel" pincushion my sister Sandy gave me for Valentine's day. I love her little thimble feet! She's so happy with her crooked smile and reminds me of warmer days here in Virginia. All of my pins currently reside in a old ramikin dish and as I was setting her down in my sewing area, I started looking around...

Although I have tons of stuff, where I sew is not very inspiring or quite honestly, organized. More of a "working" area and not a "creative" area. With that thought in mind, I wanted to find more ideas of how to combine functionality and storage solutions with just a little more punch and color. I want to make a change and spruce things up a bit. Maybe I just have those old winter blues...I guess I need a little sunshine!

Since I'm already on the subject of pincushions, look at the colors in these wildflowers from Better Homes & Gardens. Made from Amy Butler and Anna Marie Horner fabrics, they're just in time to chase away our winter doldrums while waiting for spring to arrive! Tutorial is here.

Some homegrown tomatoes from Martha Stewart. I just love them right off the vine...

Want some carrots for your sewing garden? Or some little mice to chew all your veggies up?

Both of these pincushions are from My Byrd House's blog. Such a lovely place with beautiful music to soothe that chill in your winter soul. I was just there listening to Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. You can visit her here.

These from Monkeyroom remind me of sunflowers or maybe daisies? I remember my mom having one of these many years ago. Here's the tutorial. By the way, Monkeyroom has been blogging for five years now and has tons of good info on her site. Happy Blog Birthday to her and thanks for sharing!

Aren't these pod flower pincushions from Wee Wonderfuls adorable? I love the button centers....

And even though this is a pattern, I couldn't resist adding them to our spring array. Butterflies and ladybugs and strawberries! Yum! Wish I had some fresh ones now... reminds me of strawberry picking with my boys. They always ate more than we took home! Friends From the Garden by Natalie Ross can be purchased here from Quilt Fabric Delights.

Okay, now that we have some pincushion ideas, so how about some new pins to go with them? These are made with...shrinky dinks! Who would've thought?Another clever idea from Wee Wonderfuls.

Now that you're all warm and fuzzy with visions of the vernal equinox in your head, I'll leave you with a cup of tea made from recycled sweaters. From Martha Stewart, they'll keep us cozy until the seasons really change... :) Enjoy!

"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies." - Nadine Stair