Mushroom Pinnies with a Twist | Patchwork Gifts Book Tour

Have I got a super cuuuuute and super fun project to share with you today! 

And one your little feline friend will be happy to get in on too!! 

When my quilty friend Elise (of Elise & Emelie) reached out to first share the news she’d written a book (whaaa? SO cool!) and that she’d love to have me participate in her book hop I was so excited and was immediately ALL in!! 

Elise and I have been supporters of one another ever since we met wayyyy back on the gram. We’ve pattern tested for one another, participated in the same blog hops and just generally rooted one another along in our quilty journeys. So, I’m beyond proud to share my experience working with Elise’s book. 

* This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.

PATCHWORK GIFTS BOOK

First off the projects in Patchwork Gifts: 20 Charming Patchwork Projects to Give & Keep* are really adorable. Small and cute, but with a practical twist, so, you’re not just making and then looking at something pretty, you can actually use said pretty thing! 

Novel, I know 😉 

I’ll admit, it didn’t take me long to decide on a pattern. Of all the 20 projects included in the book, I was immediately sold on these mushroom pinnies. I mean, come on, how freakin’ cute are those?

I couldn’t resist them. 

And instantly knew I’d be making some. I also immediately knew that I’d be making them for Pips (if you’re new around here, Pips is my cat 😉)! 

MUSHROOM PINNIES WITH A TWIST

You can absolutely leave these pinnies as they’re intended – to store your needles. But, we’re always on the hunt for fun new toys to keep Pips active. And he just loooooves catnip. 

So, instead of using these lil’ mushies are pinnies, I’ll be using them as interactive toys with Pips. 

Forgive me, Elise, I hope you don’t mind!! 

I had some of these cat inspired prints featuring balls of yarn leftover from my original Flight Plan quilt and figured they’d be perfect as toys.

You know I’m all about quilting, so this was out of my norm in terms of stitching projects, which was fun to stretch my sewing muscles. The instructions were easy to follow and it’s just my hand sewing skills that need more practice to do these cuties justice. My challenged hand stitching skills aside, I love how they turned out. Pips has been ALLLL over these as I’ve been making them. And he’s super sneaky and clever about it too, as I kept finding the mushroom heads mid construct somewhere on the floor. Evidence of Pips getting at them! 

I even took them on the road mid-construction and lost a stem ☹ 

So, consider yourself forewarned, if you want to travel while making them make sure to pack them up in a pouch and not leave them hanging loose in a bag. I’m sure one day I’ll find that rogue mushroom stem rolling around in the trunk! 

Now that they’ve been shared, I can finally let Pippy loose on them. He licks the catnip and ends up drooling all over the thing. Which means these pristine looking mushrooms will soon have dark green stains all over them – ugh. 

He loves them – that’s all that matters. Not sure how long they’re going to hold up to his rough play paired with my hand stitching, but time will tell!

MATERIALS

You don’t need a ton of materials and tools to make these little mushrooms. Here’s what I used to make mine: 

• Meow Collection scraps (no longer available)
• AGF Linen
• AGF Denim 
• You definitely want the slim hera marker* – perfect for helping you stuff the little mushrooms, but also good for helping turn the small pieces right side out!
• Dried organic catnip*
• Needle*
• Thread* – piecing and hand sewing 
• Stuffing of choice – I went with poly*
• Ribbon* (optional)
• Plastic for tracing templates*
• Small hole punch*
• Fabric scissors*
• Paper scissors*
• Pencil*
• Mushroom Pincushion Pattern found in Patchwork Gifts book*

BOOK TOUR

I am so proud of my friend Elise for publishing her first book! And there has been a Patchwork Gifts Book party going strong since the book launch in February. Head over to Elise’s site and check out all the gorgeous makes everyone is featuring from the book. In the meantime, don’t forget to grab your copy of Patchwork Gifts here*. 

Happy quilting! 

xo

Shannon

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