a winner

The Mechanical Randomising Competition Winner Selector — in other words, Mr B’s hand, and some names in a hat — has chosen a pincushion winner. Roobeedoo, it is you! I have sent you an email, so you can send me your address, so I can send you a wee pincushion.

For those of you who were asking about the pincushion design: the wrapping is based on traditional Japanese furoshiki – yotsu musubi – the second method you see here:

I bought the original sashiko pincushion as a kit from this company. The interior cushion is made from kimono silk. It is really rather lovely. They do not list the kits on their website, and I have had a bit of trouble contacting them by email in the past but I often spot them at quilt and stitching shows (in the UK). For those of you who are interested in the sashiko stitching, Susan Briscoe is the woman to contact in the UK. Her books are very good indeed, and she also sells some stitching kits directly from her website.

Anyway, the pincushion is a traditional and very simple furoshiki design. I’ll post a how-to-make tutorial in a couple of days, for those who are interested in making their own bobbly objects. I have become mildly obsessed with furoshiki since the pincushion episode — they are so satisfyingly simple — and have been attempting to design a reversible knitting project bag combining a few different wrapping methods. If I manage to come up with a good workable design, I’ll post another tutorial.

Have a lovely weekend!