Hat Party--The Aftermath

I was so tired after class that I was asleep by 11:30 and didn't wake up Sunday until 9 a.m. Apparently that still wasn't enough sleep, though, because I took a nap Sunday afternoon for about two hours. I think I'm pretty well rested up now!

Spike took a nap with me.

She sure makes me laugh! Isn't she funny the way she gets under the quilt with her head sticking out? She's such a silly cat!

A couple people asked about the hat pincushions, so I thought I'd tell you how they're made. If you'd like to make some, you'll need a 3" diameter styrofoam ball, cardboard for the hat brim, fabric, ribbon, buttons, wool or fabric for leaves, and a glue gun.

Cut the styrofoam ball in half. Cut a 6" circle of fabric to cover the styrofoam ball. Wrap the fabric over the ball and using the glue gun, secure the fabric to the bottom (cut side) of the ball, being careful to only put glue on the fabric and let it cool just a bit before pressing it against the styrofoam--if the glue is too hot, it will simply melt the styrofoam.

Cut a 5" circle of cardboard. Cut an 8" circle of fabric. Lay the fabric "good" side down and place the cardboard in the center of the circle. Wrap the fabric over the cardboard and glue it to the cardboard, gathering and gluing as you go around the circle.

After covering the styrofoam ball and cardboard circle with fabric, glue the two sections together, centering the ball on the cardboard. Glue ribbon around the hat to cover the small gap between the two sections.

I used green wool for the leaves of the "flower" on the hat. I was given a similar pincushion sometime ago, and the person who made it used fabric folded like prairie points and gathered at the wider end to form a leaf. You could also use silk leaves.

For the flower, I made a yo-yo with a button in the center and glued it to the hat brim. Again, small silk flowers would also work, and I saw a Clover yo-yo maker at the quilt shop that makes "yo-yos" that look more like flowers.

I've been working on my hat and shoe quilt top today--I may have something to show you tomorrow, so come on back and see!