Cross Stitch Pincushion

A while back, my husband and I went to visit his grandmother. She makes the most beautiful quilt tops, and I love seeing her work. She also has an AWESOME sewing room, of which I am seriously envious.

But then I noticed her pincushion.

And I became sad.

It looks like a lump of upholstery velvet, taupe-grey in color, that has been wadded up and tied at the bottom with some scrap thread. It is shapeless, nearly colorless, and... sad.

She deserves better.

And so I have started on a cross-stitch project to make her one.

Several months ago I began looking into the little cross-stitch things called biscornu. They are adorable and I was fascinated. Essentially, they are two squares stitched together diagonally... That's the best way I can think to describe their construction.

Here. Look. Instructions and examples from The Floss Box.

So then, because my husband has far too much influence on me, I decided not to do a regular 2-square biscornu... No... I'm doing a 15-face biscornu!

Specifically this one.

It is from a Japanese craft book about French-inspired cross stitch. I got my copy from this Etsy shop as an Instant Download.

I'm doing my version in dark blue rather than red, and the official color is DMC 823. I've finished 7 of 15 tiles and have gone through an entire skein so far. Wanna see?

It's been a blast, but I can't wait to be done so that I can stuff it with crushed walnut shells and give it to her.

The best part about this project, though? It travels so well!