For these, I searched for a free pattern for pin-cushions. After discounting most of the animal patterns because I hate the idea of sticking pins into cute little defenceless pin-cushions, I found these fabulous Toadstool Cottage and Mushroom House by a Kiwi lass who publishes a great crafty blog called "The Little House by the Sea". She has a template/pattern for these mushies and although she uses felt and embroidery, I adapted them quite successfully for scraps of Flirtatious and Beau Château fabrics. And look, not a rooster in sight! For the stems, I used the inside of a wide-ribbon reel gently eased into the stem, stuffed toy-fill between the fabric and reel, put some barley inside of the reel and stitched it together. Well, actually, I stuffed the stems full of toy-fill first and they wouldn't stand up properly. Hubby suggested putting something firm in the bottom - the ribbon reel insides are perfect because they have a lip on one end which acts as a stopper for the stuffing, and makes it very stable on the bottom.
Hope you like!
