Crafty Thursdays: Pin Cushion Jars with Isabella Alan & Giveaway

Isabella Alan (who also writes as Amanda Flower) joins us for Crafty Thursdays to make a jar pin cushion. 

Instead of giving away the craft this week, we are giving away a copy of Amanda's book (Just comment below, US residents only). So here's a little about Isabella's new book, Murder, Simply Stitched:

When Angela Braddock enters her quilts in an Amish auction, she never expects one of her neighbors to end up going, going, gone....

Angie is finding her niche as the new owner of her late aunt’s Amish quilt shop, Running Stitch. But as the summer is winding down, so is business. To bolster support for the shop, Angie decides to sell her quilts in the Rolling Brook Amish Auction, including some of her aunt’s most prized works.

The quilts promise to be a hit—but the gavel comes down on the lively event when Angie stumbles upon the body of township trustee Wanda Hunt behind a canning shed. The cause of death: a poisoned blueberry fry pie from Rachel Miller’s bakery table. Now Angie’s closest friend is a murder suspect. With Angie taking the lead, she and the other women of her aunt’s quilting circle set out to patch together the clues and stop a killer set on shredding the simple peace of Rolling Brook.

And now for the craft:

One of the most fun parts of writing the bestselling Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries for Obsidian is making up the crafts for the end of each novel. At the end of Murder, Simply Stitched, I share how to make pincushion jar. It’s super easy and a great addition to any Amish or English quilter’s sewing box. 

Supplies:
Fabric
Scissors
Thread
Needle
Polyester Stuffing
Mason jar
Hot glue gun

STEP ONE
Cut a square twice the diameter of the metal top of the jar.

STEP TWO
Piece together the top into a square with thread and needle.

STEP THREE
Cut a thin piece of fabric into a circle the exact size of the lid’s metal insert.

STEP FOUR
Shape the polyester stuffing into a ball, cover with pieced quilt top, and push the stuffing with quilt top through ring portion of the jar’s lid. Put the metal circle insert firmly into place inside the lid’s ring, underneath the stuffing, allowing the edges of the fabric to hang out over the sides of the metal circle.

STEP FIVE
Warp the end of the pieced square around the back of the metal circle. Hot glue the fabric to the back of the metal circle, and cut off any excess fabric. 

STEP SEVEN
Take the fabric circle you cut earlier in step three and glue it over the bottom on the melt circle to hide the quilt top’s jagged edges.

STEP EIGHT
Screw the lid onto jar, and you are done!

*******

Purchase any edition of A Plain Malice between now and Thursday, November 27, 2014, and 100% of the author’s royalties will go to a local food pantry, The Landing, located in Akron, Ohio.

Order Kindle edition here.

Order Nook edition here.

Buy a mystery and help feed a community. 

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