Hand-decorated Pincushions

I can tell you one thing:

The women who made these pincushions would have been blogging about them, if they'd had the opportunity!



Can't you just imagine them, sharing patterns over the net?

Buying beads and silks online? Although, I think a trip to the shop would have been a lot more exciting - I'd love to have gone with them!

I imagine that they got a lot of their patterns in newspapers and periodicals.

This one has faded so much, but in a way the photo brings out some of the details, and the incredible depth of the painting.

Very textured paint, this one.

I love this one - shame about the mottling.

Punched and stitched cardboard - how incredible!

I imagine these talented ladies gave away quite a lot of their handicraft - so they'd have liked this challenge from The Year of Less! I'm going to be joining in, but I know I won't be able to make anything as beautiful as these 100-year old pincushions, collected over the years and found by me in the famous Elephant Box.