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Happy Jay - An Award-Winning Pincushion

This weighted pincushion is made from the Happy Jay counted-cross-stitch design by Dakota Rogers and stitched by Wendy Hartsel of Glen Allen, Virginia. Wendy's Happy Jay recently won the Pincushion Contest for the Virginia Guild of Needlewomen. He stands about 7 inches tall and his body has been stitched on congress cloth combined with light and dark blue cotton prints. Filled with glass sand, he's no featherweight.

You can tell he's a male by the single white plume on the crown of his head. This delightful little bird is designed to hold your needlepoint scissors under one wing and your laying tool under the other. His tail “feathers” hold your needle at rest. Instructions for making your own Happy Jay can be found in the July 2001 issue of Needle Pointer.

Happy Jay is part of the stand-ups and figures collection.