Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Buried in scraps

I TRY really hard to keep my scraps organized by color so I can locate and use them easier. When I buy sheets, bedding, or curtains, I keep the plastic bags they come in to stash fabric scraps in.


I also run out of those bags, filling them up faster than I can get them, so I also use regular ziplock bags sometimes. 

Here is a shot of my sewing table yesterday:

I should be embarrassed to post this, it was quite the mess! I was sewing some (6) pillow covers for my niece, with zippers, so I had two machines set up, one for straight sewing, the other with a zipper foot on it.

Because I'm a hoarder, I have a box of old zippers I bought at an auction several years ago, still in their packages.


So old that most originally cost around 60-80 cents, and all were made in the USA.  All usable, though!

Pillows are done, so I got back to a project I started in January, involving those colorful scraps




I'm sewing these wonky log cabin blocks together finally, making a wall hanging.  Because I have two other projects ready to start but have no room to cut them out right now. 

After shuffling these around quite a bit, this is my final layout:

It looks darker in this picture than it actually is because today is snowy and very overcast.  Gotta get this done and ready to quilt and make room for something new!

Linking up with Ad hoc Improv Quilting (AHIC) today

Monday, February 8, 2016

February potpourri

Winter hasn't been all that bad here this year, no leaking roof from the snow buildup on my roof! I'm taking a pottery class on Wednesdays, I've found that working in another medium helps me with creativity slumps!


A dish/platter I made using a branch from a Japanese maple tree. 

And a wall plaque that I pressed real branches into.

And of course some quilting.  I made a blanket for Ethan, my grandson who will be two in April:


It's backed with fleece, which was easy to sew on my Tiara.  I made one before on my regular sewing machine and found it difficult because all the twisting and turning needed to quilt it caused the fleece to stretch too much!

And here is the beginning of a baby quilt for my niece:


Lastly, have you tried couching? I did, couched some crazy eyelash yarn down, not sure yet if I like it or hate it....