Tub of Fabric

A year ago or so, my friend Christine gave me a tub of fabric she no longer wanted. She had, at one time, thought she would try quilting as a hobby, but it never happened and she decided to give her collected fabric to me.

Right away I decided that I would eventually try to make a quilt for her using some of the fabrics. Since there was a wide variety of patterns and colors, I decided to make a crazy nine-patch and used her preferred color of purple as the sashing and borders. The back of the quilt, not pictured, was pieced using the leftover scraps.

In the tub, at the bottom, I found some Christmas fabrics which I turned into two pillow cases and.....

a table runner with six napkins.

Finally, I used the last of the fabrics (some colorful fat quarters) to make a large tote bag.

At last, it was nearing Christine's birthday, and I could surprise her with her tub of fabric returned to her in a different form. Happy Birthday Christine!

Organized

Remember that pile of scraps from last Monday that I decided to organize?

Done! They are in separate bins by color and/or category. Now I need to make labels and find shelf space for all these containers.

Then I probably should get to work and actually sew.

Organizing Again

On Monday I cleaned off my cutting table so that I could start on a new quest to organize my scraps.

Onto the table I dumped two huge containers of all my scraps. Although I have periodically grabbed a handful of scraps and cut them into squares or strips, it seemed like I would never, ever reach the bottom of the scrap bags. I needed a better way to get this mess organized. I decided the best way was to sort by color and/or theme. My categories started - blue, green, gold, red, purple, pink, sewing theme, kiddy stuff, flowers, beiges, browns, patriotic, Halloween, Christmas, mutlti-color prints, etc. I separated and ironed.

Then I went to the Dollar Store and purchased these baskets.

Here are some of the sorted fabrics. During the week I probably spent about six hours sorting and ironing. It is now Friday and I still have a long way to go to complete this project.

In the meantime, Lindsay passed our Round Robin project on to me. She did the straight borders and the purple half-square triangles. It looks great! Now it is my turn and the round is supposed to be squares. I need time to think......

Today I finished this little counted cross-stitch piece which when framed will go to my Ladybug-loving cousin.

Ladybug, Ladybug, by Little House Needleworks, on 28ct Jobelan, using DMC floss.

New Bag

It was fun to make this new bag today. The main fabric was purchased at a quilt show a number of years ago and I have absolutely no idea where I got the border print. The handles were purchased at JoAnns. This bag is called The Smart Handbag, pattern #601 by Eliza Jane Smart. It can be made with interchangeable covers, but I chose to eliminate that part. According to the pattern package there is a website www.thesmarthandbag.com. It was fairly easy to make. The most difficult part for me was picking out the inside pocket fabrics. There are six pockets and I made them red and orange so they are easy to see.

Postcard

Look at this wonderful postcard I got in the mail today! This is the first fabric postcard I have ever received and I am thrilled. I very dear creative friend sent this beautifully made card. And her wish to me came true - it was a perfect day today.

Today I am grateful for -

1. Friends who think of me and send postcards.

2. Successful surgery on my sister today.

3. Laughing with friends at church.

4. Fulfilling a silly challenge with my cousin.

BLING

From an inexpensive tote bag to..........

Bling, bling, bling. The little initials did not seem like enough so I emptied out a box of iron-on crystals, scattered them around randomly, and ironed it all down. It sparkles. Today I am grateful for -

1. A sunny yet cool day.

2. Time to play in my sewing room.

3. Blessings unending - family, friends, church, home, etc., etc.

Peonies

Every year the peonies come and go before I even notice them because they are on the narrow side yard where I seldom look. This year I have been watching and today I snipped off the blooms on the peony bush. The blooms were enormous, weighing the branches down so that the flowers were facing into the dirt. In order to arrange these heavy blooms, I had to cut the stems very short and crowd them together in a short vase. The color is a soft peach with gold highlights. There are still two big peony plants not yet in bloom and I can see that the flowers will be a deep burgandy color. There are at least fifty buds waiting to bloom.

"........even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
Matthew 6:29 RSV