Fun With Scraps

You know when you get a hair-brained idea? It keeps nagging at you, until you simply must ACT.

This is what happened to me. See, it's really a matter of Waste Not, Want Not. I keep the colorful sides of selvages. All of them! I store them in a pretty glass container until it gets too full, then I transfer them to a rustic bird cage.

But what happens when even the bird cage become saturated with selvages to the point of overflowing?  Why, make a fabric wreath out of them, of course!

The idea struck me when I was browsing at Hobby Lobby in Boise last fall.  Our small valley doesn't sport any craft shops, so walking in the doors of HL was overwhelming, to say the least. But after cruising through the aisles, I decided to get a multi-tiered wire wreath. I could simply weave the selvages on each of the four rows of wires, and voila! A fabric wreath.

The clippings from my fabric wreath. I didn't save these. Into the trash they went. Go, me!

I guess it turned out okay. But only after I trimmed all the selvages down to a manageable length.  It works!

I don't think I'll make a living selling these little gems, but it's kinda fun to have a new, inexpensive decoration.  It would actually be kinda fun to cut up red and green fabrics for a festive holiday wreath.
 
Now how many more do you think I can make out of my bird cage scraps? The cage stands 18" tall!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
Oh, Scrap!
Linky Tuesday
Needle and Thread Thursday
Midweek Makers
I May Have A Scrap Problem
So Scrappy

Diamond Quilt Finished

What fun to get the last stitch set in the binding so I can officially call a quilt "FINISHED"! Tremendous fun. The best!

This is my latest finish, just in time for the OMG April Finish.

This quilt was fun to quilt - tons of circles and pebble-type circles, lol. I made it for myself, just because :)

Now to find another project to finish. I finally found some Kona cotton, had to order it actually, to make a pillow top out of my Sashiko class project. I'll be getting that finished up in May. Good to have projects in the hopper, eh?

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
OMG
Midweek Makers
I May Have A Scrap Problem
Needle and Thread Thursday
Linky Tuesday
Show Off Saturday

Llama Progress

Just a quick update on my Llama Drama Quilt! I finished up the three rows of pompoms, put the remaining sashings on, and, voilà!  I have a quilt top!

I'm calling this a 'scrappy' quilt because I had great fun pulling all the teals and purples for the llama blankets and pompoms from my stash!  In fact, the only new fabric I had to purchase was for the background.  I even have some leftover pompoms that I am going to work into the backing. I think that will give it a fun flair!

Today is a rainy day. Looks like tomorrow will be also, so maybe I'll just get this little gem quilted up! Time will tell if I can actually stick with my plans, lol!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up to:
Oh Scrap!
Linky Tuesday 
Main Crush Monday

Llamas Are In The Building!

I don't know how to express to everyone how tickled I have been making this quilt!  It's been a little bit crazy with a LOT of tiny pieces. But the thought of these happy llamas just makes me smile!

I'm using the pattern called Lloyd and Lola by Elizabeth Hartman. I bought it on a whim, even though I have plenty of other projects to tackle. I think it was the eyelashes on the llamas that reeled me in. Just look at those happy faces!

It's kind of a scrappy quilt. I bought the background fabric, which is a Dear Stella design. It's my new favorite for backgrounds. My daughter thinks the white specs look like snow, which might be very appropriate for our neck of the woods.

The striped blanket (and soon-to-be pompoms) came from my stash. I love the teals and purples, which I think are a great accent to the gray background and the beige and white body. The beige is actually a linen that I had for a pillow, but it worked up well in this configuration.

Some of the pieces in the faces are tiny! A one inch square turned out to be a quarter-inch triangle. Who knew I could work with pieces that small. Live and learn.  The llamas, though, stand 40 inches tall!

Now I need to cut out and make three rows of poms, two for the top and one for the bottom. Looking at the pattern, this just adds a festive feel to the entire quilt. When it's all finished up, it will be 61 x 70.

I do believe the reason I bought the pattern and began this project in the midst of other projects, is that the llamas faces reminded me of all the deer that hung out around our house to escape the deep snows this winter. The snow is beginning to recede, so they have headed for higher country, which is a good thing for them. It was a harsh, harsh winter for them, and I'm glad to think they are doing their Deer Thing in the forests nearby.

It's going to be my Happy Quilt.

Definitely quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up to:
Linky Tuesday
Scraptastic Tuesday
Midweek Makers

Catching Up On Solstice Blocks

We were fortunate enough to take a little vacation in February and get out of the snow and the cold for awhile. It was wonderful! But the downside was that I got behind on my BOMs.  Now I'm playing Catch Up!

Here are the 182 Day Solstice Challenge Blocks 14 and 15.  Both were fun to make. I machine zig-zagged around the edge of the petal appliques. In retrospect, I'm afraid I didn't read the instructions closely enough to know if we were supposed to needle turn the petals? Or not?  So I just did what was most enjoyable for me, and that was machine stitching them.

We are progressing quite nicely on this quilt. It's going to be a HUGE one!  But that's okay with me. It's great to end up with a bed-sized quilt after all this work.

But wait! There's more. I guess I hadn't posted the 13th block, Studio Time. I took the time (and fabric) to fussy cut the center blocks, and I think that gives it a nice effect.

 I must say I have been looking forward to each of Pat Sloan's new blocks - we get a new one every two weeks. They are larger than what I'm used to working with (most are 12.5 inch blocks), and they are relatively easy to complete and don't take a lot of time. I do believe this will be the first sampler quilt I'll actually complete. Go, me!

What have you been working on this week?

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
Needle & Thread Thursday
Linky Tuesday

Spring Brings Lofty Goals - 2017 Finish-A-Long 2nd Quarter

Our snow is melting! Our snow is melting! Such a great sight to see for our valley, but with the amount of snowpack that remains on the mountains, people are gearing up for some serious flood potential over the next two months.

Sashiko Pillow Top

So what better time than to set some quilting goals. And to help me do that, I'm joining the 2017 Finish-A-Long. That way, I'll have my goals down on paper and hopefully won't be distracted by this new project or that.

I have six lofty goals, but they should be achievable if I just keep at 'em!

1.  Make a pillow top out of my very first Sashiko project! (oops - from the photo, I see I missed a spot of stitching!)
2.  Quilt and bind a table runner
3.  Quilt and bind a baby quilt
4.  Do the hand stitching on my Diamond Quilt - also my April OMG
5.  Finish my llama quilt!
6.  Finish my quilt for the Hands2Help charity project

Diamond Quilt - April's OMG goal

Whew - that should be plenty, especially since June is only a half month for me because of summer activities!  Good to have a plan.

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
Linky Tuesday
Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - April Finish Link-up