Scraps here and scraps there

Have you ever wondered what to do with all the scrap batting, tiny scraps of fabric, the little snips when you cut your blocks?  Well I have a great ideal for all the fabric that is too tiny to use but you feel guilty about throwing it away (like I do, much to my hubby’s chagrin).

A great way to use these is to recycle all that into machine washable and dryable pet beds.

I have 3 in my house and my kittys, I have 5, love them.

I first found an article from one of my quilt shop newsletters. They were collecting scraps to stuff pillow cases for shelter cats & dogs. Great idea, I said to myself. Little did I know that asking for the scraps turned my basement into a storage space for trash bags filled with offerings that it flowed into my garage. So after some friendly threats from my hubby, I got my quilt guild to get a sewing day together to work on the pet beds.

I filled my Kia Soul from front seat to back end with bags and boxes of fabric, scraps and yardage, sewing machine and other sewing implements to the point that I could not see out the back and away I went to CottonPickers Quilt shop in Chardon. Over the two day session, about 6 hours each day, we made about 40 pet beds, along with learning some new techniques and patterns.

I now have a pillow case clipped to my cutting board so when I have scraps I can just drop them into the pillow case and sew it when it is full. 

 My mother-in-law even got her quilt girls to do this in Erie, Pa., for the local shelter. My garage is starting to fill up with finished beds and my hubby is hinting at me again. Now I need to find a local shelter that would love to have these to adopt out with the cats or dogs going to their forever homes.

Weekend Table Topper Class

 

I had a very busy weekend. I taught some members of my quilt guild a new quilted table topper pattern. It was a lot of fun and almost everyone got their table topper done in the two day class. It is very interesting what colors and patterns different quilters use. Some prefer the Civil War era colors and patterns, some like the bright colors, others love Halloween (I am very fond of that season myself), while others prefer Batik’s, Floral, 1930s feedsack reproduction. The list goes on forever; it just depends upon what the quilter likes to use and what catches their eye.

The class started out with us sewing strip sets and then cutting them into triangles. Then we started to assemble the table topper. It was a lot of fun getting together to sew and learn a new pattern. At the end of the second day there were a lot of OHHHHH’s and AHHHHHH’s when we held up our finished projects. It is always a great feeling when you actually finish a project. We quilters have a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) that we always say that we will get to but then there is always a new pattern that catches our eye, a new technique that we want to learn, a service project (that I will talk about soon) or a wedding or baby quilt that has to be done yesterday that puts our projects on the shelf.

I talked about a book that I saw about a new idea for scrap appliqué at the class so the girls decided that a challenge should be thrown my way. Now what to do with the scraps left over from the class? I’ll get back to you on that.

Getting Started

I hope to blog about something that will interest you and maybe help you understand why quilters are so crazy about fabric. I am a 4^th generation quilter, though I started late. I grew up remembering the old treadle sewing machine that my great grandmother had in her living room and my grandmother sewing in her basement which was my play area also. My grandmother always had quilts on her twin beds and a few laying around. I remember feeling loved when I spent the night under the quilt, which now I know was a Bay Leaf pattern. She also had a Double Wedding Ring on my grandfather’s bed. I majored in Sewing when I went to Andrews School for Girls (Andrews Osborne Academy) and concentrated on making clothing. Many, many years later and 2 marriages later, when I starting dating my then to be husband, I met his mother who was a quilter and that rekindled my feelings about being wrapped up in a quilt. Long story short, I have been quilting for about 8 years. I have entered 1 quilt into the Lake County Farmparks Quilt Show, many into the Lake County and Geauga County Fair and to my surprise I have won 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd places for my efforts. I have joined “The Ladies of the Parlour” Quilt Guild and have taught a few classes within the guild. I will share with you what I have done and what I am doing, tips that I have learned and maybe it will inspire you to make some beautiful quilts or wall hangings that will be loved like the ones I grew up with. The photo above is of my grandmother Evelyn and great grandmother Hannah sorting fabric for quilts.