Scraps 101 - Real Scraps!

A few years ago I made a few Valentines Quilts that I collected Red and Pink fabrics for. I love Valentines day..my birthday is in February..so I made a few of them and gave them away. But alas I bought too much fabric and still have a large stash of Reds and Pinks. So I drag them out every so often and make something. I made a nice Log cabin last year to try out my Log Cabin tool...a later blog. But the other morning I woke up with an idea of a collage piece then cut up into hearts to make some cards out of. I am trying to start early for the PAC show in December! So here is my process:

I cut a red piece as the base fabric..if any background shows through or raw edges at least it will be red and not muslin.
Then I cut random pieces and laid them over each other. I put variegated or red thread in the sewing machine and machine quilted over the peices. I just randomly stitched to make sure the edges were sewn down and it was pretty solid in the stitching.
I made a heart template to fit on a A6 card size. ( I have lots of red envelopes left from Christmas...using the fat of the land so to speak). I cut with scalloped scissors, wavy scissors and straight edge for variety. Then made a small bow from strips and a small shell button. I think they came out really cute and can't stop making them! I need to move to another color.....

Scraps 101 - Yo Yo's!

I was not sure if I liked these little things until I went to my local fabric store where Clover was having a demo on their fun products. I love Clover, lots of great sewing tools. This Little yo yo maker was the coolest tool I had seen in a while and thought it was another great way to use up my scraps. So I bought two sizes, large which finishes at 1 3/4", and a small which finishes at 1". The gal also demoed an oval shape which I bought as well. When I got home I dug out some scraps and started making some while I watched TV. I had a little baggy full before I new it. While I was making them I thought of some different ways to use them, one is to make a little black tunic and sew them on the front and back. Now this picture is of them on top of a little tunic top I have so the finished project is not done but wanted to show my idea. I think it would be nice done with yo yo's in neutral colors as well with a nice linen tunic. I went and bought an extra small template as well to fill in the small gaps. The yo yo's can be flipped with the smooth, non gathered side up as well. I thought it might be cool to put both sides up. I think I will get out my batiks and do one in all batiks with a nice black rayon tunic. Also what about a small bolero vest to wear over my solid color tunics tops with a t-shirt. My ideas come faster than I can make them.

Scraps 101: Kaleidoscope Template

I like templates and rulers for quilt making. I have always liked the Kaleidoscope block and found this ruler by Marti Michell. Last summer while cleaning out fat quarters and scraps I decided to start cutting scrap prints with this ruler. Before I knew it I had quite a few cut out and ready. Now for the back ground fabric. I put the project aside but recently found a nice light batik that I think will look nice. I cut a bunch of triangles and now have enough to start this scrap quilt. Here is the block lay out. When you do the opposite lay out of dark where the light is the overall quilt will take on movement.
For my favorite new book just out..check out Material Obsession 2 by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke. They have used Marti Michell templates for traditional quilt blocks but with a fun new spin on fabrics and lay outs. It inspired me for more scrap quilts. Their use of color combinations and patterned backgrounds is wonderful. When you look at traditional quilt blocks and only see old boring fabrics and colors...you will be able to look beyond all that with this book. I love it for this. New ways to use up that scrap fab I have!
I am working on the "by product quilt" and making progress...I will post pictures soon. but I am really close with my jeans pattern and need them more then the quilt so that is priority in the studio this week.

Well I guess I am not very good at this blogging thing. Too much happened the last 8 months...not bad things, just things that distracted me from being very creative or wanting to write about them. I am still sewing my way through the studio. Just not as fast as I wanted to. I am making pants trying to get a jean pattern perfected. It slows down the creative process. I still put my ideas in my sketch book so I feel I am still being creative. The sketches are patiently waiting for me to come back and make them 3 dimensional.
This past weekend I went to the beach with my quilting girlfriends and we spent the time sitting at a big table sewing. It was fabulous to just not think of work or needing to take care of the family...just two full days of sewing. Here is one of 18 blocks I made. I have been collecting the fabric for a year now so I thought it was time to get going, so a large log cabin quilt is in the process. I will post the finished piece once sewn together.

My other thoughts the past month have been on RE-USE and USE IT UP. I have scraps, old fabrics, left overs, bi-products, what ever you want to call them I have too much but can't bare parting with them. With the price of cotton fabric going up I thought how can I use it and make it worth while. so as I am sewing my way through the studio with clothing, I am going to also be using up my scraps and writing about it. It has given me new enthusiasm to write and I don't have to finish a big project to show you my ideas. My little green tunic top on the last blog was the first where I used scraps of fabric to make the rosettes around the bottom. The photo below is of by-product from another quilt I did years ago. They are triangles with reproduction fabrics and white on whites. They are on the flannel wall, I am tired of looking at them so I have set out to sew them up. I have set up an extra sewing machine so I can sew on two projects at a time...that way if I feel stumped with one I can just sit at another machine and work on another...or a garment. (It all has to do with thread color and machine set up) Stay tuned for ideas and pictures of how I use them up. I feel better already getting this going! I have a list of ideas to share.

Another new Top to show off

So I thought I got this top out of my head but I didn't. I was playing with some scraps of vintage fabrics and a new book called "Fabrication" I liked some of her ideas for decorating garments or pillows and adapted this for my top. I cut circles of three different sizes and fabrics then sewed them on with a shell button. I washed the linen top to have the edges fray but it wasn't what I wanted, the fabric flowers stuck out. so I stitched them down with free motion quilting and ran that stitching to the next flower all the way around the bottom. This I liked. I just can't stop making these tops. I have another one on the drawing board!

Menucha Spring 2010

The weekend before I left for Hong Kong I went to Menucha with my PAC sisters. It was another fun, inspirational, wild laughter of a time! These gals are the best. We started friday afternoon and didn't stop till sunday afternoon. I had to leave a bit early to get ready for my trip but these gals create with a passion. My table mate Debbie has some wonderful samples of work she did in a Traci Bautista class she took. I was so inspired I worked on a few pieces myself. I embroidered on an old Jean skirt I have been working on, we ate, laughed, told stories and just had a wonderful weekend despite the rain.

Inspiration Day in Hood River

Yesterday, my quilting buddies, Sue and Gail, and I drove out to Hood River to go to the Columbia Center for the Arts. It is hosting a wonderful show featuring some local Fiber Artists. Fiber Arts Now is the show and is up till May 2. Wonderful show. As we looked over the show Hilde Morin, one of the artists was there taking a class from Trisha Hassler, another fabulous fiber artist in the show. I was so glad to meet Tirsha and hope to take one of her classes myself. Her juxtaposition of fabric and metal are incredible. The felt work in the show was wonderful as well, Laura Berman and Pat Sparks.
it was a fun day walking around Hood River. Yarn shopping, Bead shopping and quilt shopping all in town as well as other fun home stores. We were all inspired. I came home, popped in Julie/Julia and worked on my purse panels. I like the way it is coming out.
Today I am cleaning the studio and getting ready to long arm an old quilt I just want to get done. I don't want to give up on it. I have a class and fabric invested into it and think it will look good on our bed after we paint our bedroom light creamy yellow. I will work on the border this week. One down three to go on the long arm quilting.