What to do with an old mirror- My Favorite Color is SCRAPS

I hate to throw anything out. I am in the middle of a deep purging cycle (lucky for me it only happens every 25 yrs-lol) and I have a mirror that is challenging me to "make it" into something worthy of being hung in the sewing room.

Easy answer is hang it on the door- it is one of those cheap hang it on the back of the door mirrors anyway. The frame is broken (different story- put the blame on me) but the rest is in OK shape.

One thought was to mount it horizontal above the closet door and hang sun-catchers on it. I may still do that but I only have a couple of sun-catchers and they like hanging in the kitchen window. Although that does open up the opportunity for me to start looking for more, but I digress.

I temporally put it in place above the closet and am quizzi happy with the idea that it is eventually going to go up for real. Problem is with a mirror that high up it doesn't have anything to reflect except for the ceiling. In fact it kinda makes the wall above the closet look like it has a narrow opening or crawl space.

My next thought was to string something and let the mirror reflect that, kinda a 3-D effect. Then I remembered I am not a stringer but I can hold my own in the gluing dept. Do you remember the pictures people use to do gluing seeds or buttons on stuff. That is what I want to do. BUT instead of seeds, I think I want to go more toward buttons and beads with a little sequence and glitter if I get that far.

Question now is what can I come up with to cover a 18 x 48 surface?

A quilt pattern would be the obvious first choice but if I want a quilt I can sew one quicker than I can glue. I am not an artsy person so I am going to need pattern to get me started. The only 'seed' ones I think I have are large roosters.

I have the mirror shined and laying out on towels. The glue is standing by. The container of buttons and beads and other misc are sitting waiting their turn.

The big question is WHAT am I going to do?

A saying? An applique pattern? A mess most likely. Whatever I decide to DO- I will make sure to share a picture when I am done.

(My rational brain is kicking in and I think is going to make me doodle some things down before I am allowed to pick up the glue) We'll see......... cw

If I don't get off the computer, I am not going to get anything done- I 'found' a couple of sayings on-line, now to just pick one.

READY, SET, SEW

Stash Managment Flunkie

I'm Creative you can't expect me to be Neat too.

Caution enter @ your own Risk

Blessed are the children of Quilters for they shall inherit the quilts

And the winner is one I made up: My Favorite Color is SCRAPS

Flannel, it's not just for Erin

Cyber friend ERIN has been working on a buzz-saw top made with flannels. I have enjoyed seeing her progress. The other day when (un)messing around in the store room I 'found' a small box of misc flannel scraps.

Today when live body friend, Mary was over, and we decided to sort through and see what we could come up with. We hope Erin will be able to put some of this to use in the buzz-saw or another project.

I know I am going to loose a few points for keeping some of the flannels for myself but Mary talked me into it. Besides if I don't cut into them, I can always gift it out later.



Holiday prints are going to Mary for something warm and cute. Knowing her she will use it to cheer someone up.




Pastels went home with Mary to be used in a baby quilt. I am getting a new grand-daughter in June and I know she is going to love her quilt from Auntie Mary! (hint hint)








These two sets just scream too get used in a small project. What TO-DO, What to do? Are they backgrounds or focus fabrics?




AND....... Drum roll please.........

These prints were at the bottom of the box- I didn't know I could get so emotional over scrap fabric. I don't know what they will end up in, but I venture to guess it will be on my bed when it is finished!



As a disclaimer: I don't normally work with flannels other than to make an occasional baby blanket or back of a small quilt. Most of the flannel I have had is hand-me-down. I am not even 100% sure where this box came from.--- cw

Kits for Kids in Haiti

Where we attend church there are several teachers that worship with us. I don't have all the details but there was a note about school kids making kits to send to the kids in Haiti. Each Kit is to have a bottle of shampoo, a comb, soap, toothbrush & tooth paste and a hand towel.

A request was made for donations of the listed items to take to school with one of the teachers.

I volunteered my Bible class to put KITS together and if others would purchase the shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes the quilters would make the hand towels.

Mary and Dawn (and Dawn's mom) came over earlier to help in the project. Mary brought her serger and hemmed close to eighty towels. (Linda and I had pre-cut hand towel size from ones left from my mother-in-law)

We decided to pretty them up a bit and added....... you guessed it: Butterfly appliques! We also make a couple of dozen using Loony Toon applique characters.

We are getting together this Sunday to put it all together. I think the children are going to be thrilled to get to assist with such a worthy cause. I am sure mom would be thrilled to know I cut up all her towels! (Barb was very generous to mission works and I am sure that she would have given them to me if I asked.)

I was tossing these in a box as fast as I could. The kids can fold them Sunday.

And a side story: When I asked Hubby to run by mom's and let me grab the towels for this project he worried that I needed to 'ask' someone first. My response was: If the LORD is taking the time to move me to good works, who am I suppose to ask if it is OK?

I realise that his concern might be that store bought towels might look better. I can pretty much guarantee that when one is in a disaster situation, a kit like these is appreciated whether it is purchased or hand made. My note of encouragement to others is: Don't let others slow you down when the LORD intends you to be moving. If it is in your heart to DO IT, then IT is a good thing.

I am convienced that these little "towels" are going to be used in a good way. -- cw

scrappy spiderweb 6 1/2" block

I have been talking like I am going to do a string project. I cut 8" papers from the phone book to start (OK that was several yrs ago). I have made piles of scraps (most get misplaced or used for other projects).
The other day I fell in LOVE with a Diamond string block and decided that was going to be my new TO-DO.--- wrong! (In my defense, I did cut out the diamonds- they just didn't speak to me.)

I remembered seeing a scrappy spiderweb layout a couple of years ago. I played around with the 8" papers and figured out a way to make a 6 1/2" block. This first block is done in the traditional way. Sew one small piece at a time.--- Seriously thought this might be the only block and that it is going to end up a potholder.

Look at the paper scraps - I can't imagine tearing that much paper on the 120 blocks I want to make. I had to come up with plan "B"

My 8" phone book pages were cut in quarters on the diagonal. I used a 3" sq. of the solid (base fabric) and made a template so I could cut the kite shape quickly. (there is a little waste but I can live with it)

I then sewed 6 strips of misc sizes together. Most of mine are around 1" (ish)- less than 2"

I ironed the set and used another self made template to rough cut the strip triangles. I decided to sew them on the paper to make sure I was attaching correctly.

I think I like the possibility of having blocks with matching fabrics in them. In this strip set I got a total of 7 of the smaller triangles. One would need 8 to make a block. These will get set aside and used with other 'orphan' pieces.

I found a small pile of 2-4" scraps and decided to sub-cut them into strips to use for this project.

The cutting was by sight so hopefully there will be enough to get at least a few matching blocks. I am pretty excited that I got this far. This quilt has a strong chance of actually getting made now that I have figured out how to get the look without all the sewing and flipping.

Tomorrow I will see how many strip sets I can do before my head explodes- I may have just found a New-To-Me fun way to do the string thing.

This is a lot more variety than it looks. Wish me luck.- cw