Scrap Happy in October

 It's that time again, to share something we've made from scraps or something we've been able to upcycle or repurpose in some way. This blog hop is hosted by Gun in Sweden and Kate in Australia. Links to their blogs will be found at the bottom of this post. Everyone is invited to participate. Just leave a comment on either of their blogs. 

This month I have four little quilts to share. Most were made out of the smaller parts and patches from my Parts Department. My intention was that they would be used by cats in our local humane shelter until I realized they may not stand up to daily laundering. There's a gift shop attached to the shelter; I'm hoping they'll be able to sell them to folks who have just adopted a cat. They might also work as doll quilts.

This first one was made from blocks leftover from a quilt top I haven't yet shown you. The blocks were made by stacking, cutting, and shuffling layers of green prints. 

I had a go at quilting this myself with simple straight lines running in opposition to the piecing lines. It's about 18" x 27."

The next one was made from 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles I'd been cutting with the intention of making flying geese. Eventually I got tired of that process at that size so I figured I'd do a simple bricks quilt.

James quilted this up for me with a fun variegated thread. (20" x 26")

This is the quilt I made out of the little flying geese I made back in the day.

Also quilted by James. (16" x 24")

The green quilt below is another made of units I got tired of making some time ago. It's also larger one, about 20" x 26." James quilted it with leaves.

The next little quilt might have to be for Gracie! (see previous post)

Now you can go see what everyone else has done. 😁

Kate, Gun, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Alissa,
Lynn, Tierney, Hannah, Maggie

Introducing Gracie

 We didn't have pets when I was growing up. But as an adult I have discovered that I am definitely better off with animals in my life. This was brought home to me with some force in recent days. When our sweet Luna passed away a little over two years ago I was determined to try to live without a dog. 

 Living with a dog has been a real adjustment for Hubby as he wasn't raised with pets either. He would be content to live without any animals in his life. However, he has come to realize that I actually need the companionship a dog provides. I'm alone a lot due to his work schedule and the fact that my multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) keeps me pretty much home-bound. So I have been on the hunt for a new companion. It has not been without it's ups and downs, let me tell you. If I go into a shelter (because I do not need a pure breed) I will be ill for at least another day afterward. I was prepared for that prospect if there was a good reason to suffer in that way. I filled out applications online for nearly all the shelters and foster organizations in our immediate area. Sometimes I received a response in a timely manner and other times not. There were a couple of potential adoptees that fit my criteria - Chihuahua mixes for the most part. But they seemed to get adopted out to others before I could arrange to see them in person. 

Finally, a local organization with volunteers who foster dogs and cats listed a black and tan "Chi-weenie" on Petfinder.com. She was cute (sometimes the photos of the dogs online aren't the best; you can tell folks have had a hard time getting them to be still) but I was a little nervous about the Dachshund aspect of her anatomy. Turns out she's well proportioned after all. 

She's young, about a year old, and came with the name Gracie. We see no need to try to change that. 😊 And so far she looks to be a very good fit for our household. She's also a good fit on my lap.

 The trick may be to convince her that she can't spend all day there!

September Stitching

 The first week of September Kathryn (k3n.clothtales) gave us the opportunity to do some needle weaving for our stitch journals. My first attempt didn't work out. I think I used the wrong threads for the fabric base I'd created. With the right combination of threads and fabric I enjoy needle weaving. I used variegated threads for both the warp and weft in this case.

The second week of September Kathryn invited us to do a representation of home. Many stitchers depicted the homes they currently live in or their dream home. I couldn't bring myself to do that. Instead, I made a collage of the elements that make a house a home for me.

 The third week of September we explored texture. Kathryn was inspired by lichen and taught us a fair amount about it. I chose to begin with some tangled threads I'd saved from pre-washing new yardage. They led to other orange elements. I also included bits of a white polyester (possibly organza) I'd put through an embellisher some years back. 

A detail shot

Oddly enough, after I created that monochromatic piece the following week the assignment was to work with a monochromatic palette. Somehow I ended up using the same colors!

 Kathryn has been making "wonky Wednesday" videos in addition to the stitch journal videos. They are hand piecing projects (or have been so far). That week she shared information about the Gee's Bend quilters and the blocks they call Housetops or Pig Pen blocks. I found this a fun way to use up some of my skinniest scraps. There might even be a few more of these in my future. 😁

The postcard prompt from Kool Kooky Kreatures for September was Autumn Hygge. I wasn't feeling particularly creative when I had the time to work on the postcard so I went with something very familiar and simple.

What's more cozy and comforting than a quilt?

Stars for Pat

 My sister-in-law enjoyed sewing and was an avid hand quilter. Sadly, she developed macular degeneration and now can no longer see to sew. She asked me if I would be willing to make a version of a quilt I'd made a few years ago out of fabrics she'd accumulated and saved. Of course I said yes. 

This is the quilt she referenced:

And this is the one I made out of her fabrics:

About 65" square

 They were some lovely colors and prints to work with but they turned out to be highly toxic to my system. They'd been pre-washed in one of those laundry detergents that chemically bonds to the fibers. Even though I re-washed every piece they let off toxic fumes with handling and especially under the iron. It was a struggle, but I was happy to be able to assemble this quilt for Pat. I only hope her vision will last long enough for her to truly enjoy the fruits of my labors.

Scrap Happy in September

The 15th of each month has been designated as Scrap Happy Day by Kate in Australia and Gun in Sweden. We are invited to share something we've made from scrap materials or something we've repurposed. There have been some pretty ingenious transformations among the regular participants. My scrap material tends to be fabric, and I most often turn them into quilts of one sort or another.

Over time I have developed a system for cutting patches and strips from leftover fabrics. I begin with the blocks that require the largest patches or the highest number of patches and work my way down to 1.5" squares. I let these patches accumulate until I feel the urge to do something with them. That's when blocks get made that tend to end up in the Parts Department. Eventually those blocks are used to make a quilt top.

Recently I noticed that my basket of 2" wide strips was pretty full. About that same time I had a series of headaches to deal with. One way I cope with them is to do some mindless sewing, whether by hand or by machine. Last month it was machine piecing I turned to. Without much thought I selected 2" strips from that basket and sewed them together, end to end, until I had pieced strips 12.5" long. Eight of those strips were then sewn together to create 12" (finished) blocks, I call these my Lego blocks. 

Sometimes when I make these blocks I only do a couple and then set them aside. This time I just kept making blocks until my basket was nearly empty. Before long I had a whole quilt top's worth of blocks. Well, a skinny quilt top. So I pieced together some 3.5" wide scraps for side borders and found a length of fabric to sash them. Another couple of strips added to the top and bottom gave me a flimsy about 61" x 82."

I will have to purchase backing fabric for this (and batting of course) but the whole top has been constructed solely from scraps. 😊

If you'd like motivation for using up your scrap materials, fabric or otherwise, leave a comment on Kate or Gun's blogs from the list below. And be inspired by what you see in the other blogs!

Kate, Gun, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Alissa,
Lynn, Tierney, Hannah, Maggie