Scrap Happy in Febrruary

I have been following Rachel and her sister Sarah of Roxy's Creations on YouTube since they instituted the first Journal of Stitchery project. I don't think I've ever actually started and finished any volume of the projects they proposed but I found them inspiring. They introduced volume nine in December and stitching began in January. It's looking like I will come closer to fulfilling their briefs this time around than any previous version. 

The suggestion was to choose six books - fiction or non-fiction - to inspire the creation of six textile books, one per month. We are free to make the books any size we like, as many pages as we want, any techniques, etc. I thought long and hard about the books I might use for inspiration. In the end it's looking like I will be more inspired by the idea of a book, the subject matter, rather than any specific title. For example, in January I knew I wanted to use the scraps of feed sack fabrics I still have in my possession. I feel like I used to have a book about feed sacks, or the quilts made during the Great Depression using feed and flour and grain sacks, but I can't find any such title on my shelves. (I have had to weed out books that are too toxic for me to peruse safely.) Nevertheless, I know such books exist.

I confess to buying a piece of vintage feed sack off a vendor on eBay. Otherwise I used only the scraps and remnants I had on hand. I also tried to incorporate buttons and rick rack that seemed of the era.

 My book measures roughly 3.5" wide by 4" tall closed as in the photo above. The flower on the cover is what most folks consider the back side of a yo-yo or Suffolk Puff (which I personally prefer to the gathered side) on top of a rescued crochet medallion with rick rack for stem and leaves. I outlined the yo-yo with perle cotton.  All the edges of the pages have been blanket stitched with 3 strands of embroidery floss. 

Inside the front cover I fussy cut and raw-edge appliqued the rose from one feed sack print. On the opposite page I appliqued a crocheted Colonial Lady that I liberated from a vintage handkerchief. There are scattered single chain stitches in the background around her. 

 

This spread features just about the last pieces I have of the white with the pink rosebud print and the yellow patch with the two young ladies doing housework. I scattered pink Colonial knots on the pink patch. There are red upright crosses on the turquoise patch. The other patches have been seed stitched. 

This is my center spread. Those are vintage buttons on the yellow patch. There are blue stars embroidered above the little girl on her vehicle but the rest of the stitching is all straight stitches done to blend into the backgrounds.

 More simple straight stitches on these two pages and one vintage red button. I really wanted to showcase the prints so I have not added a lot of embroidery or other embellishments. I used the letter buttons in place of a title or a reference to a specific book.

This final page features two more patches that are the last of their kind: the white with the flowers and the blue floral print. Inside the back cover I used rick rack again to frame the motto of the era I was trying to honor. I simply wrote with a Micron pen on a square of muslin for that. There's another bit of crochet secured with a button to dress that up a bit.

This is the back cover. A little bit of feather stitching on either side of another "upside down" yo-yo, a vintage laundry label, and a strip of rick rack. The initials on the laundry label are not exact but they remind me of the name of one of my great-grandmothers. 

 Finally, in lieu of the title of a book on the spine and as a way to document what this project was I cut a piece of cardstock, punched a hole in it, wrote on it and stitched it in place, leaving the thread long enough to make a bow. 😊  

Thus my entry for February's Scrap Happy Day, which is hosted by Kate over at Tall Tales from Chiconia on the 15th of each month. To see what other participants have done with their scraps or leftover materials recently just click on the links below.   

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

 

No Kings Since 1776

 I've been using my needle and thread to help me cope with what's been going on in the United States of America. I shared this little book a few months ago, when it was still in the works. It is now complete.

 I have ancestors who participated in the original American Revolution. 

Most of the men in my family have served in the military through the generations. 

I firmly believe in the principles that were the foundation of this nation.

I wish I could do more to fight in this new American revolution.

So I turn to fabric, needle, and thread.

Scrap Happy in January 2026

 In my last post - in December, on Scrap Happy Day - I shared a couple of scrolls I'd been working on. One was for a Christmas gift. Our son created a couple of spools for me out of two different diameter dowels: one for the spool and the larger one for end caps. This is how the Christmas scroll turned out:

I am unable to paint or stain wood due to my chemical intolerances but I did rub some beeswax into the exposed ends of the spool. 

I finished another scroll (that you haven't seen previously) as a gift for a friend.

The beautiful antique bowl was a gift from my husband for the holidays. 😊

 

The first scroll unrolled from the left. I had this second one unroll from the right. This friend loves Dachshunds and snails. Oh, and sunflowers. I was delighted to be able to include all three over the length of the scroll. 

I now have another, slightly larger, Christmas scroll in the works just for the fun of it. I suspect you'll be seeing more scrolls than quilts on Scrap Happy Days this year! 

Scrap Happy Day is the 15th of each month, hosted by Kate at Tall Tales from Chiconia. Other regular participants are listed below. 

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

 

Scrap Happy in December

Whew! This almost didn't happen. We live pretty close to a river that tends to flood during the extra rainy season of winter. It's not been a worry in the past as there are multiple precautions in place. It was different this time. We were eating dinner when our phones went off with undeniable alarms. The message was that it was GO time, time to evacuate if you live within the 100 year flood plain. We hadn't prepared as we live just inside the flood zone. And frankly, we didn't realize the situation could be so dire. So we spent the rest of the evening frantically searching for somewhere I could safely evacuate to and packing up essentials. Fortunately, one of the families in our church use a lot of safer chemicals in their home and had plenty of room for us. It turned into a long day, longer than I am accustom to. I had a headache the whole time we were with them but it could have been so much worse. We spent the whole of the next day there. By the following morning the river had crested and we were able to return home. Our street was dry, the water nowhere near our house. We're in for yet more rain in the coming days and will be under a flood watch for the duration. The powers that be don't seem to expect to have to issue evacuation orders again however. Let's hope!  

I have been making more scrolls - or what will be scrolls when I find something to wrap them around. In the days before the evacuation notice I created a Christmas themed scroll and put some finishing touches on one that had been in the works for a while. 

My plan is to have the Christmas scroll unroll from the left so you will see the elves carrying the baubles first, then the reindeer and the tree, then Santa, and so forth. The bottom scroll may unroll in the opposite direction. I haven't made a final decision on that one. 

Here are the detail shots:

 

  

I patched yet another scroll while we were monitoring the flood situation. You'll probably see that one in January. And since I have not been a prolific or consistent blogger of late let me wish all my readers the best that the holiday season has to offer. 🎄🕎 🎉 ❤️

 Here are the other bloggers who regularly participate in Scrap Happy Day. Go see what wonderful things they have done to repurpose or use up scraps!

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

 

Scrap Happy in November

 Well, without Scrap Happy Day every month it looks like I wouldn't be blogging at all! However, this old dog has tried a new trick. I've actually repurposed some existing items instead of working from scraps or yardage. 

When our daughter was having her babies I made several flannel receiving blankets for them. Some time ago she returned them to me with a request to sew them all together into something bigger and useful for the members of her family now, 15 - 20 years later. I have finally tackled that project.  

 I didn't take a head count of the number of blankets before I started cutting them apart. I wish now I had. Spoiler alert: I've made a 60" x 76" top and a 66" x 83" back out of the flannels and still have quite a bit leftover!

 This is a sampling of the prints I had to work with. There are a couple of solid colors and tone-on-tone prints that are not in this photograph. My first step was to cut off the hems of the blankets. They were all only two layers sewn right sides together and then turned and top stitched. A few of them were large enough that I'd done some stitching in the center to hold the layers in place. It was tedious work to take out those stitches.  Only one of the blankets had any patchwork. I trimmed up the raw edges of that one and used it for the center of the new quilt. 

 Then I framed it with the pink print border and cornerstones. That was all the plan I had in the beginning, just cut strips and add them round and round the center panel. 

 Eventually, of course, I had to start piecing the strips to go the distance on any given side. Once I'd reached the desired width (60") I just kept adding strips to the top and bottom sides. I was delighted to discover that I had enough of a pink and white polka dot to make a final frame all the way around the top.

 There are a couple of minor design changes I would have made if I hadn't been working with old flannels. Daughter is less of a perfectionist fortunately. 

 I have only just completed piecing a back out of some of the same prints and a couple that didn't make it onto the front. I'll have to be sure to get a picture of it to share later. And then there are the flannels that are still leftover. I'd like to do something with them as well but at the moment I'm not sure what. There might be enough fabric for another, smaller quilt top. In the meantime, check out what the other participants in this monthly hop have repurposed or made out of scrap materials:

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

 Scrap Happy Day is hosted by Kate (at the top of the list) every month on the 15th. If you'd like the motivation to use up your scraps or show us how you've repurposed something leave a comment on her blog and she'll be happy to add you to the list!