What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Let's give scrap baskets a double meaning! Made from scraps, especially thread scraps, this basket is also a good place to throw them! It's about 4.5" high and 3.5" across. I used silk, so it's extra fancy, but you can use any fabric and threads you like. 

Contents include:

-- An old freemotion quilting practice sandwich, 

--  Long scrap fabric strips, as background,

-- Ravelled threads on top. Most are threads ...

BEFORE: In my last blog post, I showed this potential valentine, which my friend Jane pointed out, looks more like the Valentine's Day Massacre. 

I certainly couldn't give this to anyone I don't wish to maim. But then it occurred to me that my daughter's cat, Cleocatra, routinely combines love with blood. She doesn't allow claw-clipping, so when she plays with us, scratches can ensue. She's also an unrepentant lizard-tormentor and sewing-machine occupier.

AFTER: So I turned my violent background into this! The perfect Valentine for my daughter!

This technique has been around a ...

 I was minding my own business, making a whole lot of improv triangle kaleidoscopes, like this.

I'm only using solids for this quilt. The smallest scraps were filling my "toss" bin.

But then the Create Whimsy newsletter arrived in my email. Lynn Woll, its curator extraordinare, had an article titled "Scrap Happy Confetti Quilts," with  Valentine's Day projects. Oooooo! It looked like so much fun...and I knew I had loads of fresh scraps. 

I plucked the solids from my "discard" bin and sent them into plastic bags, organized by color. 

Then I cut out a 4" square ...

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Awwww ...

This past week was spent out of town dealing with some family things. It was a tiring week and I am happy to be back home. But, I don’t have a post for you as I haven’t had any time to do anything fun or even to do any writing. So, to have something for you today, I will give you a roundup of some Valentine ideas from years past. Just click on the blue titles to open up a new tab with more information, detailed instructions or recipes.  First up, my Hearts Around Table Topper is fun ...

Welcome to our Scrap Busting Blog Hop, where we embrace every scrap in our sewing rooms. We are proving that there is no unusable scrap! I find that especially true in paper piecing, where I use my scraps every day. It is important to have a wide variety of colors to choose from when paper piecing, so as to find just that right print and color when piecing together an image.

Thanks to Melissa for hosting this blog hop and giving the designers a chance to share something new.

Since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I have ...

So yesterday, I said I might have to move to a smaller house. Elle pointed out that I might like to walk around my existing home (with less stuff) and enjoy it. And you know what? She's right! It's such a joy to walk around with ease in the same space where I had to hop over things to get from A to B. I know - not safe, and how ridiculous. Or something would fall off a shelf if I passed too near. 

I have to confess that I even opened the door to that storage room several ...

Well, I cannot decide if it was bad news day or good news day yesterday. My dental appointment that I have dreaded for days was postponed due to snow. We didn’t get any snow at our place, but apparently the area where my dentist lives did. So, all that anxiety will now be postponed to next week, and then 10 days after that. Ugh. Good news, I got to eat the chocolate pudding I made as a reward for myself. What the hey, it wouldn’t last to next week anyway. Then, our power went out yesterday, and the ...

This year I have not been inspired by Valentine’s Day.  Usually by now I have red hearts all over the place, with my two heart table toppers displayed prominently.  This year I didn’t even get them out until this week, and even now they seem boring, just the same-old same-old.  But it was time for the snowflakes to be packed away, so I decided to get out my French themed plates and build a table just for us two for this weekend.

I haven’t used the French rooster bowls in a while, and their colors blend well ...