Scrap-Happy December 2021

Quite a bit of scrappy work was done this month.  

First up, I used some of the larger scraps from the card cases made in previous months and made these 10 slightly larger card cases.

Next up for the remaining scraps from the original card cases was this casserole dish cozy.   I figured scraps were a good thing to use when I'm trying to test out what size to make something like this to sell (either in my etsy shop or as custom/commissioned items).glass or metal

What I've learned is there is no "standard" 9" by 13" pan.....not only are the metal and glass ones different sizes, but even among the same type (glass or metal) the sizes across the commercial ones available are different.     So now I need to come up with a size that will fit a range, maybe two sizes, so that they aren't too big in size.   I also want to work on one for a 9" by 9" type/size of pan.

Glass " 9by 13" dish in the cozy

Metal " 9 by 13" pan in the cozy.   This was definitely a bit smaller than the glass dish.

And don't forget to take a look around at what everyone else has done this month - 

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Moira (me), Sandra, Chris, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2 , Bear, Noreen, Preeti, Edith and Jule

Scrap-Happy November 2021

 Scrappy sewing happened this past month on several projects. 

First up was using up 12 FQ's (they count as scraps in my stash because I rarely use them) that had been in my mom's stash for the backing of the memory quilt that I'm making my dad for Christmas.  

These were cut into 16" squares so there will be more from the scraps coming at a future date.

I've been working on a custom order of cardholders for cards that are approximately 2" by 3" in size.   The cards are for a Bible verse memory class and come in 5 sets of 12 verses.   I was asked to make little cases that would hold a set of the verses....and there are 25 people or so taking the class.  I used 5 different remnant of cotton upholstery fabric to make the holders.   Letters were embroidered on them so the ones who bought them would know what set was in which one.

3 of the 5 sets of holders here.

And finally, a little zippered tote bag for the gal who is leading the Bible Study that the cardholders were made for.   She wanted something that would hold her books and her set of the cardholders.  

Bag was made from one of the plaid scraps leftover, and the final 4" WOF piece of the grey that I had used as lining for the plaid cardholders.

Scrap-Happy October 2021

The house has been sold, and 99% of of what I own is now in storage which leaves me with not a lot of things to sew on till I can find a job and get a place to live on my own again.

I did however find a bit of room to bring the scraps of shirts that had been used to make memory bears back in 2019.   I'm planning to take and use these to make 4 memory quilts from them.   Here is the first one of them.

Not the greatest of pictures for some reason.   Quilt is made from 6" squares of plaid shirts, and alternate string-pieced WOW's and COC's.

The shirtings even have the sleeve plackets and buttons on several of the blocks.

Gratitudes:

1. One job interview has been had, and another is scheduled for the morning of the 15th.

2. For friends who allow me to stay with them while I job hunt and work to help my dad out here in Phoenix. 

Scrap-Happy September 2021

This month has been hectic with trying to get ready for putting my stuff into storage and getting ready to relocate, at least temporarily at this point.  As a result there wasn't a lot of scrappy sewing this month.    

did manage to get these 4 bowl cozies made up for an order.  The star wars cozies were made from the leftover fabric from a commissioned star wars quilt.   the kitty ones were made from fabrics left over from the zillion face masks I made last year.

Check out what everyone else has been working on this past month - 

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Moira (me!), Sandra, Chris, Alys, Kerry, Claire93, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Noreen, Bear, Carol, Edi, Preeti, Jule (NEW)

Gratitudes:
1. Both storage containers fit on my driveway with room for me to still park there.  

2. For the friends who have said they'll help me get the containers loaded and ready for storage.

Scrap-Happy August 2021

Life hasn't been dull around my place this month with the house first going on the market and then selling in a weeks time.    It closes on the 19th (with a month leaseback) so packing is well underway for me at this point.   And I'm still working on commissioned stuff as well.  

But I did manage to find a little time to do some work with scraps.    

First thing up was getting my wall-hanging for the 2021 Art Quilt challenge finished up.    All fabrics were either from scraps or remnants except for the background fabric of the quilt front.  

Backing and binding were made from more remnants.

And my month was finished out by making these blocks from the remnants of sweatshirts that i'd cut blocks out of for my moms memory quilt that will be my dad's Christmas gift this year.   These blocks were topped by pieces that I'd either made or that she had made/saved.  

These are now put up with the rest of the blocks (12 all total) for me to work on at a later date.

Be sure to check out what everyone else has been doing this month.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Moira (me!), Sandra, Chris, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Nancy, Dawn 2, Noreen, Bear, Carol, Preeti and Edith

Gratitudes:

1. The house sold in only 6 days and above asking price.

2. That I've been able to make a good start in getting things packed up and ready to go into storage.

Starting Christmas Gifts Early -- 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop

 This year is very topsy-turvy to say the least for me.   7+ months of unemployment, selling the house so that I don't lose it (and having no idea of where I'll end up at this point), trying to find a new job.....and so on.   I know I'm not alone in going thru things like this, there are many who are going thru this and far worse.  

Christmas isn't that far off so I'm starting to work on simple Christmas gifts that can be packed and easily carried with me if most of my things end up in storage for an extended length of time.    And because the budget is tight this year, I'm working making all the gifts that I can.

Bowl cozies and potholders are the first things I'm currently working on.   

The basic bowl cozies take 2 - 10" squares of fabric and I use 2 - 9.5" squares of the wrap-n-zap batting per cozy that I make.     These will fit up to a 6" diameter bowl.   

If you've never made one before, here is a good Bowl Cozy Tutorial to show you how to make them.  One thing you want to remember as you choose fabric for cozies, make sure there is no metallic paint on them especially if they will be used in the microwave.

For more interesting cozies, orphan blocks can be used to liven up your cozies.  A 10 inch finished block makes a perfect sized cozy.     If you've got 12" finished blocks that you'd like to use, then cut the batting at 11.5" and make like you would using 10" squares.   This size will allow you to use them with bowls from 8" to maybe 9" in diameter.

let your imagination loose if you decide to make bowl cozies for gifts!

And don't forget to check out the remaining bloggers in the hop as they post about Christmas in July.

Wednesday, July 14th

Joy of Days Filled With Joy

Thursday, July 15th

Moira of The Quilted Snail

Friday, July 16th

Jamie of L'Fair Quilts

Saturday, July 17th

Bonnie of In Stitches With Bonnie

Sunday, July 18th

Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Monday, July 19th

Kate of Katie Mae Quilts

Shasta of High Road Quilter

Tuesday, July 20th

Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Wednesday, July 21st

Leanne of The Devoted Quilter

Thursday, July 22nd

Kathy of Kathy's Kwilts and More

Sandra of Musings of a Menopausal Melon

Friday, July 23rd

Carole of From My Carolina Home

Saturday, July 24th

Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt (Part 2)

Sunday, July 25th

Karrin of Karrin's Crazy World

Gratitudes:

1. For this being a seller's market right now in real estate, hopefully that will make it easier for me to get my house sold quickly and for a good price.  

2.  For being able to get through the commissioned items that are in the queue at the present time.

Scrap-Happy July 2021

Lots of scrappy work going on around my house as I try to get things ready to get the house ready to go on the market this week.  (Photos coming on Friday, and going live either Saturday or Sunday.)

First there were three filled gallon sized zippered bags of scraps that went to a friend.   They will ultimately end up give to her mom who has dementia and loves to look at lots of fabrics.

Next up was taking a 2 gallon bag of black solid scraps, many of which I've had bagged up for years since I last made scrub tops.   

There were 10" squares already in the scraps and a few larger pieces that I left as is.   Then I trimmed the rest down to 5", 4.5", 3.5" and 2.5" squares, and a couple 2.5" wide strips.   

Next up was using pieces of fabric left over from prior orders of bowl cozies for another commissioned order.   2 more bowl cozies, and then 3 sets of 2 potholders.   Remnants were used for the reverse sides of all pieces.

The next project was another commissioned item - a zippered pouch for a good friend.  This was made with strips of fabric that had been leftover from a couple of the blocks I made in last years row by row quilt.  A scrap piece of black was added to the bottom of the pouch for the bottom.  Lining and batting used in it were also scraps.  

The pouch was made with a boxed bottom to it.

Two bowl cozies were made for another commission from orphan blocks made from the scraps from a long ago project.  Fabric on the reverse side side was from a remnant in the stash.

This commission was to personalize two towels for high school kids of a friend from church.  The fabrics were from remnants.   Names were cross-stitched on scrap pieces of aida cloth and the threads used were threads leftover from years worth of kits worked on over the years.  

Gratitudes:
1. The house is looking a lot neater as I clean, toss, and pack things up.

2. For the blessings of friendship

12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop

 

The 12 days of Christmas in July blog hop has started with lots of Christmas themed posts and projects.  

Wednesday, July 14th

Joy of Days Filled With Joy

Thursday, July 15th

Moira of The Quilted Snail

Friday, July 16th

Jamie of L'Fair Quilts

Saturday, July 17th

Bonnie of In Stitches With Bonnie

Sunday, July 18th

Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Monday, July 19th

Kate of Katie Mae Quilts

Shasta of High Road Quilter

Tuesday, July 20th

Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Wednesday, July 21st

Leanne of The Devoted Quilter

Thursday, July 22nd

Kathy of Kathy's Kwilts and More

Sandra of Musings of a Menopausal Melon

Friday, July 23rd

Carole of From My Carolina Home

Saturday, July 24th

Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt (Part 2)

Sunday, July 25th

Karrin of Karrin's Crazy World

Gratitudes:
1/ For the progress towards getting the house listed for sale.

2. For the cooler temps that we've been having here lately.

ScrapHappy June 2021

More prep work this month as I try to get things into shape for the house to go on the market.

First up were these assorted WOW's and COC's.   And when putting these away in their respective ziploc bags figured out that my next scrappy quilt needs a COC background....those two baggies of 2.5" squares are overflowing...lol.   And I've also realized I rarely use the 4.5" squares....need to come up with block patterns for them.

Have already found another gallon sized bag of scraps that need to be trimmed down to squares. 

And I finished off trimming the scraps I received from a friend (had been her MIL's).   Her MIL was very much loved by all who knew her, so my plan is to take these along with neutrals and make at least 4 lap quilts from them for the grandkids and the her son.

To see what kind of scrappy goodness everyone else has been working on click on the links below:

Kate,, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Moira (me!), Sandra, Chris, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Nancy, Dawn 2, Noreen, Bear, Carol, Preeti and Edith

Gratitudes:
1. For friends who've volunteered to come help me get my house ready to put on the market.

2. For a working AC system in this TX heat and humidity

UFO's From My Mom's Stash - Part 3

 The remainder of the cross-stitch UFO's I brought home from my April trip included these larger pieces.   There were several smaller ones that will end up being used in a quilted postcard at some point.   I forgot to take pics of them tho before putting them away in the appropriate totes.

this one was embroidered from a stamped piece.   It'll end up in a quilted postcard piece at some point.

Not sure what I'll do with most of these, but then again that is true of all the cross-stitch UFO's that I've created over the years.

Cross and verse

The Tennessee piece on the left will be finished at some point into something for my dad because that is where he was born and grew up.   

I'm thinking the piece on the right might end up being finished into a small wall-hanging for a friend.

love this one....

2 Oriental jars

I come by my tendency to create UFO's naturally - the cat on the left is dated on the collar tag.   My mom finished it in 1989....lol.

not sure why this shows darker on the bottom half of the pic, it really is a white back ground.

Gratitudes:

1. To have these pieces of my mom's handiwork

2. For the many blessings that are in my life in spite of all that has happened over the last 18 months

UFO's From My Mom's Stash - Part 2

 The other UFO's that I found during my April trip were these 4 finished cross-stitch pieces that my mom had stitched onto corduroy squares.  

I'm assuming that she'd intended to make a quilt out of them and a number of other finished pieces because there were a bunch of cord squares cut that I did not bring home.

At this point, my thought is to use these 4 squares / cross-stitch pieces as the center of the memory quilt that I have plans to make for my dad.   I'll be using sweatshirts that I had made for my mom over the years for it, with an occasional t-shirt.   Many of the shirts I did had either cross-stitch pieces on them or applique work.   And the sweatshirt material would work with the corduroy.

It'll be a while before I can get to that project since I need to finish up some commissioned work first.  So who knows, the plan might change....

Gratitudes:

1. That I'm not having to deal with the 113+ degree temps of AZ.....98 plus high humidity is bad enough...lol

2. For making progress in getting things cleaned up and boxed up here in the house.

UFO's From My Mom's Stash - Part 1, and a completion

 Working to clear out all of the totes and boxes that my mom had stashed and piled when I was last out in Arizona meant I found all sorts of things.   Included in all of what I went through were a bunch of completed needlework projects.  

Among the things found during the April trip were 4 needlepoint pieces.   

First up was this needlepoint version of a US 13-cent stamp.  The stamp was printed and sold in 1976, so the kit would have come out several years later.   My mom had finished the canvas.  I blocked it as best as I could and then sewed it into this pillow.

It has been sent to my dad because she had been making it for him.  

This one is an oriental print, have no idea what I'll do with it........or whether I'll even keep it.

The final two are done with long-stitch, not something seen too often anymore.  Again I have no idea what I'll do with these two.

Gratitudes:

1. For the job interview that is scheduled for Monday the 13th.

2. For the encouragement of finding several job postings that I "fit". 

Hands To Help 2021

 This years edition of Hands to Help is finishing up this month.  I was able to send off 4 quilts to Little Lambs Foundation for Kids in Logan Utah this year.   They are a group that helps support low income families with kids and foster kids.   This year they wanted small quilts.

This was the first of two from my mom's stash of quilt stuff.  Approximately 40" square.

Second one from my mom's stash.  Another one about 40" square.

From my stash of quilts, made years ago and then just stashed away.  blocks were pp'd on tissue paper and made from scraps.  Approximate size of locks was 8", so yes some of them have what seemed like a bazillion pieces as I was making them and then tearing the paper out.   All were different patterns.

Another one from my stash made years ago.  Leftover swap blocks from a long ago swap were used to make it.  

I'm glad to be able to have had a place to send these where they'll be used and someone will enjoy them, instead of them just sitting in a tote in my house.

Gratitudes:

1. That the mess with unemployment seems to be straightened out (now to see if they actually pay next week when I request payment)

2. That the realtor didn't give a list of unreasonable demands on what I need to do here in the house to get it ready to go on the market in June.

Scrap-Happy May 2021

 This past month was another one where I did not get a lot of sewing in at all, and most of what was done was on projects for others and not from scraps.

However, I did start cutting up this box of scraps I received a couple of yrs ago from friends.   Grandma V did a lot of sewing in her life and had collected scraps.   currently I'm cutting them up into 6", 3",  and 2" finished squares, and 2" finished strips that I'll put into multiple quilt tops later.   I plan to give the finished quilts back to the family in memory of their sweet Grandma V.

These this collection of blocks and squares came from the scraps of the shirts I used for 13 memory bears back in 2019.  I cut the sleeves, leftovers from the body, and the yokes to cut 6" and 3" finished squares.   I made the 4 patches from the smaller blocks and lots of 3" WOW squares that I'd cut yrs ago when dealing with scraps.     Shirt labels were included in the small blocks.   And the large ones have the sleeve plackets included in them.

I'm aiming to make 3 tops from this bunch of blocks and they'll be going to my niece who had ordered the bears made.

Click on the links below to see what everyone has done this month:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Moira (me!), Sandra, Chris, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Noreen, Bear, Carol, Preeti and Edith

Gratitudes:
1. Safe travels to/from Phoenix as I dealt with getting probate started for part of my mom's estate

2. For unemployment starting to pay again

Scrap-Happy - April 2021

Welcome to Scrap-Happy day, the day when a group of us post about the scrappy projects of any sort that we've worked on over the last month.

My project this month used up large scraps, aka remnants.   

The center panel was included in a scrap bag that I'd bought back in February.   

The stars had been made back in 2010 for a swap.   However, because I was using remnants I wasn't able to get the full number of blocks I needed for the swap so these sat in my UFO block totes for 11 years.   As it happened, the blue in the blocks exactly matched the blue in the window frame in the panel.

Current size of the quilt is 34" wide by 44" long.   I still have a remnant left of the background that I'm going to use to add wide top & bottom border, and narrow side borders to make the quilt a little larger.   

It'll be either sold, gifted, or donated somewhere when finished.  

Check out everyone else's scrappy projects at the links below:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira (me!), Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn,
Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin,
Vera, Nanette, Ann, Nancy, Dawn 2, Noreen,
Bear, Carol, Preeti and Edith

Gratitudes:

1. For finding somewhere to stay while back in Phx the next couple of weeks

2. For having somewhere to donate the cotton fabrics that I no longer want and knowing they'll be put to good use