Scrap Therapy!

This is where I was -

Sitting on the floor with fabric all around me!

(And still no pedicure!)

Saturday morning I arrived at Quiltville Inn to find 3 large boxes of scraps had been placed on the front porch – a delivery made by USPS, sent from a friend who knows that fabric therapy is good for my soul – and my creativity!

THREE paper ream boxes full!

As in – Is it Christmas already?!

In my own method of organized chaos, the first thing I did was dump one box at a time and start sorting into color piles. Evidently Lola really likes the purple.

I mean – REALLY likes the purple!

Some pieces were small enough that I could funnel them right into my current Snail’s Trail project for spark and variety.  (Isn’t it always so great to play with someone else’s fabrics?!)

She is still not leaving that purple.  Silly girl!

Cute cute cute bugs for masks!

My Sunday's mask production was mailed out to extended family members yesterday.

My brother Scott owns Wilkinson Pest Control in the Boise, Idaho area and I made 2 for his new tech Emma using cute bug fabrics.

And another plain blue one for Scott.

My sister Mary asked for 2 in school colors, purple and black & white.

My tutorial is found under the Free Patterns Tab at the top of the blog.

For the child size I made Casden I started with a 7’’ x 16’’ rectangle and cut down the side casing pieces to 1 3/4’’ x 4’’.

I made these in the halter style using t shirt fabric cut 1’’ from the belly of the shirt that had no side seams.  Pull the strips to curl the cord and cut to length.  These are 55’’ pieces.

Mary's hubby Kelly is a paramedic and works for a company that provides life flight. Latest word is that he may be called up by FEMA to transport the overage of serious Covid patients from maxed out hospitals in Arizona to where space is available, a job that brings Covid way too close for comfort for all of us. We are so proud of his willingness to help others.

He has asked if I can make some cloth masks to go over his issued N95s to extend their life. Of course!

He is going to try his N95 inside of Mary’s filter pocket on hers and let me know if it fits or what adjustments to make.

I know there is a debate against masks and mask makers.  It’s better to try to help, than not to help at all.

Interesting experiment from the Today Show.

I wish I could embed the video here, but I can’t so here is a link – It’s a 4 minute video and well worth the watch.

All in all – it was a great productive day -

And I unearthed a TREASURE!

It’s an ongoing thing really – my friend Irene tells the story of how she learned to quilt in the 90s by an Amish woman when she lived in Delaware.  This piece of fabric was in the very first quilt she ever made, and she has tried to incorporate a piece of it in every scrap quilt since – and after nearly 30 years was running OUT!

Through my traveling workshops over the past many years, if I saw a student working with this humble old print I’d ask for a small piece so I could forward it on to Irene.

Sometimes it’s as small as a 1 1/2’’ square being sewn somewhere in a block.  It’s just a small piece -

Well, the 3 Xerox boxes unearthed a 1/2 yard piece!  Oh, happy day!

I quickly stuck it in an envelope and it is off to Kentucky as a housewarming care package as Irene has just moved and is in the process of unpacking and setting up her new sewing space.

It’s the little things that count, right?

Today there are many things underway.  Behind the scenes kind of things.

My 6 selections for my 2021 Addicted to Scraps column with Quiltmaker Magazine are complete, all except the instruction and dialogue writing.  That is definitely on the list for today.

I may be in the midst of a fabric pull for this year’s Quiltville Winter Mystery!  Yippee!  And that’s all I can say about it for now.

The Love Your Creative Space book tour continues!

I am looking forward to visiting each stop in the tour and seeing what others are sharing about their studio spaces as well as what they are gleaning from Love your Creative Space.

Who is on the line-up today?  Click to the ORIGINAL POST, get your entry in on my gift-away (Open to ALL as this is a PDF gift!) and click the links to visit those in the tour.

I am also accepting what I am calling “PRE ORDERS” for Love Your Creative Space as they are on their way, but not in house yet. I expect arrival to me in Virginia in about a weeks’ time. We can be well on our way to organizing  all the things – TOGETHER!

You'll find it in the New & Books categories of the Quiltville Store.

How is Tuesday shaping up for you where you are?

It looks like more rain on the way here – but I’ll be safe inside playing with fabric and having fun incorporating what was in those boxes into my Scrap User’s System!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Are you really listening to those around you who are crying out? Or instead of truly listening have already formed your response and are only waiting to reply?

What about those who keep their fears silent? Can you hear them?

Spread hope. Share hope.

Much love to you on this day -