"MADE FABRIC" top

When I first started MAKING FABRIC for these blocks with my saved tiny scraps, 

strips and strings, they were

for pot pads or maybe a table runner or two.....

But then......I thought.......wouldn't they make a great quilt???

The last time I posted on this I had only sewn 16 blocks.  It has now grown into

36 - 8 1/2 inch blocks. The overall measurement is about 48" x 48".

It's decision time.....how big should it be??  Making these blocks with

such small tiny bits and pieces can be like putting a puzzle together and at times

slow...tedious...and time consuming, BUT ohhhh so

worth the effort!

Enjoy the close ups of some of my favorite blocks

Yep.....I know......them there's a lot of seams!

Feeling Better

Hello all my quilty buddies!!!  Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and kicking, but I must say I have been SICK SICK SICK!!!  Yes, I have a nasty virus I just can't seem to shake.  I thought I was on my way to shaking it until this last weekend, a slight relapse grabbed me, but it seems more manageable and less severe than it was in the last 3 weeks.

Needless to say, my house is a total wreck, laundry has piled up and Goober is missing his daily walks with  his mama.  I'm behind with you all and my email, so please forgive me until I feel in the mood to carry on with my daily routine.

I'm trying to look at the silver lining in all this, I've lost 14 lbs......YIPPEE!

So, I'll leave you with a photo of the progress I've made on my "MADE FABRIC" top I have been working on for a while. 

It's slowly coming along.  I have 16 blocks so far... measuring 8 1/2" each.

Pincushion

And so I did.........I stopped quilting for a day!

I made this instead!!!!!

My Patty Cake Pincushion was sewn using MORE of my precious little crumbs!

It measures about 7 1/2" round. I had some inspiration here and from my Jan Mullen book Free & Eazy Circles. (thanks Gail for the book) I kind of combined both inspirations together and came up with this. What better time could I have spent? Surrounded by my tiny crummy scraps, using my own made fabric (see previous post), Yo Yos, rick rack some polka dots and a cute little vintage covered button used as a cherry on top?????

QUILTER DOWN!!! QUILTER DOWN!!!

HEY....I may be down, but I'm not out!!!! For some unknown reason something happened to MY BACK last Tuesday!!! OUCH!!! It's been a mystery, but maybe vigorously shaking out those 10 blankets on the back porch may have had something to do with it....???? I'm not able to do much, I'm soooo mad, there are tons of things I need to be doing!!!

SO........I made some of these!!!!!!!

The only place my back feels better is sitting in my sewing chair with the ole heating pad. Not a bad spot to perch whilst I try to mend!!

Out comes my crumb bin! It's time to make some fabric! And boy, do I ever have plenty of crumbs!!! I finally figured out I think the main reason I make quilts is so I can have scraps and crumbs to play with!!! HA! ( no seriously)!

And when I say 'crumbs' I mean CRUMBS!!! I know some of you may think I'm crazy, but I save anything that will hold a seam all the way around and still have 'some'......yes, I said 'some' of the fabric showing. OK ANNIEO stop rolling your eyes!!!

Those 'crumbs' can quickly become larger pieces like these. Before you know it, you have some nice made fabric of your own design!!! LOOK...LOOK how cute they all play together! I usually keep some of these blocks made up, they are great for potholders and such. I make them 8 1/2".

Before you know it you can have THIS!!! If I sew the blocks all together with no sashing this is what I would get. I. LIKE.

This piece of made fabric measures about 25" x 25". I am amazed that alllll those tiny pieces can turn into something that makes my heart sing so!!!!

Mr. Brown Dirt just stood at my design wall and was just mesmerized and in awe of those teeny tiny pieces that were mixed in! He likes it too!!!!

Check out my labels list on my sidebar under CRUMB THERAPY or MAKING FABRIC to read more about my CRUMB THERAPY/FABRIC MAKING.....I've enjoyed 'MAKING FABRIC' since 2008. I think you should try and make some too!!!

..........it's snowing!

Crummy Therapy

After I made such an 'episode about my little house reunion quilt (previous 2 posts).....My mind/brain/noggin/the creative side of my head was worn and tired......so, the best kind of therapy I can do is to pull out my crumbs (Quiltville term) and do some mindless sewing.....or another term would be to make fabric. When I pull out my tiny scraps and just start sewing them together it is soooo soothing and relaxing. I can still think on other projects without having to pay too much attention to what I'm sewing. I have my stash categorized into all sizes. My crumbs being at the bottom of the spectrum.....the next size up would be chunks and then strips then strings then 1".....well, you get the picture. I started my crummy therapy/making fabric way back in August 2008.

All those different sizes have their own drawer/bin............I pull out my crumb bin....place it right next to my machine and away I go!!! Most of the time I just reach in and sew up what I have pulled out randomly.

You can sew up these tiny little scraps to any size you want. Sometimes I dig through and sew up all the same color....like the greens above.

You could sew up all reds.......oops......looks like a strip got in there with my crumbs.....that's ok to throw some of those in too.

Maybe you would like the black and whites......

Or maybe you save those little teeny tiny half square triangles 'cause they were just so cute you couldn't throw them away!!

But I think mixing them up all scrappy is a VERY good thing too!

AAaahhhhhh.....I feel sooooo much better after a little crummy therapy......you should try it.....you will feel better too.........and just think about the fun things you can make with that wonderful fabric you made and some of that scrap stash you put to good use.

I'll have a future post on what projects I used my crumbs for......now GO.....isn't it time for your therapy session??

Making Fabric

I dumped out some of my crumbs the other day and sorta played around. Thanks Bonnie for sharing about crumbs. It's amazing how cute your pieces are when they are all sewn up together! I like to call it make fabric. Yes, by sewing all these tiny pieces together you can make fabric! You can design it any way you like by what colors and designs you put together!!

I discovered a way to press these little short seams without needing my bulky iron. Several months back I bought one of those little Clover irons. I also bought the larger pressing attachment but haven't put it on yet. Anyway, in my scraps I found two squares ....one of flannel and the other is that warm and natural batting type. I put the two together and I leave it right here in front of me and when I need to press... my little ironing board is right here handy!! Since I am working with such small pieces my mini ironing board doesn't get in my way.

I just keep the Clover iron right at the side on it's stand and it's very handy when pressing time comes. I have one of those June Taylor pressing/cutting mats, but where I have to put it I have to kind of stretch across to use it and then whatever gets caught on my arm sleeve gets raked off onto the floor and THEN I have to BEND OVER to retrieve it. I decided this was entirely too much activity and movement to be going on around my sewing!! I mean...it's bad enough when I have to go all the way back downstairs to get another cup of coffee!! But then again I have discovered that when I sit too long in my chair and then when I NEED to get up I have difficulty standing or walking very good!! SO..I can't win for losing!!!

Here is some of my made fabric pieces shaping up nicely. I've made some pieces large enough to sew up some potholders but I was thinking about pulling out all the pastels and polka dots and doing a baby size quilt. It's always been fun for me to make something basically out of nothing. See if you can too.....DO YOUR OWN THING!!!! Go 'make fabric'....it's sooo inspiring!!!

I'm Just Playin' Today....

I've been wanting to try my hand at making some alphabet letters ( with some encouragement from Tonya ).....so here's a "B"....for ME!!! This will probable end up being a pot holder. I've been teasing a friend of mine that she needed to wash some of her pot holders or throw some of ( or ALL ) away!! But then again I became very aware of how some of mine looked, so I thought I better make me some new ones before she could dig around in MY pot holder drawer. I plan on making her some new ones too. Nice to play today and take a break from quilt making.

Strips and strips, strings and more strings. I really don't know exactly what I plan on doing with these, but it's nice to just sit and sew on some mindless sewing WHILE I'm thinking about what I can do with other projects. As you can see, part of these strips I turned into one of those much needed pot holders.

Another pot holder in progress......this one is seriously cute!!

I NEED THIS 24/7 !!!!! ( this was machine embroidered )