Sunday 30 January 2011

Scraps and a gift

Before Christmas I decided I would do something with my big box of little scraps. These are quite small bits that had accumulated over time. I had used up my box of strings previously on my crap circle quilt shown below. I had a lovely couple of hours sitting on my bed sorting through these with the help of one of my furry babies. If you click for a better look you will see my cat, scraps and quilt - lol !

I then started sewing them together randomly and trimming after each seam. This is great fun and something I really enjoy. I have a 6 inch square ruler and once the piece got to a big enough size these scruffy pieces got turned from these



Into these . . . . . .


I have not been doing a lot of sewing - mainly due to the ongoing problem of sciatica - but now and again I have been doing a few more of these here and there. Yesterday I counted them up and discovered I have made 95 blocks already with still no end to the scraps - lol ! Not sure how I will set these but for the moment I am really enjoying them. Quite satisfying making something from nothing. When I started quilting - seven years ago - I used to throw my scraps in the bin. What a terrible thought !!!
I am still slowly working on the 600 flying geese needed for the quilt in my last post. However my sewing machine is playing up again so for now I am using my little back-up machine to make these scrap blocks.
Last week a new friend - Julie - from my quilting group became a grandma for the first time. She phoned to let me know her daughter had the baby - a little girl called Amber Lily. My first thought was to make her a little something. I was going to knit a little jacket but I knew Julie had done lots of knitting for her so I decided a small wall-hanging for the nursery would be nice.
Here is the start of it

And here it is appliqued, bordered, quilted and bound. Tada !!! There are little hanging tabs on the back so hopefully it will be up on the wall soon..

I gave it to Julie on Tuesday to pass onto the new parents and she was so touched she almost cried - literally. I did not expect that ! It was so nice to do something from start to finish.
Because I can't sit at the computer for long before my leg starts paining I am behind on answering comments and emails - please forgive me. I am keeping up with all your blogs and comment when I can. I am currently awaiting hospital appointments for physiotherapy and am sure once I start these my sciatica will improve. I can't wait to get back to my quilting properly.
Have a good week xxx


21 comments:

Ali Honey said...

That's a lovely wee personalised gift for Amber Lily.
I love both your ideas for using your scraps. I especially like the cirlce idea. Have you done reverse applique with circles?

Gail said...

Love the little baby piece-strawberries! (Makes me think of Strawberry Shortcake-the doll not the food!) All the scrap blocks are cute too. I hope you get the help you need for you sciatia and SOON (like yesterday)
Blessed be.

julieQ said...

OH, I like those scrappy wonderful blocks!! What? We are not supposed to throw our scraps in a bin??

claudia said...

The little wall hanging for Amber Lily is soooo cute!!! And I love that name. It is adorable as I am sure the new little one is.
Love your stripey circles quilt! It turned out great...wonderful colors all through.
I think your scrappy squares are great. You inspire me. I just wish I could sit and get something finished!!!

simplestitches said...

cute little wall hanging...great colours!
love those scrappy blocks.
cheers Julz

loulee said...

What a delightful wall hanger.
Hope you're feeling better soon cause I'm looking forward to seeing those scraps become something wonderful.

Isabella said...

looks really nice, love to see your next scraps quilt

A Time for Stitching said...

The wall-hanging gift is so sweet!
I sometimes get the urge to sew together my scraps and plan to do something similar one day. I don't have half enough for 95 squares though and my scraps are mostly teeny-tiny!
I'm sorry to hear you're still suffering with sciatica - hope things improve soon and you feel better!
Teresa x

Floss said...

Love the wall hanging for amber, the strwberrie fabric is so cute.
The crazy blocks like like they would be fun to make, I stated a string quilt a few years back but like so many things it turned into a UFO.

Jan said...

I like what you did with your scraps-a very good idea----hummmmm---gives me a good idea what to do with mine! Your little wall hanging is precious!

sewkalico said...

I am also making scrap blocks. Think i've done 8 lol - certainly not 95!!!
Hope you get that physio appointment soon!!!!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh what a wonderful gift for Amber Lily! Sorry to hear your sciata is still causing problems.

tich said...

This is so cute! The baby will love it!!

jovaliquilts said...

Your scrap blocks are so much fun, and your circle quilt is awesome! When I see scrappy things, I sometimes wonder why I ever make non-scrappy quilts -- just to get the scraps, I guess!!

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Those scrap blocks look fab! Isn't it amazing that one can never manage to empty the scrap bin...I swear they multiply when I'm not looking!

thecatsmother said...

I love what you've done from Amber Lily. How did you cut out her name? I'd be very interested as I have a little grandson and I'd like to do something with his name. Thank you and I love reading your blog.

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

I love doing the scrap work as well...very satisfying! Those circles look great!
Cute amber present, nice to make them something money can't buy!

Heather Pregger said...

Beautiful! I love scrap quilts!

Meggie said...

Oh Andrea, how awful to have sciatic pain. Hope things go well for you with physio.
Love that little wallhanging, and know the baby will love it.
I love the pic of your circles and scraps- and of course, your fur baby! Hugsxx

Colleen formerly of South Africa said...

I adore scrappy quilts and never tire of seeing them. And the Amber little quilt is adorable.

Unknown said...

I hope you will get better when you start your therapy. I have a slipped disk in the neck so I know how bad the pain can be. The little quilt is awesome.