Scrap Garland

I've had a few questions as to how I made the garland on the Christmas tree in the shop. It was oh-so easy-peasy to do. You know me, I love a simple project that does not require intense concentration.

To make this garland, I used the leftover strips that result from cutting 2 1/2" strips on the AccuCut machine. The strips are anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch in width. I leave all edges raw, which adds to the casual feel of this garland. The strips are the width of the fabric which makes for a nice long piece of garland from each set. You can always purchase new fabric to make this project, but I think digging through your scrap bin would make a much cuter garland.

To make the garland:

Take one strip and lay another on top of it being sure to have enough of an overlap to prevent the strips from coming apart from fraying. Repeat on a second set of strips. Choose one of your wider strips to be your center strip. Sew one strip set on either side of the center strip. Wow, I wonder how many times I can type strip in this post? To attach the strip sets together, simply overlap the end of one set and the beginning of another and run two rows of stitching top ti bottom to secure. Do not panic if your strips are not the same width- it's part of the charm of this garland. Besides, you can always pinch the joins into a branch and no one will ever see them.

Sew together as many strip sets as you think you will need to encircle your tree. I made 15 sets and it was just enough for our tall, slender tree.

That's all there is to it! If you make your own scrappy garland, let us know, send a picture and we'll post it here. (Or on Flickr, if I can ever figure it out. Being technologically challenged proves to be problematic sometimes.)

Happy stitching!

"Tis the Season

The shop is decorated and ready for Christmas!

At every turn you can find ideas for gift giving or even gift hinting!

Who wouldn't love a sweet, over-sized pincushion for their sewing room?

Or maybe you could wrap up the pattern and fat quarters

along with a coupon for a day of sewing!

And can you imagine the smiles of your favorite quilter when she (or he)

opens up a box of our $30 fabric bundles?

A basket of layer cakes would be nice as well.

What will Santa be putting under your tree?

Fab-u-lous!

That is the word to describe what was shown at strip club this morning! Beginning with the lovely Sandy and her Myopia quilt done with melon as her strong accent color. Oh, my! The photo does it no justice at all. It is beautiful.

This is Lynne's quilt from last month- Southern Comfort. And.....

Her Myopia quilt done in yellow! Oh. My. Gosh. She combined her black and

white strips with a bold yellow and her border is from the Taxi line. Yum.

Rats, I forget this girl's name. :( I'll get it and post it here.

But, she shared this amazing quilt that contains 1400 triangles. 1400, people!

Carol finished her queen-sized Cactus Wreath quilt just in time for Christmas.

Seriously, this is one of my favorite patterns we have done.

Miss Mary, of the ever popular Miss Mary's Charm School shared this Ladyfingers

quilt made with the new, delightful Panache line, done with perfection.

Ack! How did this get in here? This would be my Myopia quilt, done with aqua and red accents. Karen insisted that someone take my camera and take a picture of me. Really. The nice thing about writing this blog is that I get to control what content goes in it. That, and a little photo-editing magic, and all you see is that tiny portion of me- my hand. Bwahahahaha!

The other Karen shared her tiny tissue package covers that she made. They are adorable and would make the sweetest gifts for teachers, bus drivers, the mailman, etc.

She said they only take a few minutes to make, so you could give them to everyone you know.

And now for next month's adventure- Starbright. Sheri Curtis did a wonderful job on this quilt.

(Sorry for the tilted picture. What was I thinking?)

I can actually wrap my head around these stars. They are simple, simple to assemble from four square blocks that combine to make them. And who doesn't like reproduction feedsack fabric? This one is going to be fun. :) Stay tuned..................

Busy Bee

Goodness, where does time go? I've been busy helping Karen at the shop lately and I am having the best time. There is nothing like doing something you love. I am one happy camper. I am also working on this quilt:

Tomorrow is strip club and I cannot wait to see what everyone has done. Oh, my! This quilt is dizzying! I just put mine up on the design wall and I am not touching it except to take it down to sew together. I could be there for years trying to make something that is not supposed to be perfect, perfect. It will be what it will be!

Tune in tomorrow and you will see the results of our Scarlet Stripper's handiwork!

Strip Scrap Christmas Wreath

Are you bored yet? I hope not! This is a little wreath made from strips of Merry and Bright from last Christmas. I love this fabric!



I used a 10-inch foam wreath from the dollar store and wrapped it in sections with different colors. Then I stitched together three strips, leaving raw edges exposed and gathered them with a running stitch. A little twist, a little stitching and, I have to admit, a little glue and voila!, a flower. A contrasting button finishes them off perfectly.
Stitching two strips together in the same manner, I made leaves that were then tucked here and there into my rag flower bouquet.



Here they are close up. It's bright, cheery and a sweet little adornment for your wall, door or your friend's house!

Really, these strips are just too much fun. :)

Progress

How to cover up ugly echo quilting.

Not really. I needed to quilt so that I had a solid surface to attach the strips.

I'm just glad I planned on covering it all up. That's all I'm sayin'.

Scrap the Universe

Ah, yes, another basket of strippy scraps that the girls at the shop saved for me. I love these little strips and the challenge that they pose. Every time I pull some from the basket, I wonder what they will become.

This time, the strips were sewn together, raw edges exposed, into a lovely rainbow fabric.

Mmm, yummy.

After the fabric was made, I went to my kitchen shelves and pulled bowls of various sizes. tracing the bowls, I made a tidy stack of circles. I laid out the circles onto a base fabric and, when I achieved a pleasing arrangement, I appliqued them down using a blanket stitch on my sewing machine.

A little echo quilting (not my string suit) and then the fun begins.

I can't show you the finished project just yet as it has a looong way to go. But when it's done, you will the first to see it. Promise.