Spring Cheerfulness!

 I've started work on my sewing caddy, using a lovely spring selection of my hand dyed fabrics.  These blocks are 5" square finished - that's three pockets made.....

This is a much smaller block - just 1 1/4" square! It's quite small for a pin cushion, but pretty, even if not practical!  it has made me think about making a miniature quilt all over again....  I really like the idea but I'm not sure that I can bring off the accuracy required to make a really successful miniature.

 Here are the main parts of the caddy laid out, ready for pockets to be added, fancy bits constructed and clipped on, and the whole thing to be sewn up.

These are the fabrics that I pulled to start off with, but I've had to add a couple of others as there isn't quite enough fabric to make everything that I want to.

This is the biggest move away from my spring palette - and I'm not completely sure that a lavender warmer is really a sewing accessory, it just feels that way to me, as scarcely a day goes by without me using my faithful pair! 

This is a real treat - my old one was scorched and smelled more of burnt wheat than lavender.  This one, freshly made this morning, smells wonderful!  For anyone else that wants to use orphan blocks or just some ordinary fabric, I made a calico liner 'pillow' of 17 1/2" x 7", using 550g of mixed rice and pearl barley and 50g of lavender split into four equal pockets.  The outer cover was 22" x 8" - The extra length I used to make an internal overlap to hold the rice pillow in place.  The back of mine is made of cotton velvet - a luxury - actually the back of the old cover, which still seemed in good condition.

Two minutes in a microwave to heat it (or at least, 2 in mine, it might be different in yours!) and there will be comforting warmth. 

Happy spring, happy May Day!