Little Quilts!

I have been working hard to sort out all the crafty materials in my loft - I have accrued far too much over the years, and some can definitely be moved on to someone who is going to use them!

Whilst I was sorting through various boxes, I came across this 'set' of mini quilts.  

Two experiments - one with woven fabric strips that I then stitched or embellished, and one with neutral fabrics (one woven, one 'whole cloth') where I'd been using up thread ends from other projects.

They were slightly too big to be card toppers, which is, I think, why they had been left to one side after construction.

So, rather than letting them stay in a box, I found appropriate bindings for them (from my scrap bag of binding, obviously!), and sewed them on.

It was the work of only half an evening to hand stitch the binding to the back and complete them.

I also sewed a drinks can 'tab' on the back of each of them to provide a hanging loop, and now they have joined my ever growing wall of mini quilts.

Isn't it satisfying when you complete projects? However small they are!
 

Nesting Boxes

Following a fun workshop / demo from The Quilters Guild online retreat earlier this year, I wanted to try and make mini boxes.

I tried two methods.

This was the way recommended by the tutor, using bag stiffener - a bit firmer than regular felt, but still pretty easy to stitch through - and an outer and a lining fabric.

You make neat little parcels, sewing the raw edges down around each of the six panels....

...... then lay them out in your chosen arrangement and whip stitch them together.

My alternate construction was to layer a piece of fabric and a piece of felt together and satin stitch the edges and joins together.  It gave a slightly rougher edge, and although the felt I was using was fine for a one inch box, for this one, the two inch box, it was slightly floppy.  Really nice to play with some embroidery stitches through it though, and very fast to construct!

Whichever method you use, the boxes are finished by whip stitching them into shape, adding an embroidered 'loop' and sewing on a button so that it closes nicely.

My set of nesting boxes were made at 1", 1.5" and 2" square.

I'm very happy that they nest easily, and think that the 1.5" box, handmade all the way, gives the nicest finish.
 

Scrap Cards

 When I cut up my fabric scraps into my 'scrap system' (just a set of standard sizes that I cut and use) I often cut out 1.5" squares, and then use them to make little 9-patch blocks (which I then go on and use in different scrappy quilts).

It's easy to use them when I have four or five or a same or similar fabric, making little 'kits' to sew as a leaders and enders projec, but sometimes I end up with a bunch of random squares that hang around.  Sometimes they hang around long enough to attract friends - more of the same or similar fabrics - but not always!

I saw cards similar to these on Instagram (sorry, I can't remember who posted them - if you recognise the original maker please let me know so that I can acknowledge them) and decided it would be the perfect quick project for me.  Now I have several greetings cards that can be customised for birthdays or any other occasion.  Perfect!

Pretty Bags

Slightly difficult to pick out against the cluttered background, but I made these three pretty little gift bags from scraps on my table.

Bonus! As well as wrapping gifts for my friend, it also helped with the tidying that I needed to to (you know, when your study / sewing room is also your spare room, so surfaces have to be actually cleared for a while!).

I love the look of a tumble of pretty bags like this!