ScrapHappy January 2024

 December was apparently a 'blue mood' month because all my scrap sewing was done with fabrics I pulled out of the Dk blue scrap bag when I needed to do something that didn't require a lot of thinking.  

First up was this walker bag that I'd been commissioned to make for a friends 91 year-old dad.  Made w/o a pattern, but based on approximate measurements that she gave me and how I normally make my bags.   This finished at approximately 12" square and 2 inches wide.   It has batting in it.   All fabrics were out of my scrap stash, lining was a remnant.   Straps for hanging were the cuffs I'd cut off of a shirt that I repurposed.

Front shown here, with the two outer pockets.

Back view of the bag.

While pulling the scraps for the walker bag I went through and pulled all of the short pieces, and those that were narrow or weren't prints that I hadn't used in forever to do string piecing on adding machine tape.  I measured the length in the strips shown in this picture and total pieced length is almost 960 inches.

These strips finished off all the oddball scraps, and there is between 350 and 400 inches in these.   I think I might have enough for a couple of quilts....lol.

Still to be done is to trim these strips down to a consistent 3" or 3.5" width and figure out what I want to do with them.  I do have an idea for these, but need to do some sketching to see how things would look before sewing.

I've also gone through the light blue and teal/turquoise blue scraps and pulled out the small scraps and strips.   And they are now sew together now. 

Don't forget to check out what everyone has done this month - 

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa, 
Lynn, Tierney and Hannah

Gratitudes:
1. For the house I inherited, even though the more I deal with things in the house, the more my plans on what I need to do to be able to live there change.   Good to learn to flexibility in planning!

2. For the blessing of friends who have helped so much in working on the house.

New beginnings.....

Several new projects are either in progress or have fabric pulled for them.

First new project in progress is the purse that I need to make myself.  The exterior pockets are made and attached to the sides of the purse.  The top of the zippered pocket came out crooked, but it'll work and it's for me.   So I'm not going to worry about it.   This is the pocket where I'll keep my pens.  Also done is the upper pocket where I can slip papers into.  This needs to be done by the trip to the wedding.

Had to run to Joann's this past Friday to get fabric for a skirt for the wedding I'm headed to in a 12 days.

And I found a remnant this fabric in the remnant bin.  I thought the print would be perfect for some passport wallets.   I'll use it for the outer fabric and then make the lining, binding and pockets our of a coordinating print.  Will put them up for sale once finished.

These two fabrics are what I'll be using for the next commissioned passport wallet.  Outer fabric is the frogs, lining and binding the polka dots.  Polka dots was a remnant that I found and that happened to be perfect for this project because my customer loves polka dots and loved the prototype wallet i made with the frogs.   The frog print was a remnant and scraps that I had from a long ago scrub top that I'd made several yrs ago.

Gratitudes:
1. Fabrics that inspire creativity.

2. For the knowledge that God will provide a house for me, after having to terminate the contract on the one I'd hoped to buy.

March Goals and Projects

This past week I've been able to finish up a couple of major projects both of which were goals for February.   Both my publication project and my wall hanging for the art quilt challenge are in the mail.   And the publication one has been received by the magazine safe and sound.  And I am now looking forward to the next projects on my horizon.

The next commissioned project is a set of 5 pillow covers for a friend in Phoenix using these fabrics.  The print will be the front, and the one on the left the backing for them.  I'm planning on making them in an envelope style with a button closure to hold them closed.   And that way she can use them on either side.

I also have two more potholders to make for the current commission in the works, but am waiting for the needed fabric to arrive in the mail sometime this week.   Hoping to get those finished up this weekend.  Also potential is a commission for 8 more fruit pie/cobbler potholders.  Need to check if those are going to be wanted or not.

Next up is a project for myself - yes wonders never cease....lol.   I need to make myself a new purse (well actually I've needed one for about a year now) because the tote I had been using has a broken strap.   So my need just became urgent.   This is needed before I leave for my niece's wedding the end of the month.

The main part of the new purse will be one of these two denims from my stash.  The one on the left is a tone-on-tone floral print, and the other one has polka dots on it.   Eventually I'll use both in a purse, but just need to decide which one to use first.

I'm going to use the messenger bag version in this Vogue pattern as a base for my purse.  I do plan to adapt it to what I want/need which means adding more pockets to it and maybe an internal divider.   Can you tell I like my purse organized?

I also plan to add pieced sections into the outside of the purse for added interest and probably will use either some of the batik or the fairy frost scraps that I have for this.  When i picked this up, I also bought a pattern that included a travel wallet (ie passport holder) that I'm considering making from some of my snail or kitty print fabric.

In both of them I will be using the RFID blocking fabric to add an extra layer of security since so many things now have chips in them.   The RFID fabric helps to block any one trying to scan cards to try to steal credit card numbers.   This will be the first time I'll have sewn with it, but I shouldn't have any problem with it.  I do plan to start adding it to my little bags and similar items that I make for sale.

This wall hanging also needs to be finished now that the shower has been held and the back signed.  Thankfully this isn't too big, so hopefully won't take me long to finish up this month.  (yes, that is first and middle name on the blocks)

And the final big project that I have for the month of March is to get the wedding quilt bound.   It is back from the quilter and waiting for me to bind and label it.  =) 

Oh and I still need to continue looking for a place to move to............sigh...........

Gratitudes:
1. The rain is supposed to be stopping for a few days so we might dry out some here in N. TX

2. My nieces wedding present is back from the quilter and ready to be bound and looks wonderful!  Now to get it bound.