As of a few days ago, my sewing room had devolved into a horrible, horrible, worst-ever mess, mostly due to windrifts of scraps and rummage heaps of fabrics here, there, and everywhere. Not because I’ve engaged in a whirlwind of sewing so much as because sewing time has been limited and I haven’t wanted to use it on housekeeping. But with Mum’s jacket finally done I faced the chaos and admitted it was well past time to clean up.
Cleaning up, while it delivers the satisfaction of a tidy and welcoming space, isn’t the most thrilling of activities. So I decided to make it more interesting by challenging myself to make at least one mini-quilt out of the scraps on the sewing table, as I sorted through them and put them away. I made two. Both are 9″x12″ and were pieced “intuitively,” meaning I started by sewing a few scraps together in some way, and then considered how those pieces might play with each other and what else might want to get in on the fun. (“Else” being limited to fabrics that were laying around within reach, no further pulling from stash allowed.) Both incorporate end bits and a few unused 10″ squares from the jacket layer cake.
The one above is titled “Cucina” because it reminds me of a favorite restaurant from many years ago when I lived in NYC. I love how the long straight lines and framed squares are just a little bit wonky, and think I’ll play with this layout again with different prints/colors
This second one…
… began with a rectangular scrap of lavendar “Dahlias” fabric by Martha Negley, and some blue solid that was lying around. I cut the print scrap into two strips and tried to do a hole-in-the-sky kind of thing. I hadn’t planned it to look so 9-11-memorial-ish, but now that it does I’m okay with that. The landscapey bits at the bottom are all jacket leftovers. This one is titled “Portal I” and will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative. Not sure about “Cucina” yet… I might want to keep that one.
The rest of the scraps are all put away in bins now, and I’m keeping one of those bins under the sewing table where it’s within easy reach. These little projects are so quick and easy, and a nice antidote to all the big and slow projects in the WIP pile. It will be nice to take more “mini” breaks from time to time as I get the full-size quilts finished up, and if I’m going to send one mini to the AAQI, I might as well make a few more and send them an assortment.
{ 3 comments }
Love the mini quilts. I love making these small quilts for AAQI.
The jacket turned out beautifully. Your mom is going to love it.
As a big fan of mini quilts, I love these! Great idea about the AAQI – I need to do that too!
I love the mini quilts – I’m working on one now too; They are great breaks and fun too
I love boh of yours, especially the “hole in the sky”