ScrapHappy October

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

Well, you’ve all seen that the quilt now known as Delft has taken off. So I’m no longer even slightly pretending it’s a scrappy project, since several new and gorgeous bits of fabric were purchased to bring it more beautifully to life.

But that doesn’t mean I have nothing scrappy in the pipeline. This is me, after all. I have made a start on cutting pieces of Days for Girls scrap into useful 2½ inch strips of various lengths. This is going to be a strippy quilt for their next fundraising raffle. The size is carefully chosen to make good use of the pieces I couldn’t use on previous quilts because I’d selected a square size that was too large. No waste, see? It’ll be a simple square lap quilt, with the strip direction in each quadrant running alternately horizontally and vertically. Basketweave, in other words. It’ll be quick and colourful. Exactly what’s needed, and cutting the strips is equally quick and easy, so a nice stress-free project. I don’t entirely rule out some embellishment once the main thing is done, but don’t hold me to it!

Also in the pipeline is a second repair to my friend Sally’s favourite shirt. It’s old, it’s gorgeous, it’s gently and gradually falling apart, and I’m doing my best to mend it without disrespecting its original beauty. This is a scrappy job because the spot fabric I’m pinning to the front yoke to hide the fraying shoulder seam is a scrap from the Delft quilt, and it also matches the original back yoke repair I did in the same fabric some time ago. Sally is thrilled she’ll get a little more life out of it. I hope she’ll let me have whatever remains once it finally gives up the ghost for my scrap collection…

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at). This is an updated list, so ScrapHappy members, please check it against the one you post.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jill, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol,
Preeti, Debbierose, Nóilin and Viv

ScrapHappy September

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

I’m in the midst of hand quilting Anemone, so was reluctant to start another biggish project which would need the same cutting table I’m currently working on. So instead, I’ve made more scrappy hexie flowers for the blue and pink (as yet unnamed) hexie quilt I started on holiday. These flowers are truly scrappy, being made from an assortment of dark blue leftovers, and the pink gingham centres are leftovers from the most recent Days for Girls quilt. The papers themselves are on their third re-use, so I think that probably counts too…

So, not a very impressive showing, not like last month, but it’s representative of the time I was able to divert to it this month. Next month may indeed be more of the same, I’m only about 12% of the way through the hand quilting, but seem to be able to get 2-3 rows done a day. Maybe, just maybe, there may be scrappy coat progress next time. I make no promises…

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at). This is an updated list, so ScrapHappy members, please check it against the one you post. And a warm welcome to our newest member, Nóilin!

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jill, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol,
Preeti, Debbierose, Nóilin and Viv

ScrapHappy August

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

All plans have gone out of the window temporarily. The Husband and I are both laid low with an extremely nasty cold (all RAT tests so far are negative), and things we should/want to get done are falling by the wayside. The dog is being fed and walked, the chickens are cared for, there’s food… and that’s about it. So no coat. Again.

But I had already started this. It’s another car quilt for doggo, made entirely from scrap or recycled materials. As you can see, the top is made from the Husband’s old hi-vis work shirts. The batting is discarded spill kit batting, the back is bits of unwanted fabric scrap, the binding is made of ends of jelly roll strips from many, many projects. And stitching down binding is something you can do quite well even with a stinking cold.

In fact, while I was at it, I made a very long binding strip from ALL the unwanted jelly roll scraps I had, so there’s still a fair bit left over for some future scrappy quilty item.

And I’d like to point out that very handsome label which my friend Lyn made to test out her new embroidery machine. Mouse feels it adds that certain je ne sais quoi to make his quilt even more exclusive and hard to steal. Because of course every other doggo will want it…

On top of that, doggo has a pillow in the back, under which he likes to bury his face on long trips, the better to snooze in the dark, I suppose. By a lucky chance, the width of the Husband’s work shirts is exactly the width of a pillowcase, so with two passes of the serger/overlocker, I could make a nice matching cushion cover. Buttoned opening right there in the middle.Tidy!

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at). Please note that Bekki has decided to concentrate on other projects and is leaving the group, so please remove her from your list of participants. The updated list is as shown below.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose and Viv

 

 

ScrapHappy July

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

No progress on the coat I mentioned last month, as I’ve been busy with the Ovarian Cancer quilt I need to have ready by the end of July. However, I did manage to make something scrappy!

I needed another bench mat to alternate with the grey and white one I made earlier. That one’s now liberally stained with tea, coffee, pasta sauce, sriracha, orange juice…. well, you get the idea. It still works well, but it’s also good to have a replacement to alternate with.

I cut strings off the edges of most of the fabrics I use. It’s rare that I don’t have at least an inch of waste fabric at the end once I’ve finished cutting. I collect these strings in a bucket with my other scraps, and today, it was time to do something with them! I have a stack of batting scrap too, so I made up a piece with batting tape, and some random scraps of black and white fabric I pieced for the backing. The binding is leftover bits of jelly roll strips from earlier quilts.

So now, I have a bench mat and an empty strings bucket! Result.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at).

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose and Viv

See you next time for more scrappy loveliness.

ScrapHappy May: Sorry, it’s rather teal…

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

This month’s scrappiness is looking distinctly teal. Mainly because I’ve been gobbling up my teal scraps to make blocks for the latest Ovarian Cancer quilt. There’s another block done, but I’m not showing it because it’s not totally scrappy, even if it is totally teal-y 😊  I’ll probably show it in a few days together with the next batch of blocks.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at).

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose and Viv

See you next time for more scrappy loveliness.

ScrapHappy April

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

This month’s scrappiness is for the benefit of one of Mouse’s new friends. We met a new greyhound family in Townsville on our last trip, who had sadly lost their darling doggo, and were waiting to adopt a new one. Well, Miss Libby is now home and becoming accustomed to getting spoiled rotten, so Mouse suggested to me that he’d like to send her a Welcome Home gift. Your wish is my command, O Master. He feels that all greyhounds would welcome a nice cushion cover to lean on, especially if it features a portrait…

I did the usual, manipulated a photo, reversed the image and printed it on transfer paper, together with her name. I then ironed the transfer on a scrap of white fabric (this was sheeting left over from making the caravan bunk sheets). Around the central image of Libby I made a ‘piano key’ border of pink and black & white scraps to pick out the colours in the photo. The pillowcase back is a remnant from the Anemone quilt I still haven’t got round to hand-quilting. The binding is scraps from both the Floribunda quilt and the Lullaby baby quilts.

I hope that Miss Libby will find this offering acceptable, and that her new human sister Lucy will enjoy it too.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at).

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose and Viv

See you next time for more scrappy loveliness.

ScrapHappy March

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

Today, my scrappiness is tied in to the Tyger quilt I’ve been making recently. It needed another row to make it the ‘right’ length to my eye, but as a medallion format based around a square, the pattern couldn’t easily be stretched. So I decided to add 5 more scrappy blocks made from fabric leftovers and other small scraps I already had. Here’s the line-up!  I’m pretty pleased with the blocks, but you’ll have to wait till my next Tyger post to see how they worked with the whole thing.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at). Today we welcome a new member – click on the final link and hop over to say hello to Viv!

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose and Viv

See you next time for more scrappy loveliness.

ScrapHappy February

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

Hopscotch is finally done. I won’t bore you with yet another photo of the whole quilt, especially as you saw it mostly done yesterday. Instead, I’ll show you a fragment of it, as evidence that the binding is on and done. It is a big relief to cross the line at last and be able to fold and put it aside, clear the decks and pick all the loose threads off my design wall! I’m looking forward to starting the next couple of projects.

Going forward, I’ll hopefully be producing a bunch of smaller items from scraps. Because of The Rona, the DfG group is not meeting at present, which means that the kits are not being produced – or at least, not in anything like the same quantities – and scraps are therefore not being generated as fast. At this rate, I might actually be able to catch up on the supply! The items I make will go into a raffle at some stage, to raise funds for the Days for Girls cause, and a good thing too. It’s nice to feel that my urge to make stuff from scraps is actually doing some good in the world.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at).

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose

See you next time for more scrappy loveliness.

ScrapHappy January

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

It’s only a small one this month, as endless photos of blocks you’ve seen before, only quilted, are not interesting for anyone.

I love my local library, and my local librarian, Sally. She has boundless energy and enthusiasm for her job, and we share many tastes in books. I strolled in there the other day wearing one of my home made masks, since we’re back on mask wearing in any indoor setting due to Omnicrom. She admired it on sight, and while in any other situation, I’d have whipped it off, stuck it in its plastic bag and given it to her, obviously that’s not a good idea right now. So as I had enough scrap of the same fabric, and time, I got snipping and stitching and made her one for herself. She has a black uniform shirt, so I think it’ll add a cheerful note.

The Husband gets the disposable surgical masks from work, and I used a spare to dismantle it and use the elastic, nose wire and blue lining material to make Sally a triple layer mask. Outer as you see, inner made from a tightly woven batik, and the blue in the middle. These masks are washable, and when the strips holding the nose wire and elastics eventually disintegrate after too many washes, I can just run a ripper along the stitching, remove the old ones and replace with fresh wire and elastic. That hasn’t happened yet on any of the masks I’ve made for myself or the Husband, so maybe they’ll last us out. I like the pattern, as I can wear it for ages without discomfort and without my glasses fogging up.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at). Bear, your email address appears to be not working, so I wasn’t able to send you a reminder, sorry.  If you’ve changed it, can you please let me know?

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose

See you next time for more scrappy loveliness.

ScrapHappy December

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

This month, it’s something completely different. A while ago, I offered to test a tutorial written by the lovely Jill of Nice Piece of Work. She had created a really gorgeous necklace from fabric scraps and beads, and being the clever thing she is, realised it would be a popular, inexpensive and pretty easy thing for other people to make, hence the tutorial. Reader, I made it!

And it’s easy peasy and produces a really fab result which is going to be a Christmas present (you know who you are, you’ll just have to be patient!). I fiddled with things a bit: I made the necklace a bit longer. I made the beads a bit larger, and more of them. But it still worked just fine, because the idea is genius enough to permit that kind of tinkering and messing about. Also, every single piece of it is either a scrap or has been recycled from a previous item. Even the threads are leftovers. Just goes to show, scrappy can be not only fun and quirky but also lavishly gorgeous!

If you’re interested in making one yourself, head over to Jill’s Etsy shop where she is offering this tutorial as a pdf.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at). Please note that Esther has a large ongoing project at present and needs all her time for this, so she has withdrawn from ScrapHappy for the time being.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose

See you next time for more scrappy loveliness.