Creative Life Sampler

  " What if today we were just grateful for everything?" Charlie Brown Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving!

Quilt Carrier Quilt Carrier- 18x24x7.5 inches Every time I tightly roll up a quilt to fit it in an old canvas bag so I can trot off to show & tell at a guild meeting, I wish I had something bigger for transporting my projects. So, I've finally done something about it! Most everyone has an old, well used quilt or bedspread lying around, threadbare, ripped. We had one that I just couldn't bring myself to add to the landfill; it was still good for padding. As I was cutting it up to wrap some items for storage, it occurred to me that it would also be great for batting. This is an old quilting tradition. Many a second quilt has been found in the center of vintage quilts.  And "upcycling," ("reusing discarded objects in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original," -  Webster) is really on trend right now.  I sincerely hope it never goes out of style!  Left: the old quilt, Middle: top fabric quilted in place on the used quilt...

The Potholder/Mug Rug/Trivet Once again my quilt guild has introduced me to something new, (well, new to me.)  Our challenge was to create potholders that would be gathered for an International Quilt Museum fundraiser. We each randomly drew crayons from a container to determine what colors we would use. I happened to get red and blue, and went for the obvious red, white and blue theme. Who doesn't enjoy holiday themed accents, right? The technique for this star was taken from Kaye Wood's Hexagon Star Project in Best of Fons & Porter: TableTop Quilts. And the guild provided squares of Pellon Insul-Fleece, a product that will "reflect heat or cold back to its source." Paired with one or two layers of batting to absorb moisture, this makes for a substantial and effective potholder, . . . or trivet, . . . or "mug rug".     Left: one of several products available  Right: layers- backing, batting, Insul-Fleece, batting, front Insul-Fleece can be found in the i...

 One Month Before Gift Giving 2021 Graduation gift    There is a little more than a month left before the flurry of December's activities prohibit handcrafting!!! Perhaps this is more a reminder to myself that to the readers of this blog. If I want to accomplish all the projects on my gift giving list, it is high time to get started! The pillow above was a graduation present, gifted earlier this year. It was reverse appliquéd, of course, and that was probably the most time consuming part of the project. (This blog post gives info on that technique:   https://creativelifesampler.blogspot.com/2021/10/basics-of-reverse-applique.html ) The thing that elevates any homemade project is attention to details. For instance, the piping on this pillow outlines the shape and gives it a professional finish. Ready made piping is usually available in the home decor section of your local fabric store, but if you are particular about an exact match, you can DIY (do it yourself.) ...