Sunday, May 20, 2018

Flannel Rag Quilt Update

I finally finished the second  flannel rag quilt using up my scraps.

I made one for my Mom from her winter MuMu's scraps. I was so excited to give it to her I forgot to get a picture.She is really happy with her quilt and uses it often.

 But I remembered to take a picture of mine. It isn't perfect,but that doesn't matter. It will be warm. I can't wait to use it next winter.



I've been diligently working toward making my stash smaller and working on UFO's.  It feels good to get things accomplished that have been in my UFO basket for a year or more. 

 A friend introduced me to another online group called Stashbusters. The group's purpose is to help you be accountable for using up your fabric and making good use with what you have. I love this  idea. Many of the members are part of a UFO challenge. My friend encouraged me to join. It has made a world of difference in how I see my bins of unfinished projects. I've been a member for a few weeks and have gotten three half finished projects completed!  One of my faults is that I want to learn new things and see a new pattern/technique and I drop the project I was working on to start something new. I have so many half completed projects it isn't funny.

I am trying to give myself some grace and keep plugging along. I don't allow myself to start any new patterns until I get a big chunk of work completed. I'm also trying really hard to not buy more fabric unless it is for a backing or batting. I've faltered once or twice and spent a little but they weren't big spends like they once were.  The other day I placed an order with Missouri Star Quilt Company. Tonight I canceled it. The more I thought about my purchase, the more I realized I should look through my fabric totes to see if I have something on hand instead of buying more.  As much as I would love that new fabric, it felt pretty good to cancel the order. Now I can put that money toward a bill or something useful for the house. My victories may be small but they still count as a victory!


Quilted Post Cards



 This spring, Patty from Elm Street Quilts hosted a quilted postcard swap.  I had never heard of quilted postcards and it intrigued me so I signed up.  I saw a pattern for a welcome sign in a magazine and hoped to make the regular sized version someday, but instead thought it might make a cute postcard for the swap. I got to work and came up with this:


I had so much fun making it so I had to make several of them. My card to swap went to a lady in France.Which in itself is very exciting. I so was honored to learn my 3 little birds card was  highlighted on her blog!


 I received this awesome card from my swap partner Meloney.


Isn't is amazing?  All those beautiful tiny triangle pieces! I love the bright colors and the scrappiness of it.  Can you find the teeny tiny bumble bee? We corresponded by email and she invited me to join an online group of postcard swappers.  I jumped at the opportunity to join and signed up for a few swaps. My first two swap themes were Blue Moon and Batik Beauty. 

Blue Moon Theme cards I have received

Made by Sheree
 Made by Dr Amy

 Made by Jeanette


  For my Blue Moon card, I used scraps I had and also switched up the tree fabric. It's not my favorite work, but I'm happy I made it. 


Batik Beauty theme card I recieved:

 Made by Shelli

Aren't they all awesome?!  I love each one. The tiny details in each card amaze me. I am so happy I joined this group. I know I will learn new things with each card I make and learn new techniques also.  

The Batik Beauty card I made was my first attempt at thread painting. I LOVE it! This was so much fun to make. I hope to thread paint more in the future.

 I am so happy I joined this group. I know I will learn new things with each card I make and learn new techniques also.