Sunday, July 21, 2013

Left Overs

Have you ever gotten up one morning, walked into your sewing room/space and realized that you had no new projects to work on...and had a few bits and pieces sitting around that you had always planned to do something with, but never got to it? 

Well, I had exactly that this morning.  I have not been sewing alot recently with all the moving I have been doing, but I finally had a weekend here in the Bay Area without significant commitments and a real desire to get back into sewing.

So in I went and sat looking at my table wondering what I should work on.  The thought of an entirely new project seemed to be beyond my mental abilities, but I still wanted to sew.  So I pondered and puttered and cleaned up the clutter on my sewing table.  When I finished doing all of that, I had sitting in front of me the same 5 wonky star blocks that I have been staring at for the last 8 months or so, wondering what to do with them when they didn't fit into the improvisitational piece that they originaly were destined to be incorporated into.  But they were in shades of aqua and orange that I have moved away from...

I couldn't throw them away - they were way to cute.  As I sat at the table this morning, I decided I would challenge myself to make something great with these little blocks using only my stash and what I had in my closets (that included pillow forms).  That's where the idea of Left Overs came from.  Turns out I have/had 4 pillow forms to choose from.  Two rather standard 18"/20"; one circle and one rectangle.  I chose the rectangle and took 3 of the stars and began to create a pillow.  Not that I need another pillow, but I thought for a gift it might be something fun to do with the end of my project.

I also decided that I would practice with an invisible zipper so that I would be comfortable in the future with invisible zippers.  I have sewn many an invisible zipper in the past, but always in clothing, not a pillow.  I used the zipper I had (white) and put it into the pillow. 

Just a few short hours later, I completed this:


 



I may need to work on the pillow to polish it up.  It's a bit too pointy towards the corners.  I don't want to be able to see the zipper (although the white zipper makes it rather obvious as a teaching/practice experience - if it were an appropriate color it wouldn't be visible).  Over all, I am happy with it.

I did learn an important lesson - seam ripping when you are working with shot cotton is problematic!  I hate seam ripping in the first place but shot cotton is so fine and so difficult to deal with, it was a little more problematic when I got to seam ripping. 

It was a fun opportunity to utilize something that I had already made and incorporate it into things from my stash.

Have you had this experience?  Do you look at some of your "little" pieces and wonder what you are going to do with them and then work on it at some point?  If so, what have you done with your "little bits"?  Think about Left Overs and let me know if the concept works for you.

Aaaaanyway, that's it from the Robertson household. 










8 comments:

  1. Your pillow looks great! Nice job on the zipper, and what a wonderful way to use up leftovers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kelly - this little pillow packs a powerful polka-dotty punch (hehehe - couldn't resist).

      Delete
  2. Gorgeous pillow! Great way to use scraps - I'm yet to make a scrap project so they just keep multiplying ;o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jess. It was actually fun to do this project and use 3 of the little blocks. They were really bugging me sitting on my work table. I highly recommend a left overs project.

      Delete
  3. I love the orange polka dots, Kathleen! Agree with you about the shot cottons... also it seems like you have to be kinda careful with steam when you iron, or they get weird tiny wrinkles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ruth - I had the lovely experience of steaming the shot cotton and getting some wrinkles also. It was truly a learning experience!

      Delete
  4. Love the pillow and good for you jumping in and making such a fun project that you didn't know you were going to when you woke up that day. I almost always end up with left overs either because I am terrible at quilt math or because I change my mind half way through. They reside in my overflowing UFO buckets. I think a linky party of Left Overs is a great idea for a virtual support group.

    ReplyDelete
  5. thanks Karen, I agree - a linky party of Left Overs would be fun!

    ReplyDelete

Followers

About Me

My photo
I'm a grandmother, a lawyer, a quilter, a cook and the human companion of Boo, the labradoodle. I am also a collector/hoarder and ultimate consumer of fabric. Can't resist touching and/or buying it! I also love sharing every day with my doodle. Please look at my work and let me know what you think. I plan to share my thoughts and experiences with you and hope you will do the same. Boo sends his tail wagging greetings to all. If you meet him, you will know exactly what I mean!