Nifty New Pincushion / My Strip Quilt!

I got a new book from the library the other day and was pleasantly surprised by some of the projects inside. The book is called "Elegant Linens - 26 Projects for Creating Your Own Luxurious Linens" by Chippy Irvine. This project really struck me as cute (pretty easy too) and I decided to have a whirl at it.

Basically you cut out a shape twice in cardboard, set it on a flannel and trace it out, then on a fabric and trace that out. One layer at a time you secure the fabric/flannel to the cardboard. Once you have both cardboard pieces covered in flannel and fabric you sandwich them together and use tiny overcast stitches to secure it together.

Being the recycler that I am I used cardboard from a beverage 24 pack! Haha.

I didn't take any pictures mid construction (I don't know why..) but this is my finished pincushion! Cute, functional and ready for use. These would have been a great stocking stuffer for my family members who sew. Next year I guess!

Now don't everyone go and start thinking that I forgot about the quilt I started. I am still working on it (I have never made  full size before and gee it takes a long time!).

Here I have strips to be sewn together.

And MORE strips to sewn together.

And EVEN MORE strips to be sewn together. Slow going but I am well on my way! There are realy only 52 strips of strips so it's not THAT bad..... Either way it will be done by the time it is picnic season.

The CraZY String Quilt Project!

    So I have a LOT of fabric in my stash. I mean A LOT. I get fabric from thrift stores, family members, old clothes, the Reuse Centre, stores, everywhere basically. So I have been thinking for a while that I really wanted to make a quilt for use when we go out for picnics. When I was a child we had this heavy old quilt that had been made by my dad's mum. It was four layers of fabric scraps (no batting) pieced together and then tied with yarn. Most (if not all) of the fabric was from old clothes or other worn out items. We used it for everything: picnincs, playing in the sand, sleeping with, etc. By no means was it a perfect quilt but I think that is what gave it so much character. Well today I was online checking out some different string quilt pictures and I was getting frustrated with what I was seeing UNTIL I found this post on Lazy Gal Quilting.

This picture appears on her blog and is an example of a string quilt made during the depression era. It really reminded me a lot of the quilt my grandma made. No set pattern, no typical "quilt" look. I had been planning on making a quilt with my fabric but felt that I didn't want it to look like a typical "country quilt". Well this particular post really gave me the inspiration I needed to begin this project and I am super excited about it! Check out the post if you want, perhaps you will be inspired as well!

Lazy Gal Quilting - The No-Quilt-Police Quilt Show

Stay tuned for pictures of my own quilt once it is underway!!!