The quilt that keeps on giving

Do you remember my crazy quilt? The one I finished at the end of 2017?

I am not sure if I mentioned it before but at the time, I cut way more fabric pieces than I needed because I wanted there to be a good colour balance to the end. I just knew that cutting exactly the right number would result in one corner being all the remaining unloved browns.... (so much for random picking).

Not wanting to waste the surplus fabric strips, I made six gorgeous placemats for my mum's Christmas. This was Christmas before last. I was still left with a small bag of strips and I thought I'd make placemats for us, too. Then I thought placemats are a bit of a pain for big families with messy children. They need washing and quite possibly pressing. Neither appealed and the small bag of strips was put in a box.

A few months ago, my tummy cushion cover started to look a bit shabby. Then it started to fall apart and I decided it was time to make a new cover. I mulled this over for a few weeks, rummaged through my fabric scraps and rediscovered the bag of strips. Still, my motivation was minimal even though my cushion was now embarrassingly shabby. Never mind I thought, nobody ever sees it (it helps me sleep by keeping my spine in a comfortable position). Then, finally, last week I really needed a finish and decided to make something quick. I sewed the strips together one evening, and on Saturday I assembled the small blocks, ironed some fusible interfacing on the back side and "quilted" the pieces by machine. I found a zip that was just the right length. It didn't take long at all. The cushion is small, 30 x 30 cm. I am quite pleased with this. The cushion on my bed alongside the matching quilt is a bit like double jeans... but I can live with this.











With some of the remaining strips I made a small pencil bag. I inserted the zipper with tabs on either side. I don't know why I never did this before, it makes assembling the layers so much easier. I lined the zipper bag with remnants from a blouse I made last year. I should have probably top-stitched the zipper down to avoid the lining getting caught in the teeth but I didn't. I hope this pencil bag will help me keep track of pens and pencils. I usually throw one in my backpack and then end up losing them.

I have a two 3 inch blocks and few strips left. The strips are mostly brown and beige. I might just add these to the compost bin, browns are just not my thing. If you like to give them a home, please let me know, I'll pop them in an envelope for you. The strips are 3.5 x 1.5 inches. 

All in all quite a satisfying few hours of sewing. I forgot how nice it is to finish something quickly. All my current projects take weeks to months and I needed this near instant achievement. I have some hexagons left from my hexagon quilt. I think I am going to stitch this together into a square and make a nice new wash bag, maybe a boxy one.

Thanks for visiting xx