Monthly Archives: July 2012

Quilt Scraps

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

I never throw a quilt fabric scrap away.  No matter the size, it goes in a box.  Mind you, if it’s a scrap I’ve trimmed while squaring up a block, that’s trash … or is it?  I have learned that birds like to take those really small scraps in the spring to make nests out of – so, I lay a very small pile of these scraps on the ground or deck for the birds to find.  What a lovely quilted nest!

But, I learned over time that many folks use quilt scraps for many different quilts or projects.  Scrappy quilts are always fun to see.  Selvedge quilts are amazing in their creativeness.  String quilts are great for strips of scraps.  Postage stamp quilts are usually made from many, many 2″ squares.  Miniature quilts, mug rugs and table toppers/runners use very little fabric and a lot of them are made from tiny 1″ squares.  There is very little waste in quilting, if you are of a mind to enjoy making scrappy projects. 

My rule of thumb is if it’s a piece of fabric that is less than 1″ square, it goes to the birds – literally!  For the other scraps, I have boxes on the floor at the end of my cutting table and I just drop the scraps into the appropriate box when I cut them off – 1″, 2″ or bigger and strings. 

So, don’t throw any fabric away!  If you do not have a use for scraps, sell them or give them away.  If you are having trouble getting rid of them, call up your local church or nursing home and see if they would like them.  Someone, somewhere would LOVE to make use of your quilt scraps!

Five Minutes in Utopia

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

I have seen the movie “Seven Days in Utopia” about five or six times.  After the first time, I realized I really didn’t LISTEN to it.  So, the next few times I watched it, I made sure to listen while I watched the movie.  It captivated me.  It spoke to me.  The ending?  Yeah, I didn’t like it one bit.  Not the first few times I watched the movie.  And then, it struck me.  The ending wasn’t what was important – just as the movie showed the game of golf wasn’t the be all, end all in life.

What is even more cool is that Utopia, Texas is less than an hour south of where we live.  For the last couple of weeks, we have driven through Utopia to take our middle daughter to Girl Scout camp.

I spotted the church that was in the movie the first time we drove through Utopia.  It is really a United Methodist church but in the movie it was portrayed as just a United Christian church:

The second time we drove through Utopia, I saw the cafe that was featured in the beginning of the movie, the Lost Maples Cafe (although I believe the sign in the movie was different than the actual sign on the cafe):

Although I never found the cemetery that was in the movie, my daughter did inform me that the river scene that was funny in the movie was filed at Camp La Jita, the Girl Scout camp on the Sabinal River where she has been volunteering for these last two weeks:

Utopia is close to home and although golf is not something I really care about, the movie isn’t really about golf.  It’s about life.  It’s about loving what you do enough to forget the win and remember the process to get there.  And it’s about giving your troubles to God.  What a profound and amazing movie.  And Utopia?  Definitely a great place to film this movie.  Because Utopia is not a dream – and neither is life.

Quilt Therapy Block a Day Table Runner Block 5

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

Block 5:  NOTE:  My cutting information will be based on the colors of the blocks shown.  Use your own cutting guides for the scrappy colors you choose.

  • Cut FIVE (5) 2 7/8″ squares of Peach
  • Cut FOUR (4) 2 7/8″ squares of Blue

Sew each row of the block together then sew the rows to each other to create a nine patch block.

Finishing Instructions

  • Cut FOUR (4) 1 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ strips for sashing
  • Cut enough 2″ x WOF fabric to sew together to create enough to bind your table runner

Always square up your blocks before you put them into a project.  Remember, the unfinished block size is 7 1/2″. 

Sew each block to a sashing strip, starting in the center and working out toward the ends.  Then, create a quilt sandwich with 100% cotton batting or Insul-Bright (both battings absorb the heat if you set hot dishes on your table runner) and backing – then quilt your table runner.  Finally trim the edges of your table runner and add the binding!

Congratulations!  You have just completed your Quilt Therapy Block a Day Table Runner!

Quilt Therapy Block a Day Table Runner Block 4

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

Block 4:  NOTE:  My cutting information will be based on the colors of the blocks shown.  Use your own cutting guides for the scrappy colors you choose.

  • Cut FOUR (4) 2 1/4″ squares from Pink
  • Cut FOUR (4) 2 1/4″ squares from Green
  • Cut FOUR (4) 2 1/4″ x 4″ strips from Purple

Sew the center four patch together as you did the previous four patch blocks, then sew TWO (2) Purple strips to each side of the four patch center.  Sew the top and bottom rows together with the Green and Pink squares and the Purple strip.  Finally, sew these last two strips to the top and bottom of the center row.

Block 5 and Finishing Instructions Tomorrow!