Table Scraps Challenge - October 2022

This month's Table Scraps Challenge prompts were lime/light green and joy, however you may wish to interpret that. 

I had some pieces of pinkish-purple and green batik fabrics which had already been sewn together into strips (see them in the middle of the left-hand side of the photo below).  These were part of the thrift store haul of batik fabrics a few months back.

I had enough of the strip sets to make something small.  I followed a fun tutorial from Connie Kresin's blog, Freemotion by the River, called Hidden Wells.  By sewing a couple of strip sets together and cutting them into squares, then sewing those together per the tutorial, I made this cute little table topper.

Mine turned out about 20-1/2 inches square (my starting squares were a bit smaller than 8-1/2 inches, more like 8-1/4). I had juuust enough strips to squeak this out, which was great!  

The joy part is the fun of making things like this; also, I'm finding a lot of joy in the fall season and the beautiful colors we've enjoyed over the past few weeks. 

 

We found these cool ginkgo leaves on a walk through the park. I loved watching them turn from lime green to greenish-yellow-brown in the space of a few days. 

I was tempted to try to applique some ginkgo shaped leaves onto this table topper but decided to save that idea for another time.

The back (above) is pieced from more batik strip scraps and another piece of fabric. That side maybe looks more fall-like.  Flip a coin—or flip sides—I like both! 

Linking to:  The Joyful Quilter-Table Scraps Challenge

~Paulette 

Table Scraps Challenge - September 2022

I'm back with a Table Scraps Challenge item, after having missed July and August's challenges.  

September's prompt was PUMPKIN along with LIGHT BLUE as the RSC color of the month.

I've been working on some secret holiday gift sewing that I can't talk about without spoiling the surprise.  However, from working on that came an idea for this month's Table Scraps Challenge.

I took a light blue gingham check fabric and cut a tea towel from it, which I then edged in a scrap of fabric left over from a fat quarter.  I had to piece the edge strip together, but it blends in.

Then I cut some applique shapes from other scraps for the pumpkin and fused those pieces down and then zigzagged around them.

Finished with a loopy vine in a running stitch with dark green pearl cotton thread.

Quick and easy!

Linking to:  The Joyful Quilter: September 2022 Table Scraps Challenge Link Party

~Paulette

Table Scraps Challenge - June 2022

The idea for my take on this month's Table Scraps Challenge came from a Facebook friend who was making these and shared the link to the YouTube tutorial with me, and also necessity.  

See, we had just replaced our old Corelle dinnerware with new stuff, and I don't know why but the new bowls get HOT in the microwave!  I don't know about you, but I'd like to start my day without burning my fingers on a freshly-nuked bowl of oatmeal, thank you very much.

Bowl Koozie tute to the rescue!  Although for the rest of this post, I am going to call it a cozy because I am old and crotchety that way.  Also, if you're interested in the difference between Koozie, Cozy, and Kozy (like I was), have a listen to the explanation here. 

Word nerdiness aside, this really was an easy to follow tutorial and my first attempt came out fine.  I didn't have much in the way of 100% cotton batting scraps, so I used an 80/20 scrap on half of it.  Since I don't intend to microwave the cozy itself, it should be okay.

(Second bowl cozy with thrifted striped shirt interior)

For the second cozy, I did make a trip to Joann for some Wrap & Zap batting, which is made for projects like this.  It struck me as odd that a package of 100% cotton Wrap & Zap was half the price of the same size package of Warm & Natural 100% cotton batting, and it basically looks like the same stuff (and made by the same company).  But that's neither here nor there, just interesting to note.

Both cozies are BLUE and have STRIPES, which were the two prompts for June's challenge.  No matter that they match nothing in my kitchen decor (seasonal runner aside), but white bowls go with anything, so there's that.  Also, they do coordinate well with the blueberries that adorn my morning oatmeal every day. :)

So that's the Table Scraps Challenge checked off for this month.  Before you go, though, I thought I'd show you another BLUE/STRIPE score this month.  

I've been pretty lucky at the thrift store lately, and more on that in future posts.  For now, I'll show you one item I was super excited about.  

I had just changed out my comforter set for this one (not my bedroom...I wish):

(Image source: Kohls.com)

I just love that it's airy and kind of beachy looking, and it's lightweight enough to throw off and on multiple times a night when the hotness flashes, lol.  I didn't have any wall decor to match when I bought the comforter, though, so when I spied this triple-matted piece of wall art at Goodwill a week or so later, I practically jumped for joy!  On the inside, of course; in the store, that would have been weird.

Here it is on the bedroom wall.  Perfect, no?

Hope you're having a great day!

I'm linking to The Joyful Quilter: June 2022 Table Scraps Challenge.

~Paulette

Table Scraps Challenge - May 2022

This month's Table Scraps Challenge prompts were "sage/forest green" and "square."

I thought I had a lot of sage green scraps, but it turned out, not so much.  Enough for a couple log cabin blocks, but not much more than that.  

So I switched to forest green, or close enough, for the other two blocks.  I didn't want a stark contrast between the sage and the other greens, so my interpretation of forest green gravitates toward the medium dark vs. deep dark range.

Together the four blocks made a nice square table runner.  And, of course, it all starts with a little red square and builds outward.  

Some of those fabrics have square bits too.  Squares covered!

Linking to the Table Scraps Challenge May Link Party at The Joyful Quilter.

~Paulette

Table Scraps Challenge - April 2022

I missed the March Table Scraps Challenge.  Among other things, I was trying to get over a GI flare (which is probably TMI already) and needed to make a concentrated effort to get a handle on my diet.  I think I finally figured out that tomatoes and peppers are an issue for me, so I stopped eating them.  Things improved, and I'm grateful for that, but I won't lie what a bummer it is to give up ketchup and chili and pasta sauce and tacos and enchiladas, and the list goes on.  I decided to cut out sugar too, because I know too much of it does my digestive system no good, and I'd gotten into a habit of baking treats a little too regularly.  So all of that took up some mental and physical bandwidth, and blogging fell by the wayside.

But I've adjusted now to the new normal, and hey, it's spring!  Or so they say, because it's been a long, cool one here in the Upper Midwest.  I can't wait for warmer weather and flowers (any day now, Mother Nature?).  So in addition to the Table Scraps Challenge brief of "pink" and "words" for the month of April, I added my own challenge to create something with flowers.

I was thinking I'd make some kind of tulip block into a little table mat, but nothing really inspired me yesterday when I sat down to the task in the sewing room.  I switched to sorting through my pink scraps instead when, lo and behold, a tiny square of fabric sifted through my fingertips.  Hello inspiration!

I decided to applique an improvisational string-pieced flower on a string-pieced background of pink.  For the flower, I pulled all the wordy fabrics I could find, which was not many, but I sewed up a big enough slab to cut out not one but two flowers.

A little bit of jumbo rickrack and some kind of stabilizer strip from the box of trim became other parts of the flowers.  Finally, they seemed to need some kind of foliage, so I pulled out a black and white polka dot scrap and freehand cut a couple of leaves.  Everything got fused down and edge-stitched.

I went with a wavy stitch pattern on my machine for the quilting.  I didn't consciously plan for it to mirror the curves of the rickrack, but it kind of turned out that way.  Serendipity!

I found a black 2-inch strip of fabric with what I think is Japanese lettering on it (but I could be wrong), which sufficed for the binding.  

And there you have it!  It's about 12 inches square and will probably go on my nightstand.

Linking to the April 2022 Table Scraps Challenge at The Joyful Quilter.

~Paulette

Table Scraps Challenge - February 2022

This month's Table Scraps Challenge prompt was IMPROV.  So I used a pattern.

Ha ha!

No, really.  My table topper for February had a Valentine's theme, because, well, it was that time of year and I wanted a cute heart-shaped topper.  Enter the free "Be Still My Heart" pattern by Quilt Jane.  Mission accomplished.

I did not expect the roses, but the hubs came through, and they were beautiful together.

But I did make some scrappy roses at the end of January (see this post), so maybe I was on top of it after all.

They haven't turned into anything finished yet, but I see the prompt for March is FLOWERS.  So maybe I'll get it together, with both improv and flowers, by the end of next month.

Linking to The Joyful Quilter's Table Scraps Challenge.

~Paulette

Table Scraps Challenge - January 2022

"In the meadow we can build a snowman..."  

The prompt for this month's table scraps challenge was snowman.  As you'll see, I went at it from a less literal angle and more from the potential for a snowman. 

I had in mind to use the leftovers from my Plaid Peaks baby quilt from 2020.  Right after I finished that quilt, I took the plaid shirt scraps and sewed them together and then cut them into random triangle shapes.

My thought at the time, per the parting words of that 2020 post, was:  "I envision a mini-quilt where these little 'trees' are appliqued on a background.  Maybe a winter theme of some kind."

Enter January's Table Scraps Challenge, which provided the perfect excuse to do just that.

But incorporating the snowman prompt gave me pause.  A slight shift in perspective, to that of a place where you could build a snowman, did the trick for me.  I was reminded of the line from one of my favorite holiday tunes, "Winter Wonderland."

"In the meadow we can build a snowman..."  

Kind of like the line in Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come."  Okay, maybe that's a stretch.  We're not talking zombie snowmen here.

Anyway, I'll set the scene, I thought.  Snowy field, starry sky, a patch of pines.  You get the picture.

And then...I saw a red plaid scrap in the drawer.  A lost scarf, perhaps?  Why yes, the perfect accessory for a potential snowman.

Which my husband thought was a worm when I showed him the finished runner.  A worm!?

Suddenly, one questions one's design choices.

Ah well, I thought it was whimsical.  Maybe it'll stay, or maybe it'll blow away?

Details:  Fused and machine appliqued on a snow/sky curve-pieced background; wavy line quilted in Sulky "Holoshimmer" thread; trees and binding from thrifted plaid shirts; measures about 14-1/2 x 30 inches.

Linking to:  The Joyful Quilter - January 2022 Table Scraps Challenge

~Paulette 

Table Scraps Challenge - December

I'm glad the deadline was extended for linking up our December Table Scraps Challenge entries, because mine was a Christmas gift I couldn't reveal until after the holidays.  Now that it's been gifted and received, I can show you how it turned out.

I can't remember whether I saw the idea for this table runner in a previous Table Scraps Challenge link by a fellow blogger, but however it happened, I fell in love with it at first sight.  There was a link to the pattern and I bought it right away.  The pattern is called Novella by Sew Preeti Quilts, and you can find it HERE.

My daughter and her boyfriend have two dear cats, and I thought they might really like something like this.  One Christmas gift down, check!

I pulled scraps and other fabric from my stash, and the batting was a scrap from the off-cuts of a recent quilt.  I loved the pattern's original color scheme so I felt fortunate to have what I needed on hand to stay pretty close to it.

Now, do I tell you I made a little boo-boo in assembly or not?  I guess I just did, but I'm not going to fess up to any more than that, because it really did not seem to matter one bit.  

This makes a nice long table runner or wall hanging, however you want to use it.  Before I wrapped it, I tacked it up in my kitchen for photos, and I have to say it looks pretty nice in that spot.  I may have to make another for me to keep!

Linking to The Joyful Quilter's December Table Scraps Challenge.

~Paulette

Table Scraps Challenge - October

I've got a fun one for this month's Table Scraps Challenge!  Follow the yellow brick road...

I wanted to use some of the cute Wizard of Oz fabrics given to me in big scrap donation from one of my daughter's coworkers.  They were so cute, but what to do, what to do?  There was not enough for a quilt, but how about a table topper? 

This was right about the time I was thinking about making some scrappy string Hole In the Barn Door blocks, so I used that idea to make a larger size block for this table topper.

I originally thought I might string-piece the vertical and horizontal parts of the block that surround the center square from black and white fabrics, a la Wicked Witch stockings.  But then I found an interesting art deco-ish looking fat quarter in the stash that reminded me of Emerald City architecture (in my mind's eye, anyway), so I went with that.  So glad I did! 

I added some black corner triangles to the center square for a little more focus and sort of a scrapbook effect.  

For the backing, I had a gingham fabric that was reminiscent of Dorothy's dress.  Then I straight-line quilted the block in a crosshatch pattern.

The binding is from a fat quarter of the same line as the other art deco-ish print.  So is the background fabric, come to think of it.

It finished at 18-1/2 inches square, a nice size for the pub style table in the kitchen.

Linking to The Joyful Quilter's Table Scraps Challenge October Link Party!

Table Scraps Challenge - September

I've missed a few of the Table Scraps Challenge, but I'm getting back on board this month.  A couple days ago, I put on my quilting gloves for the first time since my finger surgery in early July.  Yay!  

I did a little practicing on a scrappy piece that will probably become a doll quilt.  Just some easy loopy free motion quilting, but boy, was I rusty.  (I'm going to use my oddball gray binding scraps, which I was auditioning in the photo below.)

I had another practice piece sitting on my sewing table from an orphan block.  It's actually the first test Four-Lily Block I made way back in 2012.  Earlier this year, I had come across the block in the orphan box and decided to sandwich it together as a practice pad to test the stitch tension on my machine.  So one of the petals was quilted (happily, the tension was fine), but the rest of it was not.

Hmm...why not finish quilting the block to practice my rusty quilting, and then (provided it doesn't turn out to be a total piece of garbage) bind it and make a little table mat?  It sounded like a plan.

Here it is after quilting and trimming.  Size is about 16-1/2 inches square.

I think I tend to do better quilting smaller things, maybe because it feels like I have more control over the area when I'm not wrestling extra fabric.  At any rate, it was good practice.

I bound it in a pumpkin colored solid fabric to play up the brown and orange bits in the flowers.

Here's a view of the quilting from the back.

So that's how my September table mat came to be.  It will go on a small table in my bedroom.

Linking to the Table Scraps Challenge link party at The Joyful Quilter.