Christmas Bear Quilt

 I have another finish for 2020.  
I was talking with a couple of my friends and we have been tossing around making quilts "together" from our respective homes.  

One of them suggested the Christmas bear quilt. 

 It was a kit from Moda.  

We all had it so I decided to work on it. 

 I got the top made while I was in Franklin, NC earlier this fall and shipped it home with a back and some batting to my LAQ. 

She quilted snowflakes all over it and I added the tassel to his hat. 

 LOVE IT!  

I could not decide who to gift this one to though. 

 I had an idea but hubby nixed it, so I figured out another plan that I think is a better one anyway. 

 We have the sweetest neighbors. 

 When we travel they take in our mail and watch our house and even mow the lawn.  

They have a 6 year old daughter that just LOVES us. 

 She asks her mom all the time when we are coming home. 

 So I gifted the quilt to Zoe and her family. 

Now she can have a big bear hug from us when we are away!

First time making a tassle.

I used one of my pre-printed labels and sewed it on with white thread. 

 I think I am going to have to order more labels for 2021.  

You can see in this photo that I used the same stitch to sew down the binding. 

 I like how this turned out and it certainly made sewing the binding on go MUCH more quickly.

I also finished a fleece dog bed/pillow. 

 Its filled up with nothing but unusable scraps and left over batting!

I usually hand these off to my son for his dog. 

Finn has 2 already but he really wanted to keep this one.

Too bad for him, my son has claimed it already!

I brought 3 projects with me to work on while I am here in NC for January.  
One is already cut out but I need to cut the other 2 out. 

More on those later.

What are your last finishes for 2020?

~XOP~

SCRAPS!

Not sure how you deal with scraps but I have been struggling to deal with mine lately.

One night it hit me.

Hubby likes us to "spend time together" at night.

This usually consists of him on the computer, the TV on and me bored.

So, I brought my scrap bin, mat, cutter and ruler downstairs a few nights ago.

I decided that I needed to cut my scraps into usable size squares or pieces.

I cut 2.5" and 3" squares, 1.5" wide strips and 5" charms.

If the pieces were larger I kept them.

If there were precious fabrics I just kept the small bits.

If I thought a small bit would work for paper piecing I kept it and put those in a bag.

Of course someone decided he needed to help me.

One of the other things I do with my scraps that are too small to use for anything 

is to make a pillow like this one.  

I buy half a yard (or so) of fleece and cut it in half. 

Sometimes it is just what I can find in the remnant section.

 Sew it like a pillow case and throw all the too small to use bits of fabric in there.  I

 also add scraps of batting that are too small to be useful. 

 Once the pillow is about 3/4 full I fold the edges under and stitch the opening closed.  

Voila! 

A floor pillow or pet bed or whatever you want!

 So far I have made three of these!

What do you do with your scraps?  

~XOP~

Use Your Scraps: A Tip

I only have a quick few minutes.  

I want to share with you something I do with the scraps I would otherwise discard.  

I buy half a yard of fleece and fold it in half RST.  

(You could use any size really, or a remnant)

I sew the two sides together to make it like a pillow case. 

 I put this in a plastic bin bottom to keep it stable, with the case opening at the top.  

Then, as I sew, and have trimmings, I drop these into the "pillow case".  

Eventually it fills up.  

I think mine take me about 6 months, with stuff I would otherwise throw away.  

Think, edges you square up, binding trimming, scraps you never want to see again, 

those to small to use and HST trimmings etc.  

Once it gets to the desired level of full, 

I turn the edges in on each other and zig zag the opening shut.  

This generates a great floor (or pet) pillow!

Here is mine.

I LOVE this idea.

This is my second pillow and my son has claimed them BOTH!

It was the perfect way for him to elevate his leg when he had the blood clot.

It did not squish down like a regular pillow would.

You could probably do a larger one if you wanted to also.

Or if you have a smaller pet a smaller one.

OK, so go forth and make all the pillows!

~XOP~