Upcycling

Upcycling is reusing discarded items in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original. Well, I decided to upcycle my "Addicted to Scraps" test blocks by making them into hot pads!  Some of the blocks were only 6.5" so I added a border around the block to bring them up to 9 inches which is a good size for a hot pad.

Although I was not fond of trying to match up triangle points in the Ceiling Fan block from Quiltmaker Jan/Feb 2013, they sure do make cute hot pads. Quilt in the ditch around the center pinwheel and along the border strip, then bind. My hot pads use one layer of Insul-Brite and one batting layer between the backing and top. Some of my earlier hot pads used batting above and below Insul-Brite, but it sure does make a thick sandwich and is a bit hard to bind. Now I use the batting just below the top.  

The little stars baby quilt is finished - binding and all. This was a great way to use up scraps and reminisce about each fabric used in my other quilts. You might say this was another upcycle project, turning scraps into something pretty and useful.

In my effort to resist starting another quilt project (one quilter calls this a quilt diet LOL), I am working on hot pads and tissue holders as small Christmas presents. I am also assembling RSC18 blocks. In my last post I had considered an on-point setting. Nope, not for me. And I really didn't want to make any more blocks. So straight set it will be.  This week I began the process of assembling the sashing and hoping that my cat stops trying to rearrange the blocks before I finish the process.

Do you surf the web and find quilts or blocks that pique your interest? I do it all the time! I need to quit because I have so many quilts on my wish list, more than I could ever make in my lifetime. Last week I found an old Quilt magazine (not sure of the date) and saw the neatest trick in making the Gretchen block. The tutorial can be found "here".  Cath at wombatquilts has a pretty orange and blue version "here".

Are you planning to join thousands of quilters participating in Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune mystery quilt?  I am considering making a small version. The bright crayon colors she announced are ones I keep in my stash anyway, so I am not planning to venture out into other shades. Click on "Good Fortune" to reach her page.

On a higher note, the weather was supremely nice last weekend, so I finally got some time up in my airplane again. My hubby and I spent nearly two hours buzzing around the area and landing at a couple airports I had never visited before. <sigh>  It was awesome to be back up in the air!

Royal Morning

Like nearly every woman around the world, I watched the royal wedding this morning. Lady Di's baby boy got married!  I still remember the incredible wedding of Lady Diana and Prince Charles, and yes, Prince William and Kate's wedding where her sister Pippa got so much attention. Today Harry and Meghan had their own gorgeous wedding, filled with touching moments and surprising aspects.  A gospel choir? Wow!  And I definitely enjoyed the musical interludes such as that 19-year-old who played cello after the vows were exchanged. I cried right along with Meghan's mother, imagining my own little girl in her future wedding. Great pics in this article.

Then after doing some housecleaning chores, it was time to sew.  I finished the cutest little baby quilt made solely from my stash. Each square has a story and most of these fabrics are in other quilts I have made or play clothes made for my little girl (who is now 21 - lol).  Pattern is a tutorial from, fittingly, Wedding Dress Blue.

On a higher note, my hubby and I flew my little airplane to Savannah last Saturday. We had a great time walking around the historical district. The night before our flight, we watched "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" for another perspective on Savannah. Of course, we had to walk through Chippewa Square, the park featured in "Forrest Gump".  And a Forrest lookalike was sitting on a park bench as we walked by.  We saw Juliette Gordon Low's house, the Mercer Williams house from "Midnight...", and the Owens-Thomas house. No we did not tour any of them because the entrance fees were way too high.  After lunch we walked by the water for a bit then drove around the old Bonaventure Cemetery and Forsythe Square.  Soon it was time to head back to the airport.  Late afternoon rain showers delayed our departure a bit.  That's what happens when flying in the summer time.  Once up in the air, we passed a dark storm cell which I later found out dropped large hailstones in Augusta, Georgia.  As we lined up with the runway at home, we were greeted with this lovely rainbow.