Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Beautiful mail treat

Look what arrived in my mailbox today:







Isn't it awesome?

It came from my blog-friend Anya. She has a tutorial on how to do this here. This is so fun and colorful and I am hanging it up in my office for inspiration! I love it. Thank you, Anya!


I am playing with scraps (sent by Jenny R.) and wanted to expound a little on the subject of the value of scraps. Indulge me please!

I love scraps. It is like a treasure-hunt when I receive a bundle. I enjoy plowing through to see the different colors and patterns I do not buy. Of course, if money were no object, I would try to buy them all, but, you know what I mean! So many beautiful fabrics, so little time and not enough storage!

Back on topic: I love scraps because I look a them (even my own!) as "free". I have explained it this way to my hubby: I buy a specific amount of fabrics for a particular project (and it is always better to have too much than not enough). I make my project and have scraps left over. Therefore, I "paid" for the fabrics for the project, but the left-overs I didn't pay for. FREE. And free gives me the courage I need to experiment. We need to experiment as part of the creative process, but, what if I lose my job and have to go without fabric? Anyway, the scraps liberate me from feeling what I am working on has to be perfect. I also love getting scraps (from my Mom and friends) because these are new fabrics to me and I get that delicious rush of creativity when I fondle new fabrics!

What have I made from scraps? Several quilts (I love the scrappy look!), handbags, little zipper bags, pillows. I have used scraps to create "quilt sandwiches" for practicing my free-motion quilting. And it takes a lot of practice for me! And I really like the fact that they are useful, and not going into a landfill. Do any of you have "scrap" projects?

3 comments:

Jenny said...

SO GLAD you are playing with the batik scraps. I am tinkering with the ones from you also!! I think I might try to combine some of them with a Moda Sweet charm pack I have!!
Can't wait to see what you come up with..

Betsy said...

I too enjoy working with scraps. Takes me out of my comfort zone when it comes to color. I love your selvage postcard.

Anya said...

Glad you liked the postcard, Kheli! I tried to reply to your comment on my blog, but your profile seems to be set on "no reply". Anyway, thanks again for the scrap box.

And yes, I love making things from scraps. I agree that the leftovers from projects are "free"!