Sunday's Excursion

Scrap saving and grooming is a fun little activity for when I am unsure of what I want to do next. Last winter, my very dear internet friend, Nann, whose delightful blog link is here, sent me a huge mess of Civil War scraps. I use that word "mess" in the highest sense of the word, like when my Grampa Park Parkhill had caught "a fine mess of fish!"

I have fun pressing the more wrinkled ones and then figuring out just how to cut each into whatever shapes that I know I'll use. I like 2 1/2" strips, 2" strips, 2 1/2" squares, and 2" squares, (my postage stamps). When I have a generous trimming off a strip, that goes into the "Wanda box" for my dear friend Wanda. Smaller-than-2" pieces go into my crumb box for the Girl Scouts to make art collages. Threads and wisps go into the cotton fiber for a friend who makes animal beds by mixing the waste cotton fibers 50% with polyfil, so that it is fluffy and won't clump when washed by the shelter. Here is the shelf where the two inch postage stamps are temporarily stacked.

On a lower shelf, closer to my machine, are the stacks of 2 1/2" squares, always at the ready to be grabbed as a leader/ender.

I worked a few of these into four-patches yesterday and then pressed them.

My basket of two-ish inch strips has been in recent use making more log cabins. There are a nice variety of lights showing on top.

And no, I have not stopped making the Civil War scrappy log cabins just because the triplets baby quilts are done. I am thoroughly addicted to making these!

What makes them a ball to do is never knowing just what strip I'll get to use next! I drop the block face down over the face up strip as it goes through the machine and then finger-press and trim with scissors. Yes, they are a little wonky, but so am I, LOL!

Today when the sun broke through the week's worth of rain and clouds, I wanted to celebrate! I took myself on an adventure with no planning, just spur-of-the-moment and GO! An hour and 35 miles later, I was at Kathie's Quilt Shoppe in Sanford, Maine.

"Deborah" of Kathie's, helped me to pick out some neat stuff!

She found a burgundy floral that would play nicely with my burgundy floral. Then there was that fabulously intricate floral creamy neutral that had come from the 35% off-if-you-finish-the-bolt bin.

I couldn't possibly go to Kathie's, without stopping a Marden's, too, now could I?

I picked out a few remnants and two single one-yard pieces in the same burgundy for 4.49 a yard.

The brown remnant with the cream I just couldn't resist! I think that they all play very nicely, don't you?

Happy sewing!