Sorting out my NZ stash

As we have sold our NZ house I am sorting out all our belongings ( not too many, thankfully!) and that includes my sewing things.
Last year I made a conscious effort to use up old scraps so when I got out my stash yesterday it looked like this:

A cabin bag of larger pieces ( not yards, just pieces left over from backings etc)

And packs of completed Crumb Blocks, 4" and 4.5" sizes, packs of scrap squares of varying sizes, a small jar of buttons ( although I have since found a larger jar and lots of loose ones!) and a tin of embroidery flosses.  I also have the usual cutting mat, rotary cutter, rulers, sewing kit, threads and so on.

 

I also have a large pack of 5" Liberty-style squares. Not really my taste, too pale and flimsy:

 

And a pack of Fat Quarters:

As I love making Scrap Quilts and over the years I have enjoyed looking at so many lovely RSC photos I decided to make up kits for 5" String blocks (each one in a set colour: blue, red, pink etc), Twinkler Blocks, again in a set colour with the same cream muslin star, 9 patches using 2.5" squares, and perhaps some strips of joined rectangles I can use in a Coin Quilt.

So I have been busy ironing scraps and cutting as efficiently as I can into the sizes of strips and squares needed for these projects.  Now I am all set to go to the various Patchwork meetings I will attend whilst I'm here in NZ.  I belong to two groups so I hope to sew a lot of scraps up into useful blocks, perhaps even a little quilt?

As I write this post I am smiling at the reactions of me bothering to use up such small quantities of fabric! I know from reading many blogs that so many folk have huge stashes and mine - including my one back home in the UK - must seem so tiny! However as a post WWII child I was brought up on the Make Do and Mend school of thought so I hate to waste anything. If I can make some useful blocks I shall be pleased.

I'll keep you posted!

 

 

Thrifty finds and a little mending

I always enjoy poking around Charity Shops, especially when I am visiting different parts of the country.

On our recent trip to Canterbury I spent a happy hour wandering around the many Charity Shops they had, including an Oxfam book shop where I found an excellent copy of a children's song book, music as well as words.  Lovely to keep at home for when our 4 year old granddaughter visits.

In another shop, one which was aptly devoted to a children's charity, I found a little girl's pretty pink duvet cover and matching pillow case set.  The design was fairy princesses and castles which was very appropriate for Little Granddaughter who loves anything pink and princesses are high on the list too.  Reasonably priced so I bought it as a little gift from Canterbury. Spare bed linen for children is always useful.

 

Isn't it pretty?

 

 I washed it yesterday and as I ironed it this morning I discovered a little hole in the duvet cover.  No problem as I knew I could cover it with a little heart shaped applique. 
Took about 15 minutes, and here it is:

 

Can you spot my applique?  It's the heart directly above the princess's head.  I used Bondaweb and tiny hand blanket stitch in a matching embroidery floss.  Hope our little girl likes it too.

 

I pass on a lot of things to our local Charity Shops so it's nice to find useful bargains myself.  I am a fan of "making do and mending" and not throwing away items that still have plenty of life in them.  So my two Canterbury finds fitted my bill exactly.