Something Old, Something New

When you are a sewer/crafter/any-sort-of-hobbiest, people tend to give you stuff that they (kindly but mistakenly) think you can use. People are always trying to give me scraps of fabric- like polyester and upholstery fabric. Many many years ago my grandmother gave me a box of scraps from her sewing room. And I mean scraps. Little bits and odds and ends of every imaginable kind of fabric.  It was kind of her, but at the time I remember thinking that I would just keep it around for a while and then get rid of it.

One day I was in my local quilt shop and saw some really cute flannels that I wanted to buy to make quilts for my kids. Then I remembered the box of scraps. My grandmother used to make her own clothes, as well as clothes for us kids. One of our favorite things that she made for us were cozy comfy flannel night gowns (when we wore them, we looked like the girls on Little House on the Prairie- which I loved.) There were flannel scraps in that box. I bought some of the new flannels, and added in the scraps from the box, and they went together perfectly.

I made 2 scrappy quilts, one for each of my daughters. They are snuggly and comfy cozy.

The paisley and little blue and pink calicos were from the scrap box. The quilting is just a big running stitch done with perle cotton.

I was so glad that I had that box of scraps! Every time I look at the quilts I made, I remember not just making them for my kids, but also the flannel night gowns that my grandmother so lovingly made for her granddaughters. That is something to cherish!

One more thing- remember to label your quilts. I always preach this, but often times I am so busy I tell myself that I will do it later and then I don't. I am really glad that I labelled these quilts because I could not remember when I had made them....

P.S. There are 2 giveaways going on this week- one here on my blog, and one at Lily Pad Quilting. Click Here for details.