I am sharing a project I started from the scraps of the donation quilts I’ve been working on. The fabric for the donation quilts comes from the adult bibs from the hospital’s acute care facility. The hospital’s volunteer crafter created them but didn’t need them anymore. I eventually got them to reuse as material for donation quilts to sell at the hospital’s thrift shop.
My pile of bibs in multiple stages of trimmings
For the donation quilts, I trimmed off the neck area and the finished edges to get a large area of fabric to cut my pieces. I had about 20+ bibs, which makes for much trimming waste of the bib’s neckties and finished edges. I thought I could make wrap cord bowls or trivets from the trimmings. It’s like a version of my denim seam trivet I made during the pandemic.
my pile of trimmingswrapping and stitchingturning the sides
This is definitely a form of slow stitching.
I used the neckties (bias tape) as a cord, then wrapped and twisted the strips of fabric from the finished edges around them. I stitched around the wrapped cord to secure and connect the rows. I laid the wrapped cord on top of the previous row to build up the sides. I ended it by folding it under itself and stitching it tight so it would come apart.
Where my embroidery floss livesplus a trivet
Two finished pieces
There is still a bunch of trimmings left and more to make. I hope I can use all of it. Reuse, Reduce, Recycle.
My on-going project-repairing my slouchy hippie bag.
I’ve started slow stitching to keep my hands while I care for my elderly parents. Caregiving is the toughest job I ever had. It is extremely stressful because of dementia.
I needed something to take my mind off stress and keep me in the present. My on-going project is a slouchy hippie bag that I’m repairing with patches and stitching.
Covering up the stains with stitching.
It’s just random stitching, leading itself from one type stitching to another. No big plans, not ever sure when I will know if it’s done. As long as it helps me quiet stressful noise of caregiving.
Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.
I donated my recently passed husband’s suits to Men’s Warehouse suit several summers ago, and they gave me 30% coupon. I really didn’t have any use for it or knew anyone at that moment who could use the coupon. Then I remembered as I walked into the store, I passed two young men trying on tuxedos for a wedding. That’s when I decided who would get the coupon. They were so shocked to get this out of the blue.
My husband would have loved that he helped someone look great for their wedding. He was such a clothes horse. It was a small way to remember him.
I’m so excited. I got a package in the mail from the UK. It’s my English paper-piecing (epp) kit. Kate from The Last Homely House inspired me with her hexagon quilt for her granddaughter. Here’s a link to a playlist of Kate’s hexagon quilt. Paper piecing uses a paper template as a base. The fabric is wrapped around it and stitched for stability. This kit is my first attempt at it.
I purchase a Hexagon Cushion Kit from Kate to test the waters of epp. It’s a twelve-inch pillow with an epp on the front. It’s a small enough project that wouldn’t overwhelm me to quit.
Look at all of the goodies that come in the kit. It’s so fun to get stuff from faraway places.
The kit comes with fabric from Kate’s favorite designers, Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably, and Phillip Jacobs, paper templates, a spool of Aurifil 50-weight thread in grey, and an instructional booklet on how to make the pillow. The kit had four colors, and I chose orange/yellow. I wanted something bright and cheery.
Kate’s quilt got me thinking about all my scraps, and I thought it would make a beautiful quilt. It could be my long-term project that I could have in the background—something to do when I got tired of my other projects—just something for me.
My paper templates are covered. The process wasn’t hard, and I did it faster than I thought. This step has passed the “dipping my toe in the water” test. Now to lay the pieces out.
I am doing the hexi shuffle to get my piece placed in an order I’m happy with.
I’ve gotten through stitching my hexi squares together. It is on temporary hold to get two patchwork quilts done. The first one is almost done, just finishing touches, and I’m thrilled to be so close to the end. The second needs a bit of restart. I don’t particularly appreciate how the quilting looks, and I need to rip out the stitching and develop a new plan of attack. Stay tuned for more epp and quilting updates.
It’s been a while since my last post. Even though I’ve been making and doing things, I thought I had nothing to post about. Yesterday I took images of what I’ve been doing in Cora’s garden. I’m sharing my progress with you.
The bougainvillea seems to like what I’m doing and has been happily blooming.
I’ve been trying to rescue Mom’s anthuriums and orchid plants. Mom rarely spends time out in her garden anymore. She has a fear of falling since her fall at the beginning of 2019. I’ve been tending the garden since, mostly watering, raking, and weeding.
Giving It a Try
The anthuriums and orchids are badly in need of repotting. I recently decided to dive in and try my hand at it. I couldn’t make it much worst. I researched what potting media was needed and mixed up a batch for the anthuriums. (Lucky for me, I discovered I could use the same mix for the orchids. Whew!)
My game plan with the anthuriums is to get them back into decent shape and rehome them to a cooler climate at a friend’s house. I started with the ones that looked the worst—giving me a chance to learn the process. Mom is no help, as her explanation makes no sense to me as an amateur gardener. She just wanted me to try and see what would happen on my own. Here’s a couple that I think I saved.
Little leaves and shoots have appeared from these leafless transplants. I knew they had some life left in them as their roots were still green. The bigger green leaves you see in the picture are my pakalana plant which is trying to take over the anthurium patch. I think I transplanted about eight plants. Half of them look like they are starting to come back. As for the other half, I’m waiting to see if something will happen. My Auntie M (the Anthurium Whisper) said to give them time.
Keikis
I can’t say Mom’s orchids are in better shape than her anthuriums. Most of her orchids have grown out of their pot size. A big clue is the plant crawling to the edge of the pot and the stems have died back.
I remember my dad making thesecement pots that the orchids are in.
Several of the dendrobiums have keikis (little ones). I read that this happens when the plant is stressed. There is no doubt that several of these plants are stress.
“If an orchid is dying, asexually producing a keiki may be its best chance at passing on its genes.
Because keikis are produced asexually, without pollination, each keiki is genetically identical to its mother plant. Once mature, they’ll have the same flowers as the mother plant.”
This orchid is definitely dying. There are several keikis on it and I’m waiting for their roots to get long enough to plant.
Mom’s orchids maybe old and bit neglected but a few of them still produce beautiful blooms.
Flowers now and soon to be.
I’ve been busy repotting and cleaning up the orchids that have outgrown their pot and planting any keikis that are ready to go. In all of this repotting madness, I do not know any of the names or have visual clues as to what color type of flowers will appear. If there were once markers in the plants, they have long gone with the elements.
Wish my repotted plants luck, I hope I can get them to bloom.
Princess Hot Flash 