Hi, I’m Rachel! I’m a crafter, artist, and author of the Cornflower Blue blog. I knit constantly, ride my bike everywhere I go, and spend a lot of time cooking and playing with my cats. I am also fortunate enough to have a good-humored husband who doesn’t mind crafty messes scattered throughout the house. Most crafters have a big pile of scraps squirreled away somewhere, like nuts for winter (I even have a basket for saving bits of thread and yarn). This tutorial will help you empty your scrap bin and use up all those thread clippings, too!
The first step is to eyeball your scraps and divide them into two piles: fabric (Fabric 101) pieces big enough to make patches on your quilt block, and random bits that are so small they are best used for stuffing (including threads, yarn clippings, etc).
Next, cut a square of quilt batting that is about the size you’d like your quilt block to be, adding a little bit for seam allowance. I cut a 16″ x 16″ square.
Then, start pulling pieces out of your “fabric pieces big enough to make patches” pile and, positioning them as randomly as you like, stitch them directly onto the batting with your sewing machine. Just use a straight stitch and make sure to overlap pieces so that no batting shows through.
When the entire square is covered, put some colorful thread in your sewing machine and change the setting to some sort of zig-zag stitch, whichever size you like. Next, stitch over all of the exposed fabric edges. Don’t worry, it really doesn’t take as long as it sounds! Zig-zag stitching is my favorite!
Then, find a scrap the same size as your block to use for the back of your pillow. Place the pieces with right sides together, line up the edges, and pin in place (If you’d like a very firm pillow or want to use the block as a mini quilt, you could also add another layer or two of quilt batting at this point). Going back to a straight stitch, sew around the edges of your square, leaving several inches open on one side for turning the piece right side out. Clip the corners and trim any edges that may need trimmed, then turn your block so that the right sides are out.
Now, get your pile of itty-bitty scraps and use them to stuff the pillow! You can also add some regular stuffing if you find that you don’t have enough scraps. Or, come to think of it, you could keep the pillow on your sewing table and stuff any little scraps directly into it as they appear, until the pillow is full. That part is your choice!
Last, stitch up the opening and fluff your pillow!
~ Rachel
Hi, Linda and Richard Eyre here. You may know us from our parenting
book bestsellers or the blogs of our daughters…..or perhaps you have
seen our weekly columns in the Deseret News.
But in any case, we know you. And we love your blog! Of all the
“mommy blogs” out there, it is surprising how few actually focus on
mothering and parenting. Yours is one of them, and you do it so well!
We have what we think is our best and most important parenting book
ever coming out the first of September, and we would like to invite you
to be part of our advisory board and help us craft (and disseminate)
our message about the dangers of ENTITLEMENT! We feel that the
entitlement attitudes of today’s kids are the biggest problem of their
generation (and the biggest concern of parents throughout the world)!
The new book is called THE ENTITLEMENT TRAP: How to Rescue Your
Child with a New Family System of Choosing, Earning, and Owning.
It will be in stores in early September, but if enough people pre order
it from Amazon.com and other on line outlets it could debut on the
bestseller lists its first week, and that would cause thousands of
other parents to be aware of it and to have access to a message we
think parents desperately need.
So here’s the deal: If you are willing to work with and advise us on
our board, we can send you a large pre publication sample of the book
so that you can make your readers aware of it and give them a chance to
order it at a pre-pub discount of more than 33%. And then we would
want your ongoing input for the website http://www.EntitlementTrap.com which
is now in its lead-up phase to the book, but which will continue to
supply additional info and helps to moms long after the book is out.
It will, of course, link to the blogs of all members of our board.
Take a look at that site and get a bit more idea of the nature of the
book, and let us know as soon as possible if you will be an adviser.
We will then send you the extensive excerpts so that you can blog about
the book and about the movement prior to the book’s release.
Best, Linda and Richard Eyre ([email protected])
PS There will also be webinars and other exciting opportunities for
those who pre order the book, and of course for you and other board
members.
One day I will learn to quilt…but, THIS I think I could do. Thanks, Rachel!
I love this!! I could do this! Thanks, Rachel!