Making do on Mondays

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I am trying to keep to a stash diet with my quilting and stitching for three years now. I have done well really with only a couple of lapses. It is nice to look in my stash cupboard and appreciate all the beautiful fabrics I have purchased over the years. I got so addicted to buying all the new collections. The problem was they are all wonderful and you get to where you cannot stop buying. You develop a blurred vision when it comes to your other fabrics. But now I am actually seeing space develop in my cupboard and it feels great! On the other hand, my stacks of finished quilts are growing.

Making do with what you have gives me a feeling of being connected to those needlewomen of the past. It goes back to a time when women did not have the luxury of going to a quilt shop to purchase fabrics for their next quilt. It goes back to a time when a scrap bag was a very real and true treasure among a woman's belongings. So in the spirit of those women comes this little project.


If you used to read my previous blog, you will have seen this medallion quilt which I made when I did the medallion life quilts for my quilt group theme in 2008. While sewing the delectable mountains border, I saved the cut ends of the strips. They have a tiny triangle sewn onto the end of the strip. I am cutting off the end to create a tiny 1-1/2 inch square which I will be sewing together to create a little doll's quilt. Stay posted to see how it is progressing.

I am also pulling fabrics I have long had in my stash to create various doll's quilts. My latest one will be using these fabrics. I want to create another one that looks very faded and old. I am working on getting my fabric combination to give me an old and scrappy look without there being much color variation. These little block are only 4 inches and once again part of the Little Quilts challenge from Kathleen Tracy's yahoo list. After I complete another 4 stars, I will decide what setting to use for the blocks and how many more will be needed. I am not sure if I want to use the stars in straight sets or on point as you see in the photo.

Regardless, I am enjoying every moment of the patchwork and spending the day in my studio. Making do is a great way to spend a day!