Thursday, August 16, 2012

Dump and sew

I'm borrowing the expression 'dump and sew' from Beth at the Love Laugh Quilt blog. She describes her method here:

http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.ca/2012/08/dump-and-sew.html

I've used the method often when I feel like playing with fabrics and no particular design goals in mind. I like the name she gives it though. It reminds me of how kids play by dumping out the toy box.
In a recent post she talks about having a mini 'dump and sew' to make pot holders.

This is my container of scraps. I have another box that I've cut into strips or squares but this is where I throw small pieces that I'm too lazy that day to cut up.

In it I found 6 little crazy patch blocks that I'd done on another dump and sew day. I put them together and added 4 borders log cabin style to make a mug rug. I think they're fun and make a great gift.

Then I decided I should try out a machine quilted feather. I've bought a couple of books on the topic but never tried them out. You might think it's a bit labor intensive for a little mug rug and you'd be right. However, I just never get around to sandwiching a practice piece so this was an opportunity.
You can see a little wobble here and there and the shape is not perfect but I had fun. I used some colorful Wonderfil thread that I ordered in the spring and hadn't tried out yet. I did have one thread breakage and finally settled on a metafil number 12 needle.

Since the machine was set for free motion I decided I'd have a go at some black thread sketching on a daisy mono print. I've not backed it with a stabilizer as I got the idea to make some little lavender sachets with some of my small prints. I want them to be soft and more breathable.
It too is labor intensive. I thought of outlining with a black pen but like the look of the stitching. In the future, I'll use a method taught by Kelli Perkins. I'll do a mono print on paper, thread sketch it, scan it and print it out on fabric as many times as I want.
I could scan this too. For now I'm having fun practicing my stitching and using up bits and pieces.

5 comments:

elle said...

I thought you might be taking a run to what we call 'the dump' to leave garbage and then were getting down to finer things! lol I can't seem to just do random scraps. I have to have a colour theme. 8-0 But practising MQing on small things is a great idea. I keep hearing about photocopying things and then once you have a master copy start cutting and creating. Its a good idea.

elle said...

Gee, either I need new glasses or these word verifications are getting fuzzier! :(

Margaret Applin said...

Awesome way to use your scraps!!!

Margaret Applin said...

YES!!!! I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME!!

imquilternity said...

Yep...Dump & Sew is a great name. I love your mug rug...it's so colorful and lively. I agree that the new word verifications are almost impossible. If I can't get it in 6 tries, I'm giving up. But, still, 6 is 5 too many!!