From The Craft Room

I've been really busy the last couple of weeks organizing my fabric scraps.  My former "sort them by color" was still a jumbled mess.  I saw an idea on the internet about cutting them into squares or strips and placing them in boxes or baskets.  Mine are cut into 3", 4", 5" and 6" squares and 2" and 2 1/2" strips.  The squares are all separated by sizes and placed in the heavy cardboard photo boxes from Michaels (they had a 5 for $10 sale a couple of weeks ago).  The strips are in clear plastic storage containers from Walmart.  There is one box that is Holiday squares for Christmas, Patriotic and Thanksgiving fabrics. 

This is so much nicer than the jumbled up mess it was before!

Yesterday I got to go to the Sewing & Quilt Expo that was held here in metro Atlanta,  it was a crowded, noisy, excitement filled huge room of crafters.  Loads of exhibitors selling everything from buttons to $6000+ sewing machines.  I had a lot of fun walking around shopping and looking (would have been better if Angel & Amy Lynn had been there).  I went with cash, a list of what I needed, and some leftover for wants!  I came out with leftover cash, everything I needed except smocking pleater needles and quite a number of impulse purchases.  I did order the pleater needles this morning and the leftover cash is no more.

The owl applique was a make it and take it class, the spools of embroidery thread in the back were $3.99 each and the huge white spool is bobbin thread  ~ 22,000 feet was $12.50~  Got an octagon shaped chicken placemat kit (impulse), Seashell embroidery CD (impulse), new snippers to replace my 15 year old ones (implulse but my others were too dull to cut anything).  The little fabric pack of squares I won at a booth.

these were all impulse purchases!  6 towels and 3 doily coasters to machine embroider on.  Not pictured is a goodie I got for me and mom and my sister for a surprise when I get it done.

Red Hen Fabrics had a cute hen valance made out of quilt blocks to decorate their booth, the pattern is free on their website.  I decided to make these and make a valance for my kitchen window.  Their blocks were clothes pinned to a jute twine.  I haven't decided how to do mine yet but I am going to back the blocks so it looks nicer on the back ~ which you can see from our sunroom.  And the blocks used scraps I already had!