Have A Heart Quilted Wall Hanging

Here is a secret!  Shhhh!  Don’t tell!  If you want your fabric stash to increase, just let people know you love fabric and sewing or quilting!  See, I have a great stash and much of it cost me pennies or nothing at all.  I find big bags of fabric at thrift shops, and scrap bags of high-end quilt fabric at quilt shops, and people who are downsizing their stash say “I have some fabric . . . ” and before they finish the sentence, I say “thank you!”  Now, I admit when I have had full-time employment (God willing that’ll be soon?) I have bought fabric the “other” way, but it’s been a while.

So, is it risky to say yes to fabric that might be the wrong kind or wrong color?  NO!  If it’s free, it’s not wrong.  See, ugly fabric can be a grocery bag, or a lining for a purse, or a kids costume, or the backing for a quilt, or a gift for someone who doesn’t know it’s ugly, or . . .  Then there’s the “panels” that people buy . . . you know, those fabric by the yard things that are like puzzle pieces you put together . . . vests, pillows, etc.  Well, I like things the way I design them.  lol  Still, free is free.  I take those too.  I use them for scrap, or doctor them up, or cut out the cute printed cows or duckies and applique them to something else or . . .

So, where’s this leading?  Well, someone gave me the oddest piece of fabric.  Don’t know what the blend is, but it’s not all cotton.  It was a bunch of “squares” with different designs on them, some looking like they were rubber stamped and some like they’d been stenciled.  Today, I thought of something . . . a better approach to a tired old thing in a thrift store.  Someone had taken an old piece of wood, glued some fiber fill and then stapled a piece of fabric to it and then apparently realized the error of their ways and donated it.  OH, dear.  However, strange and atrocious things often make me think of unrelated things I could make.  You know how it is . . .  you think of all the ways you’d have done it differently and before you’re done, it’s nothing like what it was?

So, here’s a project using a cute part of that print that had a bunch of odd squares on it.  I had just the right color fabric to back it with an a small piece of quilt batting that I just couldn’t throw away and then I found  apiece of matching ribbon on my closet floor (the art supplies closet . . . ) and here you have my “what’s it? quilt.

 

You can’t tell in the photo since it’s taken with my cell phone (my camera died and I’m thinking of sitting in Santa’s lap for a new one) but it is quilted in various ways, and I added a “hanger” and ribbon bow at the top and as to what it is . . .  beats me.  It could be wall decor in a country decor room or den. It could be a hot mat for table topper, and it would be handy for hanging up in a closet and using to hold your fashion jewelry pins, or it could be hung in a corner and used to tack notes to or any combination of these things, but I have to say, for a thing made with no real plan and from stuff “normal” folks would throw away . . .  it’s kinda cute, don’t you think?  Normal’s overrated.  lol