Christmas Scraps

Every project produces a pile of scraps, whether it's fabric snippings, lumps of wadding or half lengths of thread. Of course these all get saved, because they will certainly 'come in useful' for something else. My fabric scraps are kept together in a large basket, and one afternoon, on a whim, I sorted them all into separate colour bags. This means less scraps fly about when rummaging for a particular colour. However, it also means that any new scraps have to be sorted into their correct bag, and this doesn't always seem like an appealing job. Therefore a new basket has appeared, full of scraps waiting to be sorted. 

I've been using blue, green and white scraps to make small squares and rectangles, with the idea of eventually putting them together somehow to make something. I'm using my favourite technique of raw edge applique, sometimes sewn over the edges and sometimes secured with tiny stitches all over the fabric. I've done both on this star, using metallic thread which makes it sparkle in the light (but not on the photo, unfortuately.) The size is about 3 inches square. 

Much scrappier is this little cottage in the woods scene (a favourite subject!). The sky and background were taken straight from the scrap basket without any trimming, and the trees and house cut roughly into shape. This piece is about 2 inches by 3 inches. I like its haphazard look and loose threads.

At last, the long-suffering Bare Rabbit has a piece of clothing that seems to suit him. In addition to the sewing scraps, there have been knitting and crochet projects over the years, not to mention some impulse buys, and so I have a drawer full of half-finished balls of wool. In here I discovered a bag of very small scraps, which I've crocheted up into a thick lumpy jumper for him. He looks a lot more at home in this than in fancy bloomers or the dreaded spotted dungarees. The colour combination has turned out very well -I'd be happy to wear this jumper too. 

 I improvised the pattern for the jumper, but Bare Rabbit was made from the Luna Lapin pattern. The website is here - https://www.coolcrafting.co.uk/luna-lapin/