Sunday 23 February 2014

Two out of three ain't bad

I have a lot of fabric scraps.   I have been saving them for a rainy day…  which coincidentally was today when we had rain, hail and even a tornado!

I decided to tackle another Little Things to Sew project and was inspired by these quilted balls by Goke Keiko


featured in this book


I hunted through the bucket of selvedges that sits underneath my sewing table




and my handy assistant (sister N) grouped them into assorted colourways for my use.   I made two quilted balls - a red one and a blue one




I used the fancy stitches on my sewing machine and some variegated King Tut threads to make 6 little crazy patchwork wedges.


freezer paper template ironed to back of crazy patchwork material


I joined these together following the book instructions and then topstitched along the seam lines (again using fancy stitches on the sewing machine).  Once the balls were completed and stuffed, I hand-stitched a row of embroidery stitches along the final seam line.  Hand embroidery is not my forte but they are tidy enough.

I also attached two little circles of fabric over the junction where the wedges (supposedly) met.  Mine looked a little bulky and didn't line up perfectly so I covered them up!

Circle appliqué over the wedges' join - and hand stitched with variegated thread. The row of cross-stitching covers the seam joining the two hemispheres


And after I made these two balls I was forced to stop because, without a thimble, my delicate little fingers were being torn to shreds.  Anyway, I ask you, how many kids do you know who can juggle three balls?  So, following Meat Loaf's advice, I figured that two out of three ain't bad

5 comments:

  1. What a clever use of scraps which would have been destined for the rubbish. The balls would probably also make great Xmas tree decorations, but you might need to make more than two for that purpose. Good job

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    1. Thanks. Xmas decorations sounds like a good idea too. I think I have some left-over crazy patchwork pieces from the Xmas stocking I made last year that could be put to good use.

      I must correct you on one thing, though: the scraps were never intended for the rubbish!! (Remember, who my father is?!?)

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    2. Most normal people would put those scraps in the rubbish. Is it your father or your maternal grandfather you inherited those genes from? Maybe both?

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  2. Clever you! They are almost too perfect to use. I'm hoping your place was ok after the storms? We got the edge of the tornado and heavy hail so damage to trees, crops and garden. Arrrgh!

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  3. Wow, those are some seriously small scraps you're keeping. The balls came out crazy cute for all the tricky stitching. very nice.

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