A couple of years ago I made The Ghost Quilt that resulted in dozens of cut-away corners. Not being one to waste and certainly being one who’s always looking for something to make with such things, I held on to them.
Knowing I wouldn’t get to this project anytime soon, I had to find a way to keep the corners together. I stacked bundles about 3 inches high then hand-sewed through them making a loop.
I put them in a bag, and then they sat for over a year and a half. One day in the middle of winter I went through my fabric looking for inspiration. My sewing room closet doesn’t allow for a lot of storage so upon finding the bundles I decided it was time to make something.
The first thing to do was make half square triangles. After chain piecing the pairs, pressing and trimming (a couple of days worth of work) there were over 160 HST!
A sane quilter wouldn’t have taken this project on for several reasons. First of all, the cut-aways were very small. Once sewn and squared, the HST measured 1 5/8″. Meaning once sewn into something they’d finished at 1 1/8″. That’s crazy small. But there I was.
Out of all the design options, I’d settled on checkerboard. I’ve got to admit, once sewn, I didn’t really like it. Once quilted, I still didn’t like it. But it’s a gift and I hoped the recipient would.
Here’s a few photos of the process…
As you can see, there were a lot of threads to cut AND I used quite a bit of starch due to the bulk.
Here’s the finished mini.
After putting it away for a few weeks then getting it out to photograph, I did end up liking it. I think the white binding is just right, too.
Overall, this was a challenge I felt I needed. I also found it interesting how at one point I was ready to toss it but decided not to, and in the end was glad I didn’t. 🙂
Monday Morning Designs 