I am not a faithful crafter. I try out lots of different things. In the past years, I’ve tried and taught myself the following activities:
cross stitch
freeform embroidery and thread painting
crochet, both with yarn and fine cotton thread
knitting
patchwork and quilting
applique
general sewing
As a result of all the above endeavours, I find myself left with stashes of yarn, threads, fabrics and other haberdashery. Assuaging my feelings of guilt, I tell myself not to feel bad because these things are not perishable and will therefore keep for a rainy day.
I’ve since given away much of my yarn stash, leaving a few balls of luxury yarns behind. BUT, I still have a very respectable stash of patchwork fabric. I’ve managed to squeeze out some time to make some fiddle blankets for patients with cognitive impairment at my workplace, and I would have to admit that this has been one of the nicest and most relaxing activities to do to date. No need for exact measurements or precise seaming. No patterns to follow. Just stitch all the scraps together into an approximate rectangle, some batting and backing, bind it all, small amount of quilting, and there I have it - a fiddle quilt all ready to go. I made about 10 of these and gave them all away to the hospital. However, this still leaves me with a lot of oddly-shaped scraps of fabric.
What to do?
Aha!
Fussy cut some shapes for collage! Genius!
So here, I’ve put together a couple of paintings on A3 watercolour paper, featuring fantasy flowers. Certainly very cheerful for any blank wall.
These 3 flower collages went to live in a new home soon after their completion. It is now gracing the walls of a little girl’s bedroom, cheering up her personal space. Hooray.