GRANDMA'S  SCRAP  BAG 

One of the dearest memories I have of grandma who raised me from the age of 2, is her sewing talent that she passed on to me.

I can remember from a very tender age, sitting cross-legged in her living room with her large muslin bag of fabric scraps, fingering each piece of fabric.  This magical bag intrigued me with all the colors, designs, and textures. I could imagine what each had once been, for those were the days that clothing was not thrown out but recycled. Nothing was wasted, cutting off the buttons, and zippers and sizing the garment into pieces that could be incorporated into something new.

So, I call myself a "fiber artist, sewist (the modern term for sewer)."

A while back while reading in one of my devotionals, it was mentioned the difference between "create creator and maker maker."

God is the Creator, He created something (actually all of His creation) from nothing.

Webster's states - to bring into existence from nothing.

Make or maker is a person, artist, that makes something from preexisting substances. 

So, I have lately begun to cease using the word "create" when speaking of my artwork, be it in watercolors, fiber arts, quilting, you get the picture.

The past 4 years I have been striving to use up all my fabric and fabric scraps and not buy any new fabric. This has been an interesting journey. 

First, you must know I have a teeny bit of OCD, so each fabric scrap is color coded into a gallon zip lock bag, and the different bags are stored in large plastic bins waiting to be used.

Lately, I have been sewing fabric quilt blocks using the strip quilting method.  I pull out a zip lock bag with my color choice and begin making new quilt blocks.

In my next 2 photos you will see my "thread" work. That's right, I collect the different cast off threads from my work and keep them in a plastic bad. Then, I carefully lay the threads out into a pattern I like, covering this all with a fine mesh fabric. Using a basting thread, I go over the entire piece with whatever design I want. In my last photo you will see a postcard I made with this technique.

                 How very blessed I was to have grandma in my life, but sadly, I didn't recognize it as strongly as I do today. If any of you have read my life storybook "Father", you will understand what I mean. I can now say how I treasure my life with grandma, and especially her talents she shared with me that are so very special. Little did she know what she would be instilling in me with her huge muslin bag of fabric scraps. 

                            Thank you, God, for grandma.