"Somethings" to do with all those bag making scraps!

I don't know about you ladies, but my scrap bin is staging a revolt! Time to check out some ways to get the chaos back under control!

Here's a nice collection of of scrap-busting projects collected by Tipnut.com.

Make happy coiled flower accents for other bags with this tutorial from Pinksuedeshoe.


Make a vase full of never-fading fabric flowers with this tutorial from green...it's the new blue.

Turn them into wallets with this list of 25 tutorials, also from Tipnut.

Ease someone aches with a rice hot bag from Sew Mama Sew.

Make a key lanyard for very forgetful teenage children with mairuru.

More blooming accents with my own stacked frayed edge flower tutorial.


Throw in some accents to your outfits with scrap fabric necklaces made with cakies.

Fabric scrap napkin rings for your holiday affairs with craftgossip.com

 Autumn accent scrap pillow from Cluck Cluck Sew

Create a bucketful full of fabric bookmarks for your child's school library or every reader on your list with 7 Layer Studio.

and one more dimensional flower embellishment from hellomynameisheather.


Whew! That's a tutorial bonanza all right, but I bet I missed your favorite idea for taming the scrap monster. Please share with the class in the comments below.

Calling all sewers and quilters

Hey this guy's wife and mom and sisters all say that quilters and sewers are the most generous people on the planet. I think he's right and I am going to pack up an Iraqi Bundle of Love in the next week or two.

Iraqi Bundles of Love is a short-duration project, set to last about six weeks, to surge fabric and sewing materials into the area around which I live in Iraq. It is timed to coincide with both Ramadan, and the departure of my units from Iraq.

It is intended to be a simple project, requiring little effort and little expenditures from those wishing to participate. It is based upon my assessment that sewing fanatics and quilters tend to have stashes that far exceed their actual needs, and that sewing fanatics and quilters are passionate both about sewing / quilting, and about sharing with others.

The general premise is this. I am in Iraq, and I can get mail through the US Postal System. Willing contributors can send to me a flat-rate box of sewing / quilting supplies, all bundled up. I’d open the box, pull out the fully-contained bundle, and hand of off (with others) to our counterparts in the Iraqi Security Forces (Army and others) or the local police, for them to distribute. The stated intent of this operation is to put sewing and quilting supplies into the hands of two types of recipients: locals who desperately need such things, and local sewing co-ops who have received grants or loans (typically to puchase sewing machines, rent space, etc).

Have you got some fabric and sewing notions you can live without? Bet you do, if you think about it. There are very few fabric shops in Iraq and I like the idea of leaving something good behind as our units pull out and giving people a way up to independence.

Spring Cleaning

Get ready for the cheerful bloom of spring in your sewing room. Sew, Mama Sew, a great sewing blog which our own Jennifer Ladd contributes to, is doing a series of spring cleaning posts this week. Today's is a video on spring cleaning your sewing machine. Go check it out!