I love finding practical uses for my crafting so turn appliqué, fabric painted and/or free motion stitcheries into lightly quilted mats for bedside or occasional tables .
This one used lots of ribbon scraps stitched down to look like ferns and the crab and puffin were simply drawn with fabric paint at the end.
I quilt in random swirls as I like the texture it creates.
To finish I made my own binding to replicate a picture frame effect.
An attack on my scraps bag was needed so I I cut a piece of old tablecloth big enough to cover my scan n cut then crazy quilted scraps all over it. I included a piece of black work – yellow and navy – embroidery started 20 years ago and added appliqué shapes, scraps of lace and ribbon and then used decorative stitches to tidy up some of the edges. A contrast bias binding finished it off (sewn back to front, whoops).
it may not be fitted and my scrap bag is still full but this useful little addition to my craft room is full of stitching memories, I love it.
janecrafts 