Hoarding or What to do with quilt trimmings

Have you watched those TV shows about people hoarding until their homes are uninhabitable? I can SO identify -- As creative souls I've decided that there is nothing, I repeat NOTHING, that we cannot put to creative use. Old books become "altered", newspapers and advertising become the basis for collage, keyboard keys become earrings, and dryer lint becomes a mixed media masterpiece. Where does it all end? I feel guilty if I throw anything away! So to ease my guilt over my increasing stash (a.k.a. hoard), here are some ideas of how to use up quilt trimmings and leftover yarn and thread.

What to do with quilt trimmings

Since I tend to heavily quilt a piece, I always try to make my quilts a little larger than the desired finished size and trim to size after quilting. I would rather have to trim away an inch or two than have it 1/8" too small! I cannot throw away those precious trimmings though.

I make the trimmings into greeting cards, trading cards, and book marks. How about jewelry, luggage tags or a camera strap? I used machine cording as the edging for this book marker; just zigzagged it into place.

I found a nice tutorial on making your own machine cording on Linda Matthews website here. You basically just zigzag over a twisted strand of leftover yarn a couple of times. What a great use for leftover yarn and threads! Now I just need to find a use for the 62 miles of the cording that my current stash could produce.

Comments

[BJ]

Hey Suzan, This is a cool idea, but I gotta say, it is going to take about a hundred years to use of my hoard...hahaha....nevertheless, I'm glad I have it right now. Maybe I can make it through my first year or so of retirement without having to buy much. Cheers.

[BJ]

That's use "up" my hoard, not use "of" my hoard...silly me...