Therapy is Hard!

I am really struggling with using my scraps for Scrap Therapy! I thought this would be so EASY! NOT! It has made me realize that I like my scraps to be a bit co-ordinated. I am not happy with a bunch of colors all thrown together and mishy mashy. I need a common thread to be there....for example, the first project is this great bag. I had a bunch of squares made up that had everything including the kitchen sink!LOL The more I sewed the more stressed I became. I stopped and decided to figure out why what should be fun was becoming stressful.
Finally, I realized it was because there was no cohesiveness to my scraps. I was really hating the whole project and wanted to quit. How could I fix it? I finally decided that for me the best route was to "wean" my scraps. I re-examined all my precut pieces from the cutting class and discarded all those that I really didn't love. I discovered I had scraps that read bright and clear, then scraps that read muted and country. I ended up with a freezer bag full of scraps that will be donated to someone who does love them. I kept the muted and country as they are me. I had to be tough and not feel guilty!LOL

After all, I want to enjoy my scrap therapy and not quit. Then, I sorted my piles colorwise. All black scraps together, all browns, all tan/golds, etc. Then I chose two colors and pulled all the darks from each color. Then I chose another color and pulled all the lights from that pile. Here is what I ended up with! I like it alot! I am not a pink person, generally do not use them, but with the black they become lovely. I did like the pinks, so I hadn't weaned them out. I put a big big hole in the pink pile! YaY!!!



My mother is the one who taught me to embroider at a very young age and now that she is retired, she has taken up lots of embroidery projects again. Recently, she stitched this sweet little boy in bluework. I love that his diaper looks like it's loaded!LOL

She passed him on to me to finish into a wall hanging for her.






I placed him in a stretched star using reproduction novelty fabric. We think he turned out so sweet. I must tell you, though, you'd be jealous if you seen my mother's stitching! It looks just as good on the back as it does on the front! I don't have the patience to stitch this well. The teacher is definitely better than the student in this area.






Lastly, my friend Janet made this bag. It is made from recycled drapery fabrics and wool. Janet and I are known as the "BAG LADIES"! LOL Together, we probably have enough bags to open a shop!

This week's lesson: even scraps have to have something in common to work together!

Happy Day to all!