New Year, Old Projects

I’ve been grinding on the hexagon scrap quilt for longer than I realized…possibly because I keep taking detours.

Flippy Triangle Coasters

My mother put together some festive Christmas cocoa mugs for a group gift exchange with some ladies at church, and wanted to include handmade coasters. Guess whose hands made them! Ha!

This is the second time I have made these flippy thingies for her with Christmas fabric; I made a set in 2017 after we saw some at a local quilt shop. As that was a few beers ago, I followed this video from YouTube.

Paper-Pieced Log Cabin Ornaments

I did the paper piecing on these in 2010. After the millionteenth time they fell onto my head while I was looking for something else, I gave up trying to develop a clever way of finishing them without binding or ladder stitching. They are finished with a ladder stitch.

The cord’s packaging claims it is “saliva-proof”. I have not tested this claim.

Bean Bag Chairs for Small Electronic Devices (and small bears)

Our Beer Advent Calendar last year contained beers from young micro- and nanobreweries from the Niederrhein region. Each day we propped a phone up against the salt and pepper shakers to watch a video from the brewers while we sipped…and repropped…and repropped…. Eventually I gave up and made two bean bags, from this random tutorial, one for the kitchen table and one for the sewing table.

Because I worry about moisture, mold, and insects, I used undyed aquarium gravel instead of rice. I know these projects choose rice over plastic beans for “environmental friendliness” and/or frugality; rocks are 100% all-natural and cost less per kilogram than rice. I have awarded myself a gold star for Umweltliebe because instead of fancy new filling and interfacing, I used scraps of felt and batting from previous projects. (Fear not! I have not joined the cult; I’m just cheap.)

OK, now. Back to my grind.