The latest podcast of Annie's Quilting Stash had some great ideas for using and organizing fabric stash. The idea that hit home with me was placemats for Meals on Wheels - fall colors for Thanksgiving. I have a lot of assorted leafy/fall fabrics that work together in small groups, but not necessarily together for a large project. My local Meals on Wheels sounded receptive to the idea, and they told me the current number of people served is 35, which is reasonable for me to finish by Thanksgiving on my own (if the number was 100-200 I would have asked quilting friends for help). Three placemats are pieced & quilted (not bound), two more tops & battings are ready. The battings are being pieced from the 4" strips leftover from customer quilts that were too small to return and too large to throw away. I will probably finish them with regular quilt bindings rather than the serged finish I saw on some similar projects online. Two fat quarters per placemat, with a bit leftover, are being used (so far Rail Fence and 4" squares, but I may use other patterns.)
In knitting stash reduction, two more charity hats and a scarf have been finished too. A February Baby Sweater (Elizabeth Zimmermann) had been started too, but only after finishing the yoke did I realize that she had assumed we knew to put buttonholes in...and the yarn is quite awful, so I will purchase some nicer yarn and re-start, as this will be a gift. The yarn is splitty and a bit scratchy, so it will be recycled into something more decorative than wearable.
