Making

A happy convergence of wanting to sew a quick project and noticing some dust on the shoulders of a couple of special occasion dresses in my closet had me rummaging through my scraps and fabric stash.

I took the photo this morning on the glass-topped patio table. You can see the cloudy sky and the reflection of the buddleia bush that is beginning to bloom. We ate outside last night accompanied by a pair of hummingbirds busy with the flowers. 
 

The linen came from one very long pieced strip that used to be one of those swoopy window treatments in my living room. I took it down a couple of months ago, washed it, and put it away, wondering if it was destined for rags. Shoulder covers for dresses is a much better idea. I didn't use a pattern for these covers, just traced the outline of a hanger (they fit padded hangers, too) and then cut 2.5 inch squares, pieced them and stitched them to the cover, then trimmed them with ribbon. What took longest was cutting and stitching the squares. The covers are self-lined and by the time I finished all five (the prototype is upstairs already) I'd used up the long swath of linen.

And the hydrangeas are blooming. Our soil is fairly acidic which leads to the bluer toned flowers that I love. I just did a count in my head and there are 8 bushes in various places in our garden. Some are small self-starters from one big bush that I moved last fall.

A few appointments will take me out and about today, but I hope to spend some more time with my sewing machine. There are plenty of scraps left. 

If you sew, do you find the leftover bits and pieces pile up or do you discard the scraps after finishing a project?