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photo: Martha G. Brady

photo: Martha G. Brady

This summer, I plan to pause my series on Hymns and Songs and do a  series on Finishing Your Unfinished Projects.  I saw a post the other day somewhere that talked about unfinished projects and that’s where I got the idea.

It blends quite well with another theme I have going about Trimming the Fat in 2014!  How many drawers and cupboards are clogged with unfinished projects you know you will finish…someday?  I know I’m not unique in that respect.

So, as you clean out drawers this summer, take some of that time to finish off those projects and use them for gifts, donations, items to sell or whatever.  Having a stockpile of gifts either for birthdays or Christmas will put you in a great position in the fall or winter when you are struggling for ideas for gifts for a variety of occasions.  Then, you’ll be able to simply dig out your stockpile, grab a gift, wrap it and move on.

Do you have specific unfinished projects that need to be done?

Let me know.  I’ll research them and share solutions.

If you have some specific projects for which you need to find solutions, send me your questions and I’ll see if I can find answers.  Otherwise, I’ll look into solutions for my own problems.  In the process, we all might learn some new skills…from other bloggers.  We might also get some drawers cleared out and have fun doing it!

So, here goes!

Personally, I have lots of small pieces of fabric filling up lots of space.  Unfortunately, my space is much more limited now than it was, so I need to get moving and get it made up.

Options for making up scraps of fabric that we’ll cover today are the following:

photo: Martha G. Brady

photo: Martha G. Brady

homemade pillowcases-these are great for gifts.  children love them.  they can also be great for teens and college kids going off to college.  If you don’t have the fabric, there are all kinds of novelty fabrics available with prints in team colors and prints as well as favorite prints for kids.

homemade giftbags-If you use Christmas fabric, you will have great reusable Christmas bags ready to use this Christmas.  Summer is the best time to make them.  When you aren’t under pressure from all the other Christmas activities going on, you can do this and use up fabric in your stash saving money already spent.

A variation on this pattern is that if you want to simplify, you can finish off the top as mentioned in the wine giftbag segment.  You can also simplify by using up unused quilt patches and adding coordinating strips to the side/tops of them to make them the size you want.  You will only need to line it down as far as the top cuff will go on your bag.

If you are making the patch from scratch, you can make it with larger, uneven sized strips and squares.  These make beautiful gift bags!  If you are giving a doll, they are great for a bag that will hold doll clothes!

wine giftbags-the variation on this bag is that it doesn’t have a casing at the top and you merely fold the top down and anchor it with a ribbon.  This is how I finish off my gift bags because I don’t like to mess with casings.

These are 3 different projects and they may give you some ideas for other similar projects for using up some fabric.  Enjoy clearing out your drawers and planning ahead for gifts over the next few months.