Remnants

Hi there Nesters!  I was feeling so lackadaisical yesterday evening I almost let it get the best of me and surpass posting for today. Maybe its the heat or maybe its the restless sleep I got last night. {I had nightmares about my rent check being lost in the mail! Yikes!} Either way, after a catnap on the couch immediately following work, I was feeling less than inspired. I had no quick projects to whip up, or new purchases to share.  What's a blogger to do?  The answer was right under my nose, literally!  My new throw pillow that I had been napping on, inspired me to take a peek at all my old fabrics that live with the monsters under my bed. 

After digging through it, it looks like its own monster!

Hit READ MORE to check out the rest of it after the page break... 

This is part of a larger collection that has been in the works since I was a kid.  I've been sewing since I can remember and I've always been taught to keep every last scrap of fabric that falls on the floor.  After all, you never know when you're going to need a 2"x2" square of felt, right?? Well earning a degree in fashion design nearly requires an obscene remnants bin, so here is a glimpse at some of mine.

I'm not totally sure what I was looking for. As you know I have an abundance of window treatments as it is, so I probably don't need to make any more with all my chiffons. but perhaps I could do some kind of interesting overlaid rouched pillowcases? Or perhaps even some ragged flowers similar to this one from Etsy? 

I pulled all of the remnants out of the storage container and noticed some pretty significant color and pattern choices that I have singled out.  Check it out!

Apple-y Greens. You may recognize this from the ottoman slipcover.  I love all these patterns, especially together. perhaps I could patch together another pillow case from these? This green silk chiffon hangs so well and possibly could be a fabulous window sheer!

The Boring Browns. You'll remember this patterned brown and white fabric from Buttercup but it's friends are a heavy duty knit wool that came to me white and I dyed brown in my college bathtub. Despite its flexibility and potential for pulling out of shape, I think it may work for some lesser used throws. I also probably have 8 yds of it left so that's PLENTY of throws in the making.  The other is a small scrap of a sateen poly-cotton blend.  Its a very dark chocolate brown and I'm not thrilled with the way it works with either of these. I think its going to find its place once again under the bed. 

Now THAT is PINK! I'm not sure if I was going through some kind of feminine identity super saturation process in college but I bought all this beautiful pink chiffon and never did anything with it. While I started a dress with the polka-dotted fabric, even when finished, I will still have excess. The solid, salmon and Pepto poly chiffons would be perfect candidates for those aforementioned appliques. Hmm...  I threw in there, the lining cotton that I could line the chiffon pillow case with. This might be the most exciting prospect of the bunch...

Blavy!  A few years ago, my favorite fashionista and cousin, Lexie introduced me to the idea of "blavy" which is the coupling of black and navy together.  It has since become the hot commodity in the garment industry and disbanded quickly also. I could couple them here at home but I am not loving this look. A navy cotton, next to a vintage wool crepe and a whole boatload of black sateen cotton {left over from making Molly a dress several Christmases ago} just don't work. Obviously I could pick and choose what would work but I'm not sure I want to go black or navy in here. I have worked with browns and neutrals so much, I don't want to muddy up the palette.

Mapstronomy? This option is 100% different than the others.  To take another stroll down memory lane, I took an Experimental Textiles class that allowed us access to a ginormous printer that processed silk fabric through it. So we could formulate any print on a design program like Photoshop or illustrator and print it out on this fabric to use how we like.

If you'll see, my design was a vintage map that I mirrored, one on top of the other, then superimposed an image of {if I remember correctly} a supernova on top and merged the two images so they were equally visible.

I played with the color to make it more yellow, more red and more blue. I can't decide if I want to stretch one of these over a canvas to use as an art piece or it would again make a super interesting throw pillow.  My only hesitation is that the ink may not hold up with the wear and tear of being on a couch with beverages near. So perhaps that one deserves some further thought.

So that's it. You've gotten a thorough {sorry!} look at my fabric bin. How about yours? Have you had any goods hanging around waiting for the right project to come along? Share your thoughts!