Trippin..pieces of the past....

About a year ago I gave away(except for postage) gallons of these 'samples' of fabric. They date back to when I had my quilt shop, Quilts on Main. They are fun to play with. You can play with them the way they are, once you pull out the staples that hold the stack together. Or, if you choose, you can re-cut each one for accuracy. I don't. I especially like playing with the plaid ones. Our friend Dot, at Rantala Rags got the pile in the first picture.
 Even with several gallons gone, I always manage to come across more! Here's an individual stack, still stapled, and a four patch made from sample pieces. I got very excited yesterday while blog hopping. Tonya, our wild and crazy friend in Paris, is playing with a newer product line call "Worn and Washed Fabrics". They are from used clothing and come in both jelly rolls and packages of squares. I was instantly reminded of this little plaid top I put together from samples last November. Because all the squares aren't the same size, it got wonderfully WONKY. You realize very quickly, when working with the sample pieces, that rows AREN'T going to match up....LOL. Now I"m inspired(thanks Tonya)to get this little fellow quilted!
 
 And last but not least, another PLUG for Gwen Marston. This is one of her newer books, kind of follows the format of the "Twenty Little ------" books. It has both pieced and appliqued quilts and is just plain fun. If you check out Gwen's website, she has a list of her books that are still available for sale. I see that only 4 of the 5 I have are listed there. She also did a book called Picture Books,I think, that shows you how to make fabric books for babies. I found that one on Hamilton Booksellers, and got it for Betsy for her birthday. She's been cranking out little 3" X 3" books for her granddaughter ever since. Little R. is only 6 months old, and the 3" size is perfect for her little hands....and also finds the books very tasty!!