Treasures from Grandma

A couple of weeks ago I was in Port Angeles, Washington, at my grandparents' house for a few days.  I was helping sort and pack things up so the house can be put up for sale.  Grandma and Grandpa are getting older now (Grandpa is 90!) and they have moved in with my aunt and uncle who graciously offered a part of their home, and Aunt Marilynn helps Grandpa with the care he needs for his diabetes and anything else they need.

While I was there, Grandma told me that I could go through all of her fabric and take whatever I thought I could use.  In fact, she said, "Please! I want someone who I know can use it to take it, because I won't be using it anymore."  Grandma has been a quilter for years and years.  She has also sewn her own clothes, clothes for her 7 children, and gifts for her grandchildren and many, many other people over the years.  So you can imagine the huge supply of fabric and scraps that she had built up!  There were huge bins and boxes to go through!  My Mom and I and my Aunt Joanna had a great time going through it all, and I set aside my favorite pieces as we went through it.

Now, keep in mind, I live in Delaware, and this was taking place in Washington State.  I had to be selective about the things I set aside because I had to ship it all home to myself!  I limited myself to two boxes.  It was so much fun opening the boxes when I received them a few days after I got home from my trip!  

My boxes were full of fabric pieces of all sizes...some larger ones that are a yard or two, some medium sized pieces, a lot of smaller ones that are maybe the size of a "fat quarter", and some really small ones that I just couldn't pass up because they were so cute.

Here's one with cute little mushrooms all over it:

And one with little children gardening:

And here are some pre-cut quilt pieces that I didn't even know were in the box!

These little scraps are so cute, but so tiny! I'm not sure what I'll do with them:

Maybe I can get some ideas from this little booklet:

I've begun a new collection in my Etsy shop called "Violet's Treasures".  My Grandma's name is Violet (I just love her name!). Every item that I make that incorporates any of the fabrics that I got from Grandma will be a part of this collection.  Here's the fun part: everyone who is related to Grandma gets a 25% discount!  So, if you're related, just contact me before you order, and I'll give you a coupon code.  To find the items in my shop that are part of the collection, just type the words "Violets Treasures" into the "search this shop" box.

This little wristlet clutch is the first in the Violet's Treasures collection.

You can find it here in my etsy shop.

These scraps of fabric are truly treasures to me because they're from my Grandma. I'm so excited to see what I can create with them!