Do you use Leftovers?

I am not a fan of "leftovers for dinner", any more than I like leftover blocks from a quilt.  They only take up space and rarely get used.  At least, by me, they rarely get used. 

   I was sorting the piles on the work table and putting away the batiks.  Yikes, guess what I found.  More cobblestone blocks.  Hard to believe I had discarded these when putting together  Cobblestone Lane, but I did.   So, I decided to re-purpose them into a background piece for some applique. 

Not all the sizes matched, so I   had to do some sacrificial cutting to make things fit into rows.  I also needed to add a few filler strips to have the rows the same size.

I am auditioning a few different fabrics for the first border.  I am going for a blended look...so lighter at the top and  darkening down the sizes to the bottom.  I'm not satisfied with the right side at all....so more work to be done there.    I'll leave it on the design wall to ponder on while I get the applique ready to add.    

  And what to do with strings?   I found a good many of those too.  With the price of fabric going up, I couldn't throw them away.   Some are straight, most are crooked on one side, a few are only an inch wide......I decided to sew them together...no matter what.  I have a plan for them....and no, not a journal project, or an art quilt.  This will be a useful item, I hope, when finished. 

Insight:  Fabric is expensive.  Leftover blocks and strings = $.  Find a reason or way to use them.   Somehow... that means I saved money!

Happy stitching.