Colourful Wreath with Little Balls of Fabric

While making my first rag quilt, I kept all the of the scraps. I didn't want to throw away any leftover fabric just in case I could use them for a future project. I searched online for some ideas and I saw you could make little balls of fabric using your scraps. I had some embroidery thread I wanted to use up so I decided to go with making some fabric balls.

I rolled up my flannel scraps into balls about an inch in diameter. I inserted my needle just under where the fabric ended to hide the knot and started wrapping the thread around the ball by weaving through the fabric. Once I had wrapped enough thread around the ball, I inserted the needle completely through the ball to the other side and the stitched a couple back stitches to secure the thread.

As I was making these balls, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. I could make a necklace or a mobile, or just display them in a glass vase. I kept the little balls for a few years and finally I decided to make a wreath.

When my husband and I were renovating our kitchen, I asked our wonderful handyman to cut out a few circles from plywood that I could use as a frame for a wreath. I used one for this wreath. 

I cut out long strips of flannel and washed the strips to give them a ragged effect. I placed a layer of batting on the front side of the frame and then wrapped the frame with the fabric strips. I pinned the flower to the wreath and then I then glued all the balls onto the wreath using hot glue. Once I finished securing all of the balls, I glued the knitted flower. I had tried knitting a few flowers for fun and this one matched so I decided to use it. The light pink flower on top of the knitted flower is actually a hair piece, but I had bought it to use as a decoration in a wreath one day. Since it had a clip, I just clipped it to the knitted flower. I think the two flowers make a pretty combination and match perfectly with the fabric balls.

Starfish Pillow

I was inspired to make this Starfish pillow when I saw the Heart Wall Hanging project in the book "Inspirational Ideas - 200 Easy-To-Make Pretty Gifts For The Home". The wall hanging used the same fabric that I already had in my stash, so instead of hearts which were appliquéd on each square, I thought Starfish would be fun. Plus, I wanted to use up my embroidery thread. 

I searched online for a drawing of a starfish and found one I liked. I traced each starfish on a large piece of fabric so I could secure it in the embroidery hoop. Once I embroidered all the starfish, I cut out the blocks and sewed them together. Initially I was going to make a wall hanging, but decided to make a decorative pillow with piping and an envelope closure.

I chose to use the backstitch for the outline of the starfish and french knots for the spine (I am not sure if the small dots represent the spine or the skin).

Below is the starfish drawing I found online.