Prayer Flags.. a repository for bits and pieces!

A quilting friend's recent move to a new home and upcoming birthday gave me the perfect occasion to create some prayer flags for her gardens. Somehow, once I decide to make one of these, the flags fairly invent themselves. And the most fun part of making them is that I need to paw through all those wonderful bits and pieces that have found their way into the sewing room over the years. At last- a use for them. There certainly are enough, and many of them have been here for quite some time with no real intended purpose. The hand-printed fabric piece was a leftover piece from Michigan fiber artist, the ball fringe (who ever thought there would be a use for that??) came from an estate lot of trims given to our sewing group, and the lace was just one of many pieces in the stash. And they all landed together in this little house flag. 

And while I was pulling things together for that flag, I came across yet more bits and pieces that looked at-home together. Those I set aside for another flag. The handsome bird stenciled on linen was part of a prize package I won in a blog drawing. Of course he belongs in a garden as part of sunny yellows, grassy greens, and flowers. 

And then there's this grouping of items. Small bits I just couldn't part with will go together in a more "earthy" combo. The background fabric is some rust-dyed muslin with which I experimented. The deterioration has already begun, so into the garden they will go where they can wave and fly free until they disintegrate and are no more.

Then there's this lively grouping chock full of hand-prints. The spool images were part of another blog prize drawing I won for early enrollment in a Kelli Perkins online class. I can hardly wait to see what these become! These are a bit like card making- while working on one, another project is percolating in my mind. I must stop at some point, but haven't reached that point just yet!