Tutorial: Dishy Scraps

Or is it "Scrappy Dishes?" 

I've recently discovered another way to use scraps - scarps, as my friend Char (Cloth Stitched) once called them. 😀

Let's make fabric dishes!

I learned this technique from Tash Wallace @sistacraftsidn during a recent free online craft summit, and haven't found a guide or tutorial for them on the Internet. 

Supplies

• print or solid fabric scraps
• white fabric scraps
• Modge Podge - I used "Gloss"
• brush
• small dish - I determined that a dish 3" to 4" wide is as big as I want
• plastic wrap, like Saran Wrap
• waxed paper - I used it beneath a dish as I worked, and allowed it to dry there too

Use fabric scraps! Shown below are off-cuts from making a Posh Penelope quilt. Or select a single print, or a combo of prints to cut up. Anything goes!

offcuts from "Posh Penelope" blocks

I found it most efficient and fun to make two bowls at a time. I could let one step begin to dry while I worked on the other bowl. 

Prep the Dish

From the bottom of the dish, cover it with plastic wrap. 

Smooth the plastic wrap over the ridges and curves of the dish bottom. 

bottom of dish

Wrap the plastic wrap around the dish edges, and crumple it in the bowl of the dish.

inside of dish

Keep scissors handy to trim away too-sharp points, or loose threads. I found that triangle shapes worked well to follow the dish's contours, but I used all shapes.

NOTE: To build the dish, the following three layer sequence is much like making a quilt sandwich. 

1. The first layer is placed face down, like a quilt back; 
2. the second layer is solid white fabric "batting;" and
3. the third layer is placed face up, like a quilt top. 

FIRST LAYER

Place the dish bowl face down (bottom of dish face up).

The first layer of scraps will become the INSIDE of the bowl.  So...

PLACE EACH PRINT FACE DOWN. (If you're using solids, this doesn't apply.)

Brush the bottom center of the bowl (covered with plastic wrap) with Modge Podge. Position any scrap on the bottom. IF YOU WISH, you may intentionally choose to fussy cut a design that will be seen in the bottom center of the dish. (See finished dish pictures at the end of this post.)

Brush Modge Podge onto the scrap fabric and adjacent plastic wrap, overlapping fabric scraps. Continue piece by piece, adding scraps around the dish to cover the entire surface. The more overlap, the stronger your finished bowl will be. Be sure to cover the dish to the edges that are laying on the waxed paper. Letting fabric lay beyond the edges is fine, because these edges will be scissor-trimmed at the end. 

First layer complete

This is the second dish I worked on simultaneously. 

SECOND LAYER

When your dish has been covered with the first layer of scraps, add a second layer of fabric. While the first layer is still wet, cover it with white fabric scraps. Any white or neutral-colored solid will work. Note how fabrics overlap. I used mostly square-ish scraps.

As before, start at the bottom center and work outward, overlapping fabric pieces. 

THIRD LAYER

Modge Podge another layer of print (or solid) scraps, right side up to cover the entire surface again.

These are the bottom of the dish, so you'll place these prints RIGHT SIDE UP.

At this point, your dish will look very milky - the effects of Modge Podge - but as the piece dries, prints will become clear. 

bottom of bowl

    

ALLOW TO DRY

If you've used waxed paper under your project, let it dry there. But if you've Modge Podged on paper, move it to a waxed surface like waxed paper or the waxy side of freezer paper. (How do I know not to let a dish dry on paper? Hmm... I wonder. 🤔)

Allow to dry overnight.

Use a flat tool like a knife, to gently separate the fabric dish from the plastic-wrapped bowl. The dish and fabric can be clingy. If your dish comes out slightly misshapen, don't worry; it can be pushed back into shape. If it seems damp on the inside, let the fabric dish continue to dry.

TRIM

After removing plastic wrap from the dish, put it back into the fabric dish. Use scissors to trim along the edges.

I love my collectible "Petal" glassware, but cutting around those shapes was a little tricky... something to keep in mind when you're selecting dishes to use as templates. (I've always loved this dessert dishware collection because each petal has, what seems to me, a Christian cross at the tip.)

The upside of using Petal is that each tip gave me a place to glue some leftover diamond art gems! Yep, these dishes can be embellished. How about acrylic gems, beads, or buttons?

HOW TO USE YOUR DISHES

These dishes can never wash be washed - don't eat out of them - and they aren't rigid. But they're useful for keeping items together like: 

• jewelry
• wrapped candies
• key fobs
• thread and/or yarn snippets
• pins

Best of all, you've used some of your smallest scarps scraps! 

I was so happy with my first two dishes, I made three more! I borrowed these dishes from my friend Donna. The dish the left has a short ½" vertical lip; the right dish has a unique shape.

Each of these fabric dishes finished with a fabric design intentionally positioned in the bowl center. The fussy-cut piece was the first scrap I applied, FACE DOWN. 

from the top

You can even add a fussy-cut shape to the third layer (dish bottom), if you wish - like the one on the far right. 

from the bottom

Here's a look at all the dishes I used, and the fabric dishes I ended up with. 

Does it look like fun to you? I sure enjoyed myself. Now I'm eyeing other dishes (also in thrift stores) as potential fabric dishes... What other shapes might I make?

And what do you think? Linda

End of August Fabric Use and Book Recommendations

It's almost embarrassing to share how little fabric I used in August. A measly half-yard of fabric was used to finish Ignite with facing. And I gave some scraps of University of Northern Iowa and University of Texas fabric to a friend who's making a quilt with collegiate sport prints. The lone incoming piece was picked up from a free scrap table because I thought it would make a nice sunglasses case. 

So that's it - my least-amount-of-fabric-used month ever. 

Book Recommendations

I had much more success listening to good audiobooks in August - 11 titles, and all of them were great!

Using my personal scoring method, with 5.0 being the highest, here they are in rank order. 

4.6 - The Divine Proverb of Streusel, Sara Brunsvold

4.5 - Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë 

4.5 - All My Knotted-Up Life, Beth Moore

4.4 - We Were Never Here, Andrea Bartz

4.4 - The House of Eve, Sadeqa Johnson

4.4 - Sleepless, Gordon Korman

4.4 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Volume 1,  Beth Brower

4.4 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Volume 2,  Beth Brower

4.4 - Wish, Barbara O'Connor

4.4 - Dream, Barbara O'Connor

4.2 - Deep Dish, Mary Kay Andrews

The Divine Proverb of Streusel is the third book I've listened to by author Sara Brunsvold of Kansas City. She has a remarkable gift for identifying relational conflicts, and suggesting means of restoration, including Scripture.

In Streusel, Nikki is dealing with her Dad's infidelity and parent's divorce, as she is questioning her own relationship with a fella who she knows intends to propose marriage. With an intense desire to get away, she retreats to her grandmother's home in rural Missouri. There she immerses herself in getting to know her uncle, learning more about her family, engaging in community activities, and trying German recipes found in an old family cookbook.

This book touched my heart, speaking volumes about valuing one's heritage and family. 

Determined to listen to at least one classic a month, for August I chose Jane Eyre. I'm glad I did! I had never read the book, and when I mentioned the title to friends, many of them said they'd seen the movie which I have not seen. This was a 22+ hour listen, but worth every moment as I immersed myself in the societal norms of England in the early 1800s - orphanages, class distinctions and behaviors, and all of them with religious overtones that weren't always charitable or kind. Jane was a stalwart girl and young woman with impeccable moral standards.

I have had All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore on my saved list for many months. I was reluctant to read it, knowing Beth was molested as a child. She talks about it in a sensitive way, elaborating on her emotional struggles and eventual forgiveness. She also share the where's and why's of her love of God, and her break with her beloved Southern Baptist Church. She's Anglican now. 

As Beth does when she leads a bible study, she writes insightfully. I also enjoyed her humor, often self-deprecating, and laugh out loud funny.

We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz is a fictional story that's unlike any I've ever read.

Two best friends travel together to an off-the-beaten-path place in Chile. While there, the unthinkable happens - a man is killed - and the friends cover up the murder. But is this truly a one-off? The same thing happened on an earlier trip the women took together. Now back in Wisconsin, they can both forget what happened. Or will they constantly be worrying whether something will catch up to them? And who's to blame? That's the part that got me. I didn't see the truth. 

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson is about two young black women who are expected to "stay in their places." In spite of her low social standing, Ruby is determined to be the first in her family to attend college. She has huge obstacles, mostly financial, to overcome. Eleanor too has big aspirations, but when she falls for William who's from an elite black family, she learns that she too might not measured up to their expectations. Maybe having a baby will help her be accepted. It's interesting to see Ruby and Eleanor's stories collide. 

Okay... I adored Sleepless by Gordon Korman, though the book is considered YA (young adult).

Five middle school kids find themselves unable to sleep at night. The book follows each of them, one by one, as they hide their inability to sleep and use those hours to improve themselves - exercise more; work on science projects; develop better social media interactions; practice singing. Each is on his or her own, thinking they're the only one who's sleepless. However, when they work out that they're part of a small group, they make plans to get to the bottom of what's happening to them. Eventually they realize they have a choice about their futures - do they continue in their sleepless state and remain productive?

This book gave me pause, and food for thought. What if we didn't require sleep? What could we accomplish? If you have a young adult in your life, I highly recommend they read this book. 

It seems everyone is reading The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. I understand there are many of them, though I have audiobook access only to the first two books. (Hoopla, please get Volume 3!)

These stories are about Emma who, in 1883, has arrived at her family home in London. Both her parents are deceased, and she's meant to inherit the house. However, her despicable uncle is in residence, and refuses to grant Emma any of her inheritance. She's relegated to living in the fourth floor tower room.

These books/"journals" are about Emma's plans to earn a living, her aunt's plans to expose her to society, and people she meets along the way.  

Two more good reads... Wish and Dream, both by Barbara O'Connor, are also YA books.

This story is about 11 year-old Charlie who has been taken from her parents (dad's in jail; mom has depression), separated from her big sister, and sent to live with her aunt and uncle (who she doesn't know) in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Charlie doesn't want to be there - doesn't want to attend school, and is difficult, with a quick, mean temper. She doesn't want to make friends. But neighbor boy, Howard, isn't taking no for an answer.

Dream is about a totally different young girl, Idalee, who lives with her single mother in a big house that they let to tenants. Idalee's mom is a country-Western singer who goes on the road, and while she's away, Idaleee tries to write lyrics for a song contest... so she can win money to buy a new guitar.

Howard (from the Wish book) visits Idalee, and introduces her to Charlie. The girls become good friends. These are sweet books. Loved them!

Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews is sort of like watching a Hallmark show, though profanity is used in this story.

The premise is that good 'ole Southern boy Tate, has a cooking show called "Vittles" where he fishes and hunts for the food he prepares. On the other end of the cooking spectrum is a young professional, Gina, who's TV cooking show "Fresh Start" has just been cancelled. Now Tate and Gina are in a competition to win a spot on a coveted national cooking show. They just have to battle through three cooking challenges while on an island off the Georgia mainland. It's a love story, of course. 

I'd recommend reading every one of these books! Let me know which one(s) you like. Linda

Again, Where Have I Been?

Now, where have I been?!

Hubs and I left last Tuesday for a get-away to celebrate our 54th anniversary on August 26. We headed to the west coast and then followed Florida's Big Bend to the Panhandle, from Cedar Key to Fort Walton Beach. 

Yellow stars indicated where we spent our nights in Apalachicola, and Okaloosa Island

Our first stop was Cedar Key, a place we'd visited in June 2024. We were there just a few months before Hurricane Helene hit in September. (This YouTube video gives you an idea of how damaging Helene was.) We wanted to check out the condition of the little town that's at the end of a 21 mile peninsula. 

We ate lunch at Steamers. The food was as excellent as I remembered, though the restaurant has temporarily relocated due to damage from a September 2024 fire - yep, first a hurricane; then a fire. A new, elevated restaurant is being built.

Overall, the community appears to be in a slow recovery mode, with many waterfront buildings being renovated and put on stilts. The only grocery store remains closed, so residents have to drive 30 miles to Chiefland for supplies.

Located on the waterfront, the "Pink Pearl" is where we stayed during our last visit, and though it's on a waterfront street seemed to be the same... likely due to it already being on stilts.

We continued driving north, bearing slightly left to travel along SR(state route)98 with the unseen Gulf of America to our left. I took pictures as we passed along this "Big Bend" so you can see that Florida isn't all beaches and congested entertainment areas. 

Chiefland area

It looks quite bucolic in places, with occasional deer crossing and bear crossing signs. 

Eastpoint area

I always liked it when SR 98 took us along the empty oceanfront. 

We spent one night at the Gibson Inn in Apalachicola, an historic town along the Apalachicola River that spills into the bay/gulf. 

photo courtesy of Gibson Inn

We arrived without reservations (something we do when traveling mid-week around Florida). The Gibson Inn was established in 1907, and much of the old character has been retained.

We had a lovely third floor room.

Our window view of downtown looked toward the river and bay. One block away, Water Street was once the site of more than 40 three-story cotton warehouses. In the 1840s to 1850s, Apalachicola was the third largest cotton shipping port in the US behind New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama.

Nowadays Apalachicola is known for it's production of Tupelo Honey. Apparently it's highly prized, and unique among honeys.

White tupelo trees along the Apalachicola River produce white blossoms for two to three weeks each April. During that time, bee hives are loaded onto boats and taken through swampy areas to pollenate the trees. The honey produced is a light golden color and never crystalizes. It's supposedly beneficial to diabetics and people with allergies - even people who do not live locally. 

https://www.tupelohoneyflorida.net/

I took a picture of a picture hanging the wall of our Gibson Inn room. I wish I knew the year it was taken and who the women were. Charming, isn't it? They're on the beach. See how they're holding the tails of their dresses between their legs, to keep their skirts dry? 

Continuing our SR98 journey the next day, this is still the Apalachicola area. 

This is the Port Saint Joe area.

These are Port Saint Joe residences to our right along SR98, overlooking the Gulf. 

Homes built along here have to expect hurricanes. 

This part of Port Saint Joe along the ocean remains mostly pristine. 

I appreciated seeing natural sea grasses and sand dunes. 

This is a typical home on Port Saint Joe Beach. Lots of properties are for sale, but none are at a bargain price. We agreed that renting is the best way to spend time in a hurricane-prone ocean front home.

This is a cabbage palm at Port Saint Joe Beach. 

Our SR98 view of Mexico Beach. This area is referred to as "The Forgotten Coast."

Going toward Fort Walton Beach is a stretch of SR98 - Henderson Beach State Park - where you can see dunes and grasses protected and left to their natural beauty.

Our second and third nights were spent on Okaloosa Island at Beal House, a six-story hotel on Okaloosa Island at Fort Walton Beach. You can see why this is stretch of beaches is called "The Emerald Coast." 

From our fourth story balcony we had unobstructed ocean views... 

...though the sunset was just out of sight, to the west. 

The full moon. 

We walked on the beach, enjoyed meals out - something we don't often do at home - and played gin rummy while appreciating beach views... seeing occasional leaping dolphins. 

Hotel staff suggested a couple of webcams to watch.

One is from the Boardwalk toward the ocean, and sand volleyball nets where tournaments are held.

The other is the Okaloosa Island Pier marine webcam. That pier can be seen in my full moon picture.

Interestingly, Eglin Air Force Base isn't far from Fort Walton Beach, so we saw and heard fly-overs of F-25 Lightning II fighter jets. (I got this info after uploading my picture to Google Gemini to determine what we were seeing and from whence they came.) Pairs of jets were on fighter pilot training missions.

This was our last view of the beach before heading home. 

Almost unbelieveably, our entire return trip home along the same route was through steady rain. I'm glad I took "going" pictures as keepsakes of our lovely trip.

It's always good to visit new places in one's home state. Linda