Mom Jeans (and Other Recycling)

Big Buddy, my oldest grandson, hasn't had a new quilt in a long time.  Now don't get me wrong, I've made him lots of quilts in the past, but recently his little brothers have been getting new ones and he hasn't.  Time to fix that.  The top above is for him, and I'm calling it Mom Jeans.  Bonus--it's mostly blue, for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month.

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The quilt top is made of denim, as requested by Big Buddy, and all the pieces are recycled from old jeans.  Some of them are from my jeans, and some are from Big Buddy's mother.  (Two moms!)  My daughter is much more fashion-conscious than I am, so her discarded jeans were less worn than mine.  (She's also much slimmer, so I got less fabric from her old jeans.)  I used light blue, dark blue, and black.

The pattern is called Denim Rails, and is from the book Scraps and Shirtails, by Bonnie Hunter.  I didn't even change anything, which is unusual for me, except I didn't use strip piecing for the 9 patches, but just cut squares instead.

Since my grandson is 15 now, and thinks of himself as quite grown up (oh dear) I have been consulting him as I went along.  We still have a few decisions to make.  How warm does he want this quilt to be?  How thick should it be?  Cotton batting or poly?  Does he want a flannel backing or regular cotton?  Will a fabric I already have do, or do we need to order something?  And all of these decisions will affect how it gets quilted.

So this is as far as I can go without a further consultation.

You know, as much fun as it is to make quilts from new fabric and scraps, there is something really satisfying about recycling old clothes into a useful item like a quilt.  Although quilts have always been made from both new fabric and scraps, the traditional way to think about quilting is as a salvage craft, like making something from nothing.

This strikes a cord with me.  I love recycling!

These jars used to be filled with pesto or lemon curd.  Now they hold black raspberry jam, which I made this week from our berry harvest.

This old cat litter container makes a great diaper pail, with a flip-top lid.

And I've shown you my clothespin bag in the past, made from a rice bag.

What kinds of things are you recycling?  Got any good hints?  I would love to know!

Little Buddy (with Grandpa's help) built this tower, using all the wooden blocks and Legos we had.  I convinced him to let me take a picture, but seconds afterward, he gleefully demolished it.  I'm not sure which was more fun for him, building it up or knocking it down.

I always have much more fun making something than I do taking it apart.  (Does that mean I have a "constructive" attitude?)  I hope you have fun this week, whatever life brings your way.

Thanks for reading!

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Angela at So Scrappy

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Cynthia at Oh Scrap