As I'm going through all my closets, cleaning out what I can, I was getting ready to toss two "blankets" that we got as free Dodgers promotions at a baseball game. They're dyed blue and have Dodgers insignia on them, but they're made out of the same material I use for batting! All I have to do to use them is trim off the binding. Both are about twin size. What a cool find!

Sometimes my thinking cap isn't on when I start a cleaning spree. Then later on I realize hey I should have kept that! I don't always use normal batting for my quilts either, I use flannel and fleece too.

YAY! You can't beat that!

A friend of mine took a class on how to sew more "green". :D And exactly that was one of the suggestions. Take old blankets and things you think are ugly and cover over them.

Way to quilt green! Repurposing is helpful in every way!

I sometime use old blankets for batting, since I donate a lot of my quilts. I get them at the thrift stores, yard sales, etc. They work fine.

Aha! Thrift shops! I know of 2 I can go to! thanks for the idea!

I have used an old mattress pad as batting for a set of place mats I made. Worked great

Missi:
I, too, use old mattress pads for quilts, tablerunners and placemats. I've also used them in potholders along with the heat resistant material. They do work great. I make lots of quilts to give to the foster care program so the old mattress pads work great and help with the cost of making the quilt. I always use new fabric for the outside and if the mattress pad has a stain I don't use the stained part in the quilts. They do work great.

My mom made quilts when I was a kid and always put old blankets between the top and the back fabic. I have a 60 year old quilt that I use everynight to snuggle in that my made that has a wool blanket sandwiched in between. I love it.

WOW! that is great. I thought I was alone. I started quilting by using all my old dresses and my husbands blue jeans to make a very warm quilt. The church thrift has a free closet and some times I find the best clothes in prints I have not seen in years.I wash them and cut them and put them in to my scrap quilts.
Recycle re use. In these hard times we could all benifit from those old finds in the closet.
Have a Great Time sewing,
Chrissy B

just make sure they're well washed. no surprises later.

What a great idea. I never would have thought of that.

I finished up a table runner today and thought of you while I was making the quilt sandwich.

When I made quilts for two granddaughters in December, I carefully saved the scraps of Warm and Natural and zig-zagged them together with cream colored thread in a 3 step ZZ.

Yup, I used a section of the pad I had created to make today's table runner. That was very cost effective :-)

One tip, always use thread the same color of the cotton batting because you don't want darker thread showing through a light-colored fabric.

Piecefully yours,
Kay Susan

It is Like free fabric!
Something else that I have learned from one of the charities is to use all
the little scrap pieces that I used to through out. I was told to sew them no matter what color or size and then use a template of the size block you would like to work with & trim. I was told this was a crumble block. It is very color full and fun to see the outcome.
I sew a few pieces every time I sew. This way the scraps don't over whelm me.
This way I always have some scrap blocks to put together. I was amazed at how many lap quilts I could make each year.
Happy Quilting! You never know where you will find a little free fabric or batting,It is fun when you do!
Chrissy B

Great advice, Christina....

Quilt On! :)

Ok, It is 4:30 am here. What time is it there? I could not believe that a response happened so fast.
Happy Quilting, I am back to bed for a few more hours. Had quilting on the brain! That is a good thing
Chrissy B

Christina, I am in the Central time zone. I had quilting on the brain during the night. In fact, I planned out a quilt with batiks and had the math down pat. I was so wide awake that I got out of bed and puttered around the living room before turning on the computer.

Then, once relaxed, I curled up on the couch with my flannel quilt and a quilting book (is there something else???) and gently feel asleep with puppy at my feet. That's how DH found us this a.m. when he brought me a steaming cup of java. It was minus nine degrees F. outside.

Quilt on!!!

That's a great tip. Funny thing is I was just cleaning out some old blankets last evening to take to Goodwill. They would be perfect for batting for a couch throw. That will save me a few bucks.
Thanks for the idea.

Christina: What a great idea sewing all the ity bity pieces to get a crumb quilt going. I just threw about 3 pounds of small pieces of fabric out that I thought were too small for anything but guess what? They are now becoming a crumb quilt block and when they become a blanket I'll post pictures. Thanks again.