Winter Quilted Throw

Some time ago at our church yard sale I picked up a dozen or so groups of wool strips to be used in rug hooking. I don't hook rugs (please...don't get me started on another craft!!!) but those wool strips just looked too darn useful to pass by. (That's the problem with a lot of things I've picked up; they just looked useful. Whether or not I wind up using them is beside the point.) One Christmas I used them to make ornaments. Very cute. I still had a lot left.

Another thing I had picked up was a bundle of upholstery and drapery samples at the thrift store. These too just looked too good to pass up. I wondered what on earth I was going to do with them. Eventually I made some potholders.

Well, yesterday inspiration struck:

I turned them into a quilt!

It was so easy. Each upholstery sample was cut in quarters. (I only used three...what to do with the others?) I used four wool strips to frame each one, then sewed them together. There was almost no cutting involved whatsoever because the wool strips were just the right size.

I used some brown flannel I got in the remnants box at Walmart for a border. I had just enough.  I also picked up a fleece throw for $2.97 to use for the back. Everything is so heavy it doesn't need any batting in between. This evening I started pinning the backing over the border to bind it. I'll finish up tomorrow. The finished dimensions should be about 58 inches x 48 inches.

I love using up things other people have discarded!