I did get these done a couple of days ago, but I’ve been overcome by “non-quilting-stuff” since then so too busy to share. Maybe I should turn that “non-quilting-stuff” into a formal acronym, since it seems to interfere in my quilting life waaaayy to often to really suit. “Non-Quilting-Stuff,” I hereby dub thee NQS for short.

Anyway, here are the last two sets of twelve Inchies that all came from the same fabric (click for bigger pics, but in the pics below, they are close to life size, at 1″ square):

And here are the other two sets that you’ve already seen, just so you can see, all on one page, how different they are even though they’re all from the same original piece of fabric:

I did have six more Inchies from the same fabric chunk, but I decided that I didn’t really like them after all (they were kinda boring) and I was tired of working with that particular fabric. Also, I really need to experiment with some other materials, as the Timtex I used for the innards of the Inchies is really too hard to hand sew through to attach the beads. I was going to toss them in the trash, but ITMan stopped me, believe it or not!

I have some ideas for alternative materials, and I have a tiny sample chunk of Fast2Fuse that I got at the Houston Quilt Show the year it came out (that was 2004, the year of the books about Fabric Bowls and Boxes) that I’m going to try shortly, maybe tonight after dinner. See, this is why I keep these things! This little bitty sample is coming in handy now, isn’t it?

I’m completely hooked. My family thinks I’m nuts, but it’s certainly not the first time, and probably won’t be the last. I’ve picked out the fabric and all the beads and embellishments for the next (small) set with the Fast2Fuse sample, and I’m movin’ out! Then I have to hit the LQS for some other materials for the innards that I want to experiment with…and maybe some more beads, threads and embellishments while I’m at it. I’m in love with my quilting again!

Edit: Here’s a pic of the original fabric that all the Inchies came from (click to see it bigger):

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Note: Today’s Monday’s Melange post has been preempted by Inchies. Sorry, but I wanted to spend time making Inchies, not looking through bookmarks!

Inchies: It’s what’s for dinner! That’s what I told my family when they asked what was on the meal plan today. Okay, not really, but I wanted to! Here’s another set of Inchies that I’ve finished (click the pic to see them bigger):

My mind is workin’ overtime thinking of a way to use these in a bigger project, and I’m starting to get scared. That’s what usually happens when my mind works overtime; I have this sudden overload of creativity, and then I get involved in too many things and there aren’t enough hours in the day. But these Inchies are soooo fun, I just might have to throw caution out the window and go with the gut. The gut says “make more, more more!”

I sent a link to the first post about Inchies to my mom, along with some other ideas I have for projects that require LOTS of Inchies, and this was her response:

Didi…. Is there a 12-step plan out there somewhere? You REALLY need one, dear….

She’s always looking out for me…sort of…

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I’ve been bitten by this bug that carries this highly contagious disease for which there is no known cure, and the only symptomatic relief available is to make more and more tiny little works of art. I have seen these little Inchies around the Internet, and heard about them from quilting friends, but until now, I’ve managed to avoid contracting the infection.

All of my careful avoidance of those poor souls who carry the dreaded Inchie disease was for naught, as I got totally sidetracked yesterday in the middle of a line of machine quilting, no less. Actually, if the bobbin thread hadn’t run out, I’d still be happily quilting along, without a care in the world!

But no, I was quilting some pretty mindless grids in the sashing on this “just.get.it.done.” quilt, and the dang bobbin thread ran out on me, and since my mind was already wandering loose, it just kept on going and decided to stop quilting and make Inchies for the rest of the day instead. Here’s the output so far (click for a bigger pic):

I say “so far” because I have 42 more Inchies cut up and ready to edge stitch and embellish from this first chunk of fabric. I started with a fabric that was oriental looking and had lots of colors and a variety of motifs. I cut it fairly large (considering the size of the finished product) because I figured there might be some that I didn’t like after it was all cut up. That theory was pretty much just wrong, since what I ended up with was four distinct sets of 12 Inchies each, plus a set of six more that didn’t really fit with any of the others, and they were all fabulous!

I’m having a great time plowing through all of my beads, bits, baubles and trims to embellish as needed. About the only thing I’m currently missing that I’ve wished for is some copper or gold wire which I could swear I had some of at one time but I haven’t come across it yet. If I never find it, or I’m just imagining that I had it, I’m sure the Internet can cover me on that. As an aside, I did point out to ITMan that times like these are exactly why I keep all of this stuff…

Today I have some house cleaning and decluttering/moving prep to do, but I’m going to try to blow through that in as little time as possible so I can get back down here and play some more with these Inchies. How’s that for enticement? When I get the other sets done, I’ll post pics of course, and some tips I’ve already learned to make the process easier and the results better. Yup, I’m truly infected with the Inchie bug now, so you might want to go wash your hands (or eyes, or something) after reading this, or you may catch the dreaded Inchie Bug too!

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