I hadn't intended leaving it so long before posting again but the post title
says something about how I'm feeling presently.
I think the past few weeks with family and friend happenings
have had an effect on my mental and physical state and my quilting
has suffered.
Example:
My intention was to post the photo below for February from
my calendar on 1st February
obviously I'm a little late!
Taking me longer than I had intended is the completed top
for my very dear friend who's battling cancer.
The green Guinea Flower fabric forming the border edge
isn't showing true, it's somewhat brighter than in this photo.
I've stitched twice around the outside edges to prevent
the edge of the seams opening, so fingers crossed
all works out well when it's being quilted.
This is going up North to
to work her magic!
When down in my stitching haven I decided to muster
my energy and re-cover my ironing board, after
collecting the batting etc. I came back into the room to see I had a helper
who wasn't inclined to move.
Now a question re scraps.
I am overloaded with them and really have to get busy and sort them,
I do have most sorted by colour but there are thee huge bins
sitting in the corner of the room staring at me each time
I walk through the door!
What size do you regard as a scrap?
Tiny odd sized pieces or a decent
size piece of fabric enough to cut a few shapes from
to use in a scrap quilt? Do you regard a fat or normal quarter as
a scrap?
I would be interested to know how many of you organise your scraps.
A few handfuls at one time is the first step for me, some to work on
below
and it's only a small amount but will be ok for starters.
I look forward to hearing your ideas and in the meantime I'm
going to be planning projects and trying to
get myself back to normal!
Have a good weekend.
Maureen
22 comments:
When I finish cutting a new project, I decide if the piece of fabric left is big enough to fold and store, or mere strip of fabric.I cut it into 1 1/2, 2 2 1/4 (because the binding ends go here), 2 1/2 and 3" strips and put them in rip-stop nylon bins from Ikea. Bigger ends get cut into 5 and 6 1/2 inch squares. Most scrappy patterns or string quilts work well with these sizes. I don't sort scraps by color until I know what I am going to do with them. I hope you get a plan and enjoy scrappy goodness as much as I do!
A few/ maybe many years ago I was so organised with the scraps, and had them all cut into 2.5 strips, then 3" and so on. Now, all the batiks go into a plastic bag, one of thos ziplock type, according to colour, roughly!!! Love those scraps there, and I,too, need a super charger for the battery down here. Too hot, we need rain so desperately. On a brighter note, a blog friend suggested I try ball point needles for sewing batiks, and it seems so much better. The Island Batik Ambassadors were given Microtex sharps and they seem to like them. I guess as fabric is so expensive down here we save everything that might be usable in anything.
We do tend to save everything I agree, at $32/m, it makes sense. However, you can get sick of your own scraps. I tend to make “slabs” out of mine every now and again, every slab block a different colour group, then use them as backgrounds for appliqué or as colourful quilts for littlies if they lots of juvenile prints in them.
Until then, they overflow from a couple of very large containers on my cutting table. I occasionally get sick of them and also cull them, loading the whole lot up to gift to another scrap quilter. I know the pleasure that I got from scraps from my first symposium a few years ago was way out of proportion with the actual amount of fabric, so I like to gift that feeling when I can.
Not much help here, but have fun, and if all else fails, find a willing recipient or have a giveaway!
Check out Bonnie hunters scrap user's system. She makes mostly scrap quilts.
I’m often looking for a particular fabric so I fold and file anything about one eighth or more. A scrap is the point at which the fabric is essentially a stand in for any other of it’s color or shape...for example, spider webs use strips and chunks for the ends. Bit coins take small strips of a particular color. But in those cases I’m never thinking I need a particular fabric. That is, you want a system that helps you use your fabric so you get the most enjoyment from it with the less friction.
I don't seem to have many scraps at the end of a quilt these days but if there are bits I cut them into 1.5"strips if they are tiny. Anything bigger goes back into stash - even if I'm not making a full-on scrap quilt I like to pull a few bits to keep things lively. I hope your batteries recharge soon.
I think smaller than a FQ and larger than 2'' square is a scrap! I will cut binding strips out of length and put in scrap binding bin. I like mixing up bindings so this works for me. Then I cut florals into 2'' strips. I have a list of scraps quilts I like to make and know the sizes they take....wider strips and squares, so I generally cut to those sizes. And then there is always the sting bin.
For the record, I tried Bonnie's pre-cutting method and it did not work for me - things were always the wrong size for the project (right fabric, wrong size). I use a two stage process - resource boxes for less than 1/3 yard but larger than a charm square and crumb boxes for charm squares or smaller - all sorted by color. It has worked for me for many years with only minor adjustment (adding another sub-division of a larger color group for example). Think about what you typically use (size of pieces) and go from there - if you don't use teensy pieces, don't keep them. (I find that cleaning out almost always re-energizes my batteries - hope it works for you). (there are photos of my storage here - https://quiltdivajulie.blogspot.com/p/inside-my-studio.html)
I manage each piece of fabric as I finish with it. For me a it isn't a scrap unless it's down to 5" square size. Otherwise, refolded and back in the stash which I have stored in colorway. The smallest pieces consistently on top so they are the first grab when needing that color.
If it's barely enough for a strip up to 2.5", that is trimmed and put into my strip bin which holds 1.5, 2, and 2.5" strips and partial strips.
If it's smaller than the 5", it gets trimmed into squares for my pencil boxes: 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5.
That's it for scrap in my studio. By the time a top is finished, all leftovers are in their proper places. Then I have a clean slate for whatever I decide to work on next. No chores hanging over my head.
Hi Maureen, yes life happens and batteries need recharging!
Great progress on your gift quilt, very thoughtful.
I keep everything by color. If a scrap is smaller than 1.5-2" out it goes.
Wow...such a great intention....Here...nothing much is organized...or it is a bit, until I start another project...Scraps not organized...3 big barrels of scraps..TBTG one of my groups wanted to take some...wonderful.
As for re-charging batteries...that is my middle name...sigh xoxoxo
We all need to recharge when life interrupts our sewing, I think--at least for me returning after a hiatus can be difficult...
I store my scraps by color--and anything that is bigger than 1" +/- I consider worth keeping...and this year I have been using them doing RSC
I don't pre-cut; doesn't work for me. Good luck with your re-org of your hoarde...;) hugs, Julierose
My scrap system changes year by year! Right now I have everything sorted by color: fat/long quarters, strips, chunks, and crumbs. Crumbs go down to about 1.5" on the shortest side. Strips are often (but not always!) cut to 1.5", 2" or 2.5". I find that the time I spend sorting my scraps often sparks new ideas for quilts, so even though it seems like a chore when I start, I end up feeling energized. At the very least, the studio gets a little neater :)
Oh yes, definitely have moments where the batteries need serious recharging. Usually seek out the orphan blocks or scraps and just kind of lose myself in a squirrel project.:) My scraps are pretty small honestly. Anything over 3" or so wide get folded back up in the remaining fabric usually.:)
Hi Maureen, smiles and peaceful greetings to you in daffodil season (here they are just starting, with the 6" ones first, soon we'll have the tall stately ones -- Yellow is returning to the landscape! Soon we'll have pinks and peaches, reds and fuschias - quilter joy everywhere. On the question of scraps, I have lots and heaps of them, so each major color has a container for unsized pieces (which, depending on how much I love the fabric, can be from a wierdly shaped tiny triangle, to most of a fat quarter if I really don't like the fabric very much. Each major color also has a container for strips (1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2", and a container for blocks (same dimensions, plus 3, 3-1/2, 4-1/2, 5-1/2 plus odds), the containers are from the Dollar Store, plastic, clear, with lids, about 9"x14" by either 2" or 4" deep. This makes it super easy to start scrap, donation, or theory play projects. It took a while for me to convert to this system, (like, three months of cutting baskets full of scraps into useful precuts, and finding containers that worked for my shelves), but now that I have learned to use and maintain it, my productivity and use of scraps and ease of fabric play has really increased dramatically. (7 color-play quilt tops since the first of this year!) And, now is the perfect time to get your scrap system organized, as it's currently Mercury Retrograde, for three weeks, and that's all about unfinished business and organizing things! Ride the energy and tame the scraps ... (ps, I do have a scrap section of "multi-color scraps for those wonderful vibrant pieces that are so fun to find the perfect spot for!) Smiles and peace, energy and happy sorting to you!
I definitely need a recharge. I have been sorting scraps and sorting. Sort of drowning in them. I bought a couple of 10 drawer bins on wheels and am trying to get a lot of them organised in there because I hate having them in boxed on the floor. I try to have a system, but the volume sometimes is crushing.
Anything I'm tired of becomes a scrap. Plus the cut offs from quilt backs and small leftovers from a project. I toss them in a bag and do something when the bag is full... as it is now. Sigh.
Your Diamond quilt is looking lovely. I hope you finish it soon.
I store my fabrics by colour, and anything from 10" square or larger gets folded and popped into its colour basket. And all those smallish cut offs as I sew, they all get chucked together into a larger basket under my sewing table. Now & then I sort this out, either to use, give away, or chuck out.
Your diamonds quilt looks great, love that border!
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I'm sorry to hear you have been struggling. Scraps for me are about 10" or smaller. I do try and sort them by colour but have got a couple of big tuns that have got all my latest scraps just thrown in. I prefer not to precut my scraps (some people have bins of 2", 2 1/2" and so on) as I like to know what I'm using them for before cutting them up. My smallest ones at the moment are 1" but that's because of my Omigosh quilt which takes them that size. Your diamond quilt is lovely and will be a welcome gift.
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