Where Scrap Taming Last Left Off -

Bags and bags and bags of scraps -

Each one stuffed with leftovers of previous projects, saved lovingly by a quilter who adored fabric and quilting more than anything.

I can relate - can you?

These are the bags of scraps I've been going through to determine what can go into my current Churn Dash project.

And yes, there is such a thing as "Scraps Too Small To Save!"

I've been fortunate in that the quilter's daughter saw fit to sort all of the small pieces into color families, or themes such as "Juvenile" or "Christmas" to make dealing with all of this easier on me.

I am grateful!

It has enabled me to grab a bag during my evening phone conversation with my dad and just sort through.

Pieces too small to save are being weeded out.  Fabrics that are chintzy or polyester are included in that culling.

But there is so much good stuff!

My heart soars!

These small bits are useable in my small blocks.

On top of the pile - that pink rosebud print? I think I had that fabric in just about every colorway it came in back in the 90s - from my days of designing doll patterns and making clothes for them.

There is just enough in this small piece to get the 4 colored squares around the block center that I need - and it will be all gone.

That's been the focus of these scraps since the boxes arrived.  Save what I can, sew it up now.

I'm loving the multi-strip die I had specially made for my Accuquilt Studio.  It has two strips 1 1/2'', two strips 2'' and two strips 2 1/2''.  It makes saving scraps in useable sizes so easy.

My strip bin at the cabin is really short on 1 1/2'' strips, so I'm focusing on that.  And whatever else I can get out of the piece.

Anything less than 1 1/2'' but more than 3/4'' goes into the string bin when I am done trimming.

I can place several layers on the die.

I can place them where I get the best width from each strip -

That dark pink is centered over one of the 2'' sections.

After rolling through -

Bottom row: 1 1/2''

Center row: 2''

Top row: Strings!

And the ball of margins showing there really is not that much waste at all.

It's been great working through color families this way.

Layering for best use on the die.

Dealing with strips saved in useable widths makes my scrap quilting so much better than leaving scraps "as is."  It's cleaner.  It's easy to grab the sizes of strips I need for any block, and just start sewing.  Add in the benefit of built in variety in all the sizes I use most, and you can see why I talk again and again and again about my Scrap User's System.

If you don't have an Accuquilt - you can do this with your regular rotary cutter, or slotted ruler.

One word of encouragement - don't wait until there are bags and bags and boxes of untamed scraps.

Cut the scraps down to a useable width once you have them.  Make it a part of the clean up from each and every project.

I focus on strips in widths of 1 1/2'', 2''. 2 1/2'' and 3 1/2''.  I save squares of the same sizes. This is the bulk of what my Scrap User's System is made of.

These were smaller rectangles, not long enough to be strips.

These are being cut up for use in our on-going Fish School Leader & Ender challenge.

Have you started yours yet?  It runs form July to July!

One of these is not like the others!  Ooops!

A bit of seam ripper action and all was made right.  Yes, these are still being assembled as I am sewing other things.  July to July means July to July!

Much of yesterday was spent cutting out and kitting up units for a special project revealing soon!

Again, no fat-quarters or yardage was harmed in the cutting out of these block parts.  It's all from the Scrap User's System and was so easy to pull from.

I'll be revealing these soon!

Claiming space!

I've been binding on the Oak Leaf quilt in the evenings.  And I honestly thought I could finish last night, but on that last side, as I was sewing away -

Yeah.  That's a hole. 

Something must have snipped the fabric at some point, and I never saw it while sewing the binding on (because it was face down to the front of the quilt when putting it on by machine.)

It's going to wear.

So - I had no choice but to undo a bunch of binding stitching, and remove that foul piece of "Are You Kidding Me?!?!?" and I'm ready to splice in a new piece today.  

The quilt has waited THIS long to be done.  What's a couple of evenings more?

Son Jeff and Ashlyn are supposed to come up to celebrate birthdays this evening.

Our snow is also supposed to start this afternoon.  I'll be parking at the bottom of the hill before it does!

I'm feeling the need to dig in to a ferocious round of spring cleaning at the cabin, so my morning must-do's at the QPO Studio will be done quickly (including splicing that binding) and I'll be back at home cleaning and nesting.

Do you get that way in the late winter too?

January, I'm over you!  Get us closer to spring please!

Only a few days remaining!

The introductory price for Cherry Crunch is marked 25% off in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store.  No coupon needed!  Price reduction good through 1/31/22.

I have placed some OTHER Winter themed patterns ALSO at 25% off with no coupon required!

Forever Mine PDF pattern includes the runner too!

On sale at 25% off through 2/13/22

Warm Hands, Warm Heart & Winter Blues are both 25% off through 1/31/22.

If this is your first time downloading digital patterns from my store to a computer click HERE.

If you intend to download to an iPhone/iPad click HERE.

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

This about sums it up! LOL!

Happy Friday - and to those in the path of this weekend's Nor'easter that is inbound -Stay safe, stay warm, stay home!