I've been putting off a job - clearing out my huge trash basket next to the sewing machine. Sometimes, good stuff remains on my sewing desk and I just swish all those unknowns into the huge trash basket, mostly to clear it off my mind. A few crumb block items were made recently from the top layers, but its depths remained undisturbed for years. Today was the day. The 6 ft. picnic table was dragged from behind the sofa and set up for WORK! I figured, lights, medium lights, darks including black and reds, bright kids prints, and several packages of "too good to throw out, but presently useless."
Here is yet another mess! Nothing except the woven trash basket seams worth keeping! Perhaps I've already used up the best parts? ...perhaps I should press it all and trim ... maybe an Internet search to Walmart or Menards to invest in another small storage cabinet ... there went 2 hours on the computer!
With so much unused, sorted, pressed yardage nicely folded up in other cabinet drawers, it seems almost pointless to use up these bits and crumbs. Maybe this mess needs to "cook" for a while .. maybe I should just make up a few 9-patches and see what happens, maybe a double strong cup of coffee??? or, perhaps I should just return to the collection of "I spy" prints, stored in another cabinet. OK brain, concentrate and do SOMETHING!!!!
Wow. Talk about "one man's trash, another man's treasure"!
ReplyDeleteI love cutting stripes on the bias for use as binding (no worries about whether it's been cut exactly straight). Is there enough there for a scrappy binding for a quilt or two?
Have you invested in Bonnie Hunter's (Quiltville) Scrap User's system? That would tame several of the smaller scraps.
Do you belong to a guild or bee? Bagged up and offered for free, these scraps would probably disappear before your back was turned!
Carolyn
Your quilts are so precisely pieced that doing an improve might make you ill...but I'm not on my third quilt top from my bin of blue scraps and the freedom to just throw it together is not going away. My back is sore and supper is late, and this is still fun. Some charities love them too. But I also understand the temptation to get rid of them. I like precise too! Let us know what you decide!!
ReplyDeleteoops that sentence should read, "I'm starting my third quilt..." I do need to go eat rather than let typos rule! :-)
ReplyDeletePass it along, Elaine. I would phone a guild or a church group and ask if they accept fabric donations. They can probably come and pick it up. Good luck with that. ;^)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't let these little pieces sidetrack you. Don't you want to use your wonderful yardage instead of letting it go on your estate sale? Let the scraps be on the sale. Cut up your favorite fabric yardage and enjoy every minute of it.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem to grow, like rabbits. I have the same problem.
ReplyDeleteI have decided that I don't have the interest or desire to play with scraps anymore. I have a friend that relishes coming and taking all the scraps I want to part with - that would be nearly all of them. I do keep a few 2.5" strips when I cut too much binding, but that is about it. Bonnie's scrap saver system has never worked for me because I just don't do "anything goes" scrappy, even though I love to use a lot of fabrics in my quilts. I have too much good stuff and not enough time left to sew it all up.
ReplyDeleteI've recently been reminded that we are not promised tomorrows - use the good stuff first. If you run out of fabric and money, drop me a line and I will send fabric!
I wouldn't invest in containers. Either use it, if you like scrappy quilts, or give it away.
ReplyDeleteFabric out of sight is rarely used.
I've got a bin like that too that fills up so quickly! It is nice to get the scraps laid out occasionally but I'm not really sure they get USED up any more quickly...
ReplyDeleteA lot of good suggestions here already! I agree that if you really don't want to deal with them, bag 'em up (maybe sorted by color?) and give them away as Rainbow Scrap Challenge Gift Bags. The improv quilt idea works too (think Gee's Bend or Quilt Diva Julie Sefton). If the pieces are big enough to cut into 2-1/2" strips, a good "kitchen sink" or "paper bag" scrap quilt would get them moving out of the basket. Something like Bonnie Hunter's "Scrappy Trips" or "Scrappy Bargello" or even Pat Sloan's "String Bean" Log Cabin style block that she'll be doing as a "Block A Day" project in March would use them up fast. A Postage Stamp quilt in 1, 2 or 3 inch finished squares could be in order if you like that type of project (or using all three like in the Temecula Quilt Co. "Four Patch Works" design). Or just about any of Emily Bailey's (Aunt Em's Quilts) designs would get them going.
ReplyDeleteWhatever it is, it has to be something where you don't have to think about what color or style of fabric you are using, just grab and sew. Even better, if you have a friend nearby with a die cutter machine (or always wanted one yourself), those scraps could get cut up into the size strips, squares or HST triangles you need pretty quickly and almost effortlessly. Whether you us them or let them go, they'll make somebody happy!
Thanks for a very enlightening post. I love the responses you've gotten down to names of specific quilts to make. And, won't it be freeing if you decide to part ways with the fabric? Whatever you decide to do be happy with the decision -- no second guessing. (Well unless you realized you just gave away or cut up a piece that would work perfectly in a current project!)
ReplyDelete