Scraptastic

To keep or not to keep?

My monthly quilting extravaganza is generating a lot of scraps.  At first I didn’t feel bad about throwing the scraps away since I’m trying to GET RID of fabric, thank you very much.

Pile of Scrap

But then I started reading on the interweb.  Nothing good can come of that, right?  First I learned that one of the quilting trends for 2014 is scrappy quilts.  Then I read a few blog posts about people who were actually using their scraps.  People who don’t just save scraps in crumpled ziploc bags before eventually throwing them away.  Then I started feeling guilty about my scraps.

Resolution Updated

I’m going to do something about my scraps.  Here’s my plan:

  • anything smaller than 6 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ square is a scrap – time to sort through my stash
  • scraps will be trimmed to size and sorted in this order of priority – 4 1/2″ squares, 4 1/2″ triangles, 2 1/2″ squares, 2 1/2″ triangles – anything smaller goes in the trash
  • long strips at least 1 1/2″ wide are also saved – I’ll probably use these for a second scrap project
  • everything will be bagged and labeled
  • larger squares will be created regularly – when a bag of triangles is full the triangles will be pieced into squares and when a bag of squares is full 12″ squares will be sewn

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I like rule and lists.  They keep me organized (= sane). It’s the only way I get anything done.

I wonder how long it will take me to make a scrappy quilt?  I wonder if it will look good?

Stay tuned!