Using Your Scraps, Part 3

More ideas for using your collection of fabric strips...Sew the strips to foundation blocks. 
From any thin fabric you have in your stash, cut squares--anywhere from 6 1/2" to 10 1/2" square.  (The larger your square, the longer the strips will need to be to cover the square, so determine the size of your foundation square by the lengths of the strips in your collection.  Another thing to think about--the smaller your foundation square, the more of them you will need to make a large quilt top.)
You will cover the foundation square with the fabric strips, using the sew and flip technique, then you will trim the outer edges back to the size of your foundation square. 
Begin in the center of your square.  Lay one strip, right side up, across the diameter (or near diameter) of the square.  The ends of the strip should hang over the edges of the square.  The next strip you choose can be a bit shorter than the first.  Place it on top of the first strip, RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, matching the long edge on the right-hand side.  Stitch along this edge, using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Open out the stitched strip and finger press the seam.  Choose another strip, a bit shorter than the one it is next to (but be sure that it covers the foundation square) and repeat the process.  Continue choosing and sewing strips until the entire right-hand side of the foundation square is covered.  Rotate the square and do the same to cover the other side of the foundation square. 

 At this point, it will no longer look square.  Turn the entire piece over so that your foundation square is visible.  Using your square ruler and rotary cutter, trim the block to the original size of your foundation square. (Your foundation square may have shrunk with the stitching.  If so, do not follow the edges of the foundation square, but trim the block to the size it was to begin with.)
You can choose the color of the strips at random for a true scrappy look.  Or, you can use the same color strip down the center of each block and put light strips on one side and dark strips on the other.  Play with the placement of the blocks when you are ready to set them together.  Alternating the direction of the strips creates interesting designs.  Use my pictures for inspiration and have fun!!! 

A Bump in the Road

Well, so much for resolutions!  I'm already a couple of days late in blogging this week, and this post will NOT be about scrap quilts.  I am playing nursemaid to a husband who had surgery on Tuesday to repair a broken ankle.  I had good intentions of continuing with ideas for using fabric strips, but my brain is not into it right now and my time is spent doing other things.  Each day is getting a little easier, though, so next week I'll be back with some strip quilt ideas, complete with pictures.  Stay tuned!  (PS:  so glad that I'm a quilter!  Helps to keep my sanity!!!) :)

Use Your Scraps, part 2

Have you been piecing strips together?  Along the long edges?  Making strips of multiple strips so that you have pieces that are 6"- 8" wide?  If so, are you now wondering what to do with them??
Interesting quilt tops can be made merely by cutting squares from these pieced strips. 
--Cut 6 1/2" squares across the strips.  Lay them out so that alternate strips are horizontal while the others are vertical (a Rail-Fence type layout).  Mix up the colors as you lay out the squares.  A baby quilt, finishing 36" x 42",  will use 42 squares (set 6 x 7).  Cut more squares for a larger quilt.
--If you have the width to do so, lay your square ruler on the pieced strips so that the strips are on the diagonal of the square.  (Cutting the squares this way will require more pieced strips than the first method...but triangles resulting from this cutting method can be pieced together to form more squares.)  Lay out these squares so that alternate strips are pointing in opposite directions and play around with color placement.  Some interesting designs can result.
--You can also just alternate a strip square with a solid color square and do some fancy quilting in the solid square.
Use your imagination and be creative.  You will be amazed at the quilt you can make just by piecing together your leftover strips!    

Use Your Scraps, part 1

The whole point of sorting your scraps and leftovers is NOT storing them.  The real point of sorting is knowing what you have so you can begin to use your scraps and stash.  :)
Keep your eyes open for patterns that use the stash items you have.  In the meantime, pull out some strips, small squares or half-square triangles.  Press them so they are flat and ready to work with.  Keep a box of them next to your sewing machine and use pairs of them** as "run-offs" while you are piecing other projects. (**Pair up your squares or triangles by light/dark.  Strips can be paired up according to length; choose colors at random.)  Before you know it, you will have enough of these units to use in a quilt top!

Boxes, Bags, Bins

If you are like me, as you've sorted your scraps, you've put them in boxes, bags and bins that you've had on hand. The 18-gallon plastic totes hold a lot!  Large shopping bags do too.  Shoe boxes, computer paper boxes and smaller totes are good depending on the size of the scrap collection.  If you choose clear plastic containers, you can easily see what is inside.  Label other containers with the contents.
My favorite containers for not only scraps, but also projects in progress, are the flat boxes I gather at my local Aldi store (a bulk-type grocery store).  Because of the way I store my scraps, they need to be pressed before I can work with them.  As I press them, I put them into a flat box so they stay nice and flat.  As pieces are cut for a quilt project, they go into their own flat box so they are all together when I am ready to begin putting them together.  I keep a flat box next to my sewing machine.  Pieced items that need to be pressed before the next step can be easily carried to and from the ironing board. And if I get interrupted and the project has to be put away, it goes into its own flat box, ready for me to pick it up and start again. 
(These flat boxes fit nicely inside an 18-gallon tote!  I have a lot of them stored inside MY 18-gallon totes...projects waiting to be completed and already pressed leftovers from previous projects...they will get used eventually!)

Storing Scraps, Part 3

I am not UNorganized.  I am not VERY organized.  I store my scraps and leftovers in ways that draw from both of these styles.  So, I call myself SOMEWHAT organized.
All of the charm squares that I have collected over the years are in one box.
Smaller squares are in their own zip-lock bags, somewhat sorted by size.
1/2 square triangles (those that haven't been passed on to a friend who makes miniature quilts) are in THEIR own zip-lock bag  
All of the strips leftover from projects are overflowing the large antique crock in which I put them. (I really do need to plan a strip-pieced quilt!)
Small scraps of fabric (smaller than 1/4 yard) are stuffed into a couple of plastic totes...a ready source for applique or scrappy piecing.
Larger pieces of leftover fabric (including fat quarters) are stored in boxes according to color.
My collections of 30's reproduction fabrics and late 1800's reproduction fabrics are in their own boxes.
And within my sewing room, I know where to find each of these collections. When I'm ready to start my next scrap quilt project, I dig into the collection I need.  That's when the fun begins! 

Storing Scraps, Part 2

So, how organized are you?  Unorganized, somewhat organized or very organized?
If you are a very organized person, perhaps you don't even like the idea of having fabric SCRAPS!
You are one who takes the fabric leftover from a quilting project and cuts it up right away into pieces that will be useable in a future project.  You cut 2 1/2" strips, 2 1/2" squares, 5" squares, or any other size squares you can comfortably get from your leftover fabric.  You then store these new pieces in their own (carefully labeled) containers so you know just where to find them. (Perhaps you even sort them by color...)  When you are ready to make your next quilt, scrap or otherwise, your pieces are all cut and ready to use.
I wish I were that organized, but I'm not.  Next week I'll tell you how a somewhat organized person stores her fabric scraps.  :)