So yesterday, while waiting for word on my 5 year old grandson who was having an extensive dental procedure under anesthesia (he's fine!), I needed some mindless project.
I pressed all of my batik scraps and started cutting them into 2.5" squares or 2.5x4.5" rectangles. I've sorting them into three piles, although that's not critical at this point. blue/green neutral/yellow/orange red/pink/purple
No design has come to mind. The rectangles could easily become squares, if you know what I mean. My complaint about MY scrap quilts is that they look just like that. Scraps, thrown together, without design, logic or grace.
Any suggestions? I'm not adverse to buying more fabric (!) to pull this project together.
The easiest thing I can think of for your squares and rectangles: Get some good black, or any other dark that looks good with batiks. Cut 2.5" squares. Make little 4.5" square blocks with a black corner. If you have enough matching batik squares and rectangles, you can do that, or mix the colors. Then play with layouts. (Any log cabin set would work.) Of course, you could just dump all your scraps in my mailbox! Roberta in D, Queen of the Scrap Heap
"joan8904 in Bellevue Nebraska" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@i29g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
If you don't like the totally scrappy look, try what I call planned scrappy. Print style/theme, repeated block design, fabric color, sashing, and other things can tie a quilt together into a cohesive whole.
You already have a print style--batiks. Stick with those.
You can also add specific color by sorting the scraps into rough categories. Sort by only primary color (red, pink, reddish orange, burgundy are all reds, ect.). Whatever you have the most of (reds, blues, or yellows) will be your main color and one of the other two can be your second color or your zinger. Now add whites, or blacks, or browns for a third color and you have your whole quilt color palette.
Next find a block design that looks good by itself. Turning Twenty is hard to do without looking scrappy so avoid blocks like that if you don't like a totally scrappy look. Pick one, or a nice pair of, traditional block(s) and make them all the same size.
Use as many different prints and shades of color as possible per block so that all the various prints and shades of color get evenly distributed across the quilt. The blocks will go together better if you do it this way, even if you think the individual blocks look ugly as you sew them.
After making the blocks lay them out. Do they seem to need something else to tie them together or do they look good butted up against each other? Not sure? Audition sashing by laying a large piece of fabric on your bed then laying four or six blocks over that, spacing the blocks so you see the fabric underneath between them.
Now borders. If you still have scraps left you can do a randomly scrappy border. Put it between two non-scrappy borders or add one non-scrappy and then one scrappy border to finish it off.
I call it planned scrappy, I don't know what anyone else would call it. Debra in VA See my quilts at
Howdy! Scrappy is one of my favorite ways to quilt. I find this site very inspiring.
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Squares & rectangles:
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Several years ago I recv'd a box of scraps from you, Joan, and finally tucked into them this summer, going thru' my scrap collections. So far I've made 3 scrappy tops, all sandwiched & pinned and waiting for the hoop. Gene loves the biggest one, which I consider "just a scrappy quilt" but he thinks is "beautiful, Sandra!" I gave it to him, pinned, to use as a muffler in the trunk of his car (kept 30 cans of cookies from sliding around on the way to Dallas). He returned it w/ reassurances that "the quilt didn't get a bit of dust or dirt on it!" I wasn't worried, considering his car, and "It's just a scrap quilt!" ;-)
Cheers! Good luck! Merry Christmas!
R/Sandy-- remembering a little "feather tree" sent for Christmas...
Thanks for the site link, Sandy. One of these days, I *might* manage a scrappy mini!! I will consider myself a 'broken-in' quilter once I have made a scrappy that I like >g< I love the example you picked out. . In message , Sandy Ellison writes
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