Scrap User's System

I like her system and I got as far as buying the bins! I also have a New Year goal to now fill the bins. I have lots of large scraps of all colors and patterns and I am thinking of cutting them all into large diamonds and making at least a twin size for my guest room and couch throws with the rest. That will empty several small totes.

I'll take inventory of my stash, wips, pigs and ufos this week and set up a "to-do" list so I can prioritize them. No new fabric for me until I use up most of what I have on hand.

I do applique so I leave my scraps whole since most of the pieces I use are unusual shapes. Anything too small to cut a leaf or berry out of is useless to me, so I toss those. You should see my stash. Almost every piece of fabric has one very oddly shaped edge, even my yardage.

You sound tired. Maybe you should cut some bigger squares out of the next batch. I can't imagine suddenly having 200 pieces of anything, especially tiny pieces like those. Most of my scraps are bigger than that.

Debra in VA See my quilts at

I hadn't really seen this before. This system might just work for me. Might actually save my sanity. Now if I can just get the bins, find space for them, cut all my pieces of fabric, file them .....Oh.

I'll give it a try, though. Because it makes more sense than my current "system" which utilizes big parts of the floor and all open spaces int he sewing room and requires moving things to use the cutting table and the ironing board.

Sunny poking one hand out of the bubble wrap ;-)

I use a modified system. I save 1 1/2 in strips, 2 inch strips and squares,

Remember that you don't have to get organized all at once. I already had strips saved on wire hangers with clothes pegs holding them. When I decided to organize my scrap bin (DH threatened to throw it out!), every time I pressed some seams, I picked up a small handful of scraps and pressed them at the same time. After I had done some cutting, I then cut the pressed pieces into usable shapes. After 2 summers of scraps, I am almost caught up! I have also made at least 8 scrap quilts since the pieces are readily available!

I once got carried way with saving every scrap that I even saved my selvages. I used some big "what was I thinking" fabrics and made a bed for one of the pups stuffing it with the selvages. It weighed a bazillion pounds but the dogs loved them. However, note to self, they don't wash well since it also takes a bazillion hours to dry them! Got good use out of them though and repurposed my selvages.

Glad to hear you're using the bubble wrap!

AliceW

I'm hesitant to dive into something like this, my main issue is firstly what do you call a scrap and secondly, the kind of quilts that result from her system seem like they work best if you have an awful lot of scraps, when she puts a particular colour in one location, she seems to have 10+ different scraps in that colour, I don't, so though I like scrappy quilts, I don't have anything like the quantities, so I'm hesitant to commit any given scrap to a particular size. Choosing something to aim for wouldn't be a bad idea though, particularly if I chose two or three designs which required a couple of different sizes.

Cheers Anne

it also seems the scrap process works best for larger quilts. Since I don't do many large quilts, I don't think this method would work for me.

Not to mention it would put my OCD into overtime.....!! :)

-Irene

Sounds like a good system, but it's only useful if you really do something with all those strips and triangles. My scraps are perfectly tame, most of the time, and fill a smallish wicker basket. I constantly work on scrap quilts, or rather blocks, so that I have stacks of finished blocks in 2-3 sizes. Good for hugs, and when enough of them pile up, they become a quilt top with very little effort. Easiest for me to make is a 4 X 4 variable star -it can use hst's, squares, or even flying geese. Roberta in D, Queen of the Scrap Heap

"Juli in VA" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:d5Ocj.19737$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe24.lga...

I'm plugging along on my scrap quilt. After days of cutting my batik scraps into either 2.5" squares of 2.5"x4.5" rectangles, I decided to just sew them together. The resultant 'top' is now about 50"x50" and I'm planning on making it king-sized.

We have a group at the store which makes a scrap quilt top quarterly. Coincidently, the next quilt is one just like mine! She's done two lap-sized versions and has added inner and outer borders which really do tie it all together. Hers is named 'Neither Rhyme Nor Reason.' Mine is a more down-home version called 'Neither Here nor There.' :>

This scrappiness works for me as long as the scraps all have something in common. I'm just not a fan of anything goes; a bit too Virgo for that.

From a previous attempt at organization, I have 2.5" strips of fabric separated into color groups. The latest wave of jelly roll patterns should work for those. No pressure, just something to sew on when the muse has flown the coop.

joan

Ahhhh....the scrap heap! i did mine last summer. what a project! i actually separated lights and darks, ironed them, and then separated them by similar sized scraps. so i have 6 bins of sizes and color. it took me about 4 nites and a weekend in my sewing room. but i found it very relaxing after a hard days work. just sitting there handling bits of fabric. very theraputic. i have a charm quilt in mind to do with about 1/2 the smaller scraps. some of the medium and large scraps i'll use for hugs and charity works. my new goal is to clean out my UFO's and get them in order to finish. my mom and sis and i are going shop-hopping this saturday....i just know i'll buy more fabric. {{{sigh}}} it's a sickness......but so much fun!!

amy in CNY

My scraps solution was simple... I kept the ones I liked, but those where I looked and said to self "what on earth was I thinking?" -- those, I put in a bag (er, more than one but I'm not admitting to nothing) ;) and freecycled away. Gone is good, and quite freeing to.

Yes, I kept some pieces that will work for I-Spy or similar, and bits (sandwich bag size) of interesting fabrics, but mostly, they are out of here. I suppose it's the "rather have this used than stored" bit of me....

I have two boxes (that's it!) of fabric fat quarters and smaller... the 18 quart Rubbermaid ones have a snap on lid. That's more than sufficient but then again, I do scrappy, and there's PLENTY to keep me busy for the forseeable future. Plus, I get to have fun shopping for fabrics too.

Just bought (Keepsake Quilting) their lizard medley (yummy) And a heart quilt pattern from a company online -- NICE pattern too I might add. Reasonable shipping, and speedy arrival too. :)

For me, having less is easier -- if there's a particular shade I simply must have, I'll buy more but mostly, by having a limited supply I am free to find the one that works okay... and truth to tell, those quilts with all the points that must match? Well, they scare me!

Howdy!

My summer project this year was collecting the scraps from various bins, tubs, bags & hidey-holes. As I rootled thru' the heap I separated them into big zipper-locked bags so I can tell at a glance what's what, grab what I need, sit down to sew. I put the selvedges in their own bags (they're good for tying things and stuffing), the batiks into a couple of bags; mostly, tho', it's just scraps jumbled together. Inspired by another (former RCTQ) buddy who has had a collection called "Scraps too small to keep" I put all the little bits into bigger zip-bags for stuffing and the birds. During this get-o process I made 3 scrappy tops (larger ones this year, inspired by the little scrappy quilts I made last year), found some forgotten treasures, and made a bigger pile of scraps. ;-D One of the scrappies is in the hoop, w/ the others waiting their turn. (I don't make UFOs. )

Bonnie at Quiltville

has some cute ideas;it's esp. interesting (to me, anyway) when someone takes ideas &processes we've been using for years and turns them intoorganized ideas, w/ names, even! Kinda' like Marthy-loo does. Cheers! R/Sandy-- shop-hopped the 2 Arlington stores last week; WOW! 8->

Joan, a photo please? I would really like to see your "Neither here nor there" quilt. I have a healthy collection of scraps now and would really like to use them in something pretty.

Sunny

However did we manage before Zip-loc bags existed? For a non-quilty item, mine sure do get a lot of use. You know what's even better though? Those plastic bags with the zippers that sheets and linens come in. They are really handy too.

Now and then, I attempt scrap control but realize now that I haven't reached the optimum. If we're supposed to have a bag of, as Sandy writes, ' Inspired by another (former RCTQ) buddy who has had a collection called "Scraps too small to keep" ', I reckon I must add a new category. When I'm cutting, I usually just slip those snips in my pockets and toss them when wash day cometh. When it was time to trim the azaleas, we did notice a bird nest with a lovely bit of sparkly brocade woven in. We were too polite to ask where those birds had been shopping. Polly

"Sandy Ellison" Howdy!

Mindless, to say the very least. Or most!

Just took down the Xmas tree and garland. I didn't do much decorating for Xmas this year. We had a quiet day, just the two of us as the kids were visiting with each other in California. I thought it would be awful, but it wasn't. Quiet, normal day with lots of presents! To be honest, since Mom died, Xmas has lost much of its joy. I know, it's been over a year and I 'shouldn't' feel that way and and I ought to be getting over her death. But it has and I do and I'm not. So there!

joan :| p.s. I figure with scraps, the simpler the better. I've got a 2.5" by 12.5" ruler and it's perfect for cutting these pieces. For the squares, particularly, I don't even worry about grain lines.

LOL Polly, you always make me laugh. If the birds are using them for nesting that's good use then. Did that bird have good taste?

What are fabric crumbs BTW? What size does a piece of fabric need to be before it's not a scrap but a crumb? Intriguing.

Being somewhat OCD, I try not to organize too much because then that's all I would do and never get anything sewn.

My fabrics are in labeled boxes by color, with 2 boxes holding solids and 2 called "floral" (which is really mixed colors in all sorts of patterns). This includes scraps until they get about to 4". Those and smaller I toss into a gift or grocery bag with handles. When I'm ready to cut English paper piecing or applique pieces, I just dump the bags out onto the bed in my sewing room and rummage through them til I've cut what I need. Then they get jammed back into the bags.

The only organized scraps are leftover lengths of binding. Those are all in one box to be sewn together and put on a scrappy quilt someday.

Works for me .... : ) Lobo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delete the obvious to reply to me personally. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~