Monday, October 13, 2014

Making Scraps...and some progress!

I have a dream.
It is to get the commercial prints (i.e."stash" or 20th/ 21st Century Fabric Collection) off the shelves in my studio. Then I will put my batiks in there!
Have you tried some of the many "stash reduction" ideas around on the Internet? I do have to say, the idea of cutting it ALL UP and enjoying a wealth of pre-cut strips and such is a lovely idea!
However, some of these fabric s have been with me longer than my son. I know I have used bits, as the ends are cut up funny (from back in the day of templates! yes, I am really showing my age now!).
I have to trick myself into it. I have to make some "rules" or guidelines or something...but then my heart takes over and I just can't cut it all up. Do I still think I will need for "that perfect project"...the one that has not come along in over 30 years???
Yes. Yes, I actually do.
Well, now that is something to deal with! So my latest rule/guideline is if it's half yard-ish or smaller it must be all cut up. But it's OK to cut one 6.6" strip and one 5" strip first....just in case I need something wider than a strip! And I should do this as I am looking in the stash for anything else.
I needed an interior border for a scrap quilt, and found these pieces today:
I have had that dark stripey one for about 33 years!
The neutrals were what I was looking for, but I am proud to say I gave a stack of green a sort-through, and that pink just showed up! One stack at a time, I may get there...

The best way to follow through on a plan is to tell someone about it, so I shared my idea with Cherry-Cherry at lunch yesterday. She has the ability to show both support and doubt all at the same time.
It's because she knows me really well!
I did it!

This means I need yet another plastic box for those wide strips! But I really am enjoying the big box of 2.5" strips (see below), and I also like 1.5" strips, hence the little pile on the left of the pic above. All this is going to come in handy in a month when it is time to go on the guild's Retreat...I see hours of lovely, brainless sewing resulting in Log Cabins, Nine-Patches and who knows what else!

Oh...that box:

This was after making 58 scrap blocks!
I can't show the scrap quilts (3) I made with the blocks because they are for the Mystery Quilt class in February!
But the real mystery to me was that I got thinking:I  used up almost all the scraps in my scrap container...but I was sure I had more scraps!!! Where did they go?
And then I remembered. I gave a load of scraps & fabric to the guild's yard sale:
I actually gave all of this away!
Instead of feeling discouraged, I am just feeling amused, and will continue to enjoy the process.
There could be a lot of scrappy quilt tops to sell at QuiltFest next year and for  charity quilts. I know I will never be able to do the quilting on all of them!

Oh, by the way...(and this is really why there is NO END to all this)...here is a pic of my scrap container, which has some new contributions, plus my latest new scrap collection in the bag: stringy odd ends for a string quilt!
At least I have not been saving all those for 30 years!
A moment in time when you can actually see the studio floor!



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