Originally Posted by
pollyjvan9
I started sorting a basket of blacks at 8:20 am and stopped at 9:20 to eat some breakfast. As you can see, I haven't made much progress. I have sorted by 1", 1 1/2", 2", 3", 4", 5" and 6", triangles, and some larger chunks. This will take me forever if I do all the tubs and baskets. I have scraps sorted by red/pink, yellow/orange, brown, green, blue, purple and black. This will definitely be a long ongoing project.
I have just had a thought; I am going to start cutting 'less' than what I think I need. I work a lot without a pattern and don't always know how much I am going to need. By the looks of these strips that I have cut, I either cut too much, or change my mind a lot. So, maybe for me a solution as to what to do with scraps is to make 'less' scraps.
I love to look at sewing rooms and almost always see a bed for the visiting pet buddy. :-)
I have to rethink my scraps too but do have a good handle on them at the moment (using that term loosely). But I've started (about a month ago) cutting down the scraps after a project is done. Example -- if I have a true scrap (can't do anything else with it), I'll cut the widest strip I can (2-1/2" is my max). If it's too short for a decent strip, then I'll cut into largest squares (largest is 5"). I have bins for 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2" strips and a bin for 2" to 4" squares and a bin for 5" squares. I'm going to start one with 10" squares if a large-enough scrap happens.
I figure these bins will be perfect for grabbing to work on a project when it gets full enough.
Also, by cutting up the last of the scrap (typically less than a FQ), this fabric won't go back into the stash.
I also started folding my larger fabric onto the boards but decided to change that plan. I am now just doing this when I pull a fabric to use. If there's enough fabric left to use for a future project, then it gets folded onto a board and put back into the stash (I use shelves). I figure in time I'll see what fabric I no longer need in the stash since it hadn't been touched in such a long time.