calicocat

Try using only one background piece and then use only blues or greens or reds. It will be matching and scrappy all at the same time. Quiltville.com has on called my blue heaven that is all blues and creams. Instead of mixing up the cream just use one fabric. I think it is ok to use the same fabric for background and all the rest scraps. Good luck. I have been doing only scrap quilts since November and I love the way they turn out.

raptureready

Cut some of your lights and darks into strips and use Thangles to make them into HST's. Just think of it as learning to use the Thangles and not making a quilt. One light strip, one dark, sew them together and don't worry about what they look like because after all, you aren't going to use them. When you're done and get them pressed, you won't be able to throw them away so just sew them together into a dolly quilt. Remember, baby steps, baby steps. ;-) I'm the same way and it's taken me a long time to be able to do it. I had a hard time making blocks that all the pieces were different prints even when the colors coordinated. Now, not so much.

vjengels

the great thing a bout a scrap quilt is that everything matches the farther you get away from it!!LOL! You could start with a 'planned' scrap, where individual sections match, like all the reds together, leading to the blues, leading to the greens . then ease into a 'blind' scrap quilt, where you place the scraps in paper bags, use what ever comes out of the bag. Maybe you just need to be 'desensitized'like they do in therapy. Don't forget to show us photos when you're done!

mar32428

My first quilt was a scrappy. I took it to my then LQS to find a suitable backing. When I showed the lady my quilt, she turned her nose up as if something smelled. I never went back.

MillieH

I understand about matching, but I got over it by doing a large quilt with 16" star blocks. The points of the stars were paper pieced with strips of scraps. I quickly learned that the more the strips didn't match or coordinate, the better the finished star looked.

thismomquilts

i overcame my color/theme/matched issues by forcing myself to be accountable to five others - we are making bom's of blocks we each chose. I wanted to do mine floral scrappy so I divided my floral scraps into darks, meds, lights and copied the patterns on a copy machine and used the hues rather than colors - they are turning out nicely...

Here are just four of them - to helps show what I mean. I NOW love scrap quilting. ;) :thumbup:

raptureready

Don't blame you for not going back. We had a fabric shop here and I made the mistake of saying something about Hancocks and Joanns. One of the ladies there said, "I would hope you would never be comparing our fabrics to the trash they have there." I looked her dead in the eye and said, "Lord, please save us from the eliteists. Some of the most beautiful quilts I've ever seen have used Bull Durham bags for the white in them. Fabric doesn't have to cost $10-$12 a yard to make a pretty and useful quilt." Then I left.

Pat G

Since my asst of trash scraps grew so huge, I started keeping them in an old wicker picnic basket. Ok, so I cannot throw any of it away now. When I made my Free Quilt, I just pulled a handfull of pcs. out & didn't pay attention to any of it except to be sure I had some red. It was very freeing not to pay attention to order at all. You can see the outcome.

This was so much fun I have to laugh everytime I look at my quilt. I feel so clever. Someday I may have to just toss the whole mess so I can start over. Noooot. I think my whole neighborhood could make quilts out of this mess.

As for the pattern, I come across it occasionally online but don't know what it's called. When I come across my pattern again, I'd be willing to mail it to anybody. It's just a 4" square. You do have to know how to paper pc. though. I love paper piecing

Pat G

Nancy in Louisiana

After tripping over my scrap bin for the umpteenth time, I sorted them into "crumbs", "chunks", and "strips". I used Bonnie Hunter's Crumb Quilt directions, paying more attention to pieces that fit than color or pattern. At first I did tend to get "matchy", but realized later that the mismatched ones were definitely more interesting. I made 6 1/2 inch blocks, starched them heavily, than framed them with pre-cut 2 inch black borders, cutting the border strips length of fabric to eliminate as much stretch as possible. I found that the black borders really made the colors pop out and tamed all the wild piecings. So far I'm having a good time, and my "crumb" collection is really diminishing. Something from throwaways -- how "green" is that?

Pat G

Nancy, I sure enjoyed your descriptions of my "trash" pcs. by calling yours "crumbs, chunks, & strips". That's so much cooler than my "trash". Since they originally came from the wastebasket it was the only word I could think of. I will adopt your words for the future. Isn't it fun to do that though? Yes, it is a terrific "green" project. Look at the money we saved, too.

Pat