I usually (but not always) cut my scraps into 2 1/2 in squares to use down the line in a trip around the world. I'm hoping in a few years to make a decent sized quilt using pieces from each quilt I've ever made!

That's a GREAT idea! It's sort of like a memory quilt of quilts.

I like the idea of 2 1/2" strips - especially with all the jelly roll patterns out there. Then there is still an option of cutting further to squares. Any other recommended sizes to cut to? (It's not that I don't want to go the the class, it's just that there aren't any nearby that I am able to get to.)

www.quiltville.com has all the information you could want on making your own scrap system and Bonnie offers lots and lots of free patterns for using the scraps.

If you don't want to pay for a class, I would recommend going to Bonnie's site instead.

YES - I love that site, and it's where I got inspiration for several of the runners and quilts I made from the strips.

Nancy - totally off your subject, but what part of Rochester did you grow up in? I grew up in Irondequoit.

I too don't understand why you would need to take a cutting class if you have been doing it forever. The scrap class does sound fun though.

I have my own scrap therapy as I sew and fabric gets cut to a size I don't know what to do with it I place in a box next to the machine. Some scraps I will cut for strip quilts or cut the remander of fabric into square sizes I often use . This way I am no longer tossing the little bits or saving the for who knows what? You can make crumbel blocks wiith the real scrappy stuff. My friend decribed it to me as sewing all the pieces together no what color and then choising a block size you want and using you rotarty cutter and template ruler cut .
I find this way I always have something to work on and You really don't have to pay for scraps,swap and trade with others.
Have fun with it. I talked about this in the what are you recycline
christinaBennett

FYI:

The current (January February 2009) issue of Quiltmaker magazine has Bonnie's Scrap User's System in it, plus one of her scrappy quilt patterns.

Have you ever gone to www.quiltville.com? She has a great section about how to cut and store scraps and has lots of free patterns. She is a phenomenol quilter and has pictures of her scrap quilts - 1 is more beautiful than the other. You might find it helpful.

Redquilter

Here is another view point.
I work in a patchwork shop and the number of customers who do not use rotary cutters safely or correctly is amazing.
Maybe rather than have a extra class the tutor could spend a small amount of time at the beginning of the lesson to check that customers are doing the right thing. So that their pieces turn out the right size.
Unfortunately just because they have made a few quilts doesn't always mean they know what they are doing.

Y :) ou are correct,We all think we know about cutting. I have been cutting nicley ,I use the blade until I have to add pressure to cut one layer. This I thought was a good thing,Wrong, By having to lean into a cut to add pressure we sometimes put our fingers in the wrong place. I learned the hard way, sliced off the top of a finger. That quilt cost a lot of money at the emergency room.
By Taking the cutting class I learned about a saftey guide for the long rulers that keep your fingers out of he way . I also learned when to and how to change the rotary blade with out any bloody fingers.A refresher is good to remind our selves saftey first.
Christinab