I am learning a hard lesson now after either giving away or throwing away my scraps. I had pieced a queen size quilt about five years ago. Before finishing it I had decided to wait to use it because we got a puppy and she slept on the bed sometimes. My DIL saw the quilt and loved it and I said I would finish it for them. She asked if I could make it a king size because they were going to get a new bed. I've been using every little scrap I can find to finish it. I know I took a lot of fat quarters and fabric yardage to Goodwill, and I wish I had not done that. At this point, I swear I will never part with my scraps. Besides the quilt for DS/DIL, I love making scrap quilts.

I also don't precut scraps so that I can use it however I want when I use it. There are lots of ways to make quilts with scraps. I read a posting on the board last year about mile a minute scrap quilt. I haven't made one with it yet but I know I will. I am trying to get them together by color though. to me that seems like the best way to keep them. But for those who are highly organized and want them all in precise order, then maybe you would prefer the method of precutting before storing. It is really how you want to use them.

Jill I wish I had been at the goodwill store you took them to a minute after they put them out for sale;)

Hi Cheryl
Here is an idea....join us at the candy swap...it is here on this site (somewhere I am new) anyway the candy swap is 2.5 inch squares to make a postage stamp quilt. You cut 50 2.5 squares and send them to the group leader then she swaps them and send you new ones back...you can send up to 20 sets.
If you don't know what a postage stamp quilt is just google it...they are wonderful!
Barb :)

One day I was reading a thread and found a person that wanted scraps so I sent her all I could find, along with fabric I knew I was never going to use. I need to prepare another box to her. It goes against my grain to throw it away and yet I know I will not use it.

I never cut my scraps until I'm ready to use them in something. I do some applique and some paper piecing so I don't know what size scrap I might need later on. Plus I love digging thru the bins hunting for that one fabric that's perfect for a pie plate or a scarecrow shirt or corn or, or, or. And scraps have to be small enough I can't get a quarter inch seam on all sides.

I don't cut mine until I need them. I use some scraps for embellishments or applique. Then again, I may cut them down and make a scrap quilt. Depends on what I have and what the mood du jour is. I keep two bins (one darks and one lights) When they get full, it's time to use the scraps.

Don't throw anything away (unless it is ridiculously small)! That is an absolute guarantee that you will need it within a month of getting rid of it.
I just learned yesterday how to do reversible QAYG table runners. It's going to make Christmas presents a joy, I can tell you! :)

I started cutting my scraps about 6 months ago. I cut them into 2 1/2 4 1/2 5 1/2 and 6 1/2. I put them into separate buckets.

This week I started sewing. Because the strips were cut I was able to sew 40 half log cabin blocks in 3 hours. I am hoping to make a number of lap quilts for Christmas. My machine was in the shop for a good part of the summer so this was the first chance I got to sew.

I know in my heart that I can use 2 inch squares but find it so tedious to cut them. So I take misc scraps and first cut the biggest square that I can get up to 10 inches. The the next biggest from 8.5 down to 3.5. (I get a lot of scraps.) They are filed by size and when I am kitting up, I just go to the size I need and pull them for use. Not enough to do by color or design except for the 5 inches.

There are times I just want to cut out pieces and not sew. Lots of patterns out there for 10 inch and 5 inch squares that can be adapted for all the others.

I cut mine into 2 1/2" squares or various size strips. I have made several scrappy quilts from the strips and have a large box full of squares.

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