When making a scrap quilt, do you just randomly select pieces and put them together? I have a terrible hangup with this. I'm always worried that I will get two of the same material together or that the colors will clash. It seems I spend more time "arranging" my scrap quilt than actually starting it. As a result I put it aside and haven't touched it in years. Is this a common problem with newbie scrap quilters or is it just my own hangup. What do most people do?

I was told I was "scrappy Retarted" I know it's not a correct term but that was what she called me. I'm a controlled scrappy person. I put all the scraps in a bag and close my eyes... if i don't like it I just put it back in and go again.

Yes I think we all "arrange" our scraps to a certain point. It is not a problem. If you don't like what came out of the bag then go back for another.

I am not experienced in this, but I am making a scrap quilt right now. I put strips together that match in size. I look at it and if the color goes with what I have, I stitch it together.

I'm a scrappy quilter, I have found that I like a quilt that has a lot of the main fabric (muslin, white on white, etc) I also will choose a color or two and use it more often then the others (like blue and yellow). All the other colors will work and I go for it. If this is just not your bag....do the quilts that you like to do. I enjoy looking at art quilts but have no desire to do one. What ever you choose~enjoy the process:)

the only sorting i usually do is sorting light from dark- 2 bags- then i can alternate light and dark as i put pieces together- and when it's done you would be amazed how those fabrics that you would never put together work quite well together.

that's how I do it too

Fabrics that clash *make* a scrappy quilt!!! When fabrics clash they vibrate against each other and make a quilt very vibrant. You need some good ugly fabrics that will "lay back" and some pretty fabrics that will "come forward" and some that clash to give it vibrancy.

I'm in the category of those who are trying to break through the wall and jsut do it. I've got a couple "scrappy" quilts started and maybe after reading these posts I'll actually be able to finish one of them!

I've heard it called "controlled scrappy" -- when you adjust the choices. I can't just leave things to random, I have to tweak! I do, however, make an effort to trust the fabric and let things go together -- sometimes I am pleasantly surprised!

Go to this posting I noticed it right after reading yours so I hit the back button. She has regular blocks but between she has a scrappy sashing. It might be a good first effort if you don't want to do totally random. the posting it titled

QuiltSage Avatar

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-114813-1.htm

It is the avatar for QuiltSage.

I am working on a scrap Spiderweb quilt top. I must admit I have a hard time just grabbing a scrap and sewing it on. I tend to want to match a little with the one next to it. I like ckcowl's idea of separating the lights and darks, perhaps that idea will free me from being a "matchaholic". :-D

It took me a bit of courage to just sew and not think about the fabrics.. But the results can be quite wonderful.
I will admit that I collect my scraps and put them into bins, bases on colors and type , blues , browns, batiks and non-batiks etc. And tend to work through a bin at a time, maybe trowing in a few handfuls from other bins to give some extra ..interest. If you look closely at the scrappy quilts you like you will find the reason you like them.. jewel tones, equal amounts of light an dark..etc ... each person has their own taste , you can have it work for you in a scrappy, just do a bit of prethink ... then just do it ! Give one a try !
One tip .. smaller pieces of fabric allow the colors to visually blend together. I don't do scrappy with anything wider than 1 3/4 inch .. and prefer 1 1/2 inch.
Log Cabins are a great first step in scrappy! Just have a bag of light and a seperate bag of dark.

thats a wonderful idea........

Someone said "Scrappy Retarted". That would be me. (As long as the fabrics are of the same quality.

It is hard to let go of the control LOL Some patterns are easier for me to go totally scrappy than others :D:D:D

I think if you using a dark colored sashing between the scrap blocks, it will help bring the whole quilt together. I'm working on two right now....and (after looking at many people's quilts here), decided to try using bold colors--one with red and one with a bright blue...It really does make a difference.

The soft, muted colors (for sashing) don't give the definition to the blocks as well as the brighter colors. I've got SO MANY scraps that I'm going crazy trying to use them up--or at least under control.

Well then I must be "scrappy retarded" too.LOL! That is exactly the way I do my scrap quilts. We like to keep the old time tradition of scrappy quilting :thumbup:

Ditto.

What pattern are you using? Some quilters just aren't cut out to be scrappy - it takes guts. The whole point of a scrap quilt is that has no reasoning. But if you can't do it, try a controlled scrappy quilt - using the same neutral, for example, or using every-other scrap the same color.

Been there, done that. I just grab squares from a pile, trying to get one light then one dark and sew them together. If two end up side by side, so what? It will make someone smile and say,Oh look, she made a mistake,ha ha. We make and tie scrappy quilts for charity and no one has returned any because there were two alike side by side. Have fun, let your hair down and sew away. I love all the different colors, designs and fabrics, we make them to get things done. When sewing for charity, quantity is more important than matching squares. You won't win any prizes but someone will be grateful for a warm quilt of many colors.

Carol J.

I'm not fond of "scrappy" that's totally random. But I did manage to give some order to this one by using the large triangles. Some parts of it I like and some I don't like.

That's what I had to do too, for the first few scrappies. After a while, it gets easier. There are those who control the colors used or print, or theme. It's totally your choice and they all turn out just great!

That's what I had to do too, for the first few scrappies. After a while, it gets easier. There are those who control the colors used or print, or theme. It's totally your choice and they all turn out just great!

I also have never been able to made a scrappy...but am FINALLY starting my first one! Batiks are my favorite fabrics, so thought if I used them, it would be easier on me. I am FORCING myself NOT to match! I am even using scrappy pieces for the light background, and constantly am questioning whether that was the right choice. :roll:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-115337-1.htm

when it comes to colors on scrap quilts i watch not to get the same color next to each other but god put all different colors together in plants flowers etc and they are all beauiful together so if you get that quilt out and finish it will also be beauiful

Some of my best quilts were where I did not try to match but just picked up strips (log cabin) or small pieces (double wedding ring). But, that is difficult to make yourself do at first.

I am presently working on a scrap quilt, but the centers, corners and sashing is controlled. As I walked through the room and glanced at the design wall this morning, I just said to myself (before I read these posts) that "this quilt is turning out to be blue and brown from a distance". And yet, I have reds, purples, yellows, greens, browns, blacks, blues and more in it. But, from a distance, this is what it is looking like so far.

Amazing how color works, isn't it?

I pull the piece out and sew it - anything goes in a scrap quilt - colors do not have to match or go together. The results are often better than a well planned quilt.

I have trouble not trying to "match" too. Just recently I started a scrappy from 2.5 inch squares, when the pieces are small they do blend. I am actually excited about the one I am working on. Another method that pulls all the colors together is a one color background.

I like Alex Anderson's scrappy methods. She uses lights and darks AND mediums. I think by using 3 values it gives just the right amount of definition to the colors in the quilts. In other words, scrappy or not, it makes the quilt's colors pop rather than looking flat, or muddied. Just my .02 cents worth.

I like what Alex says in the following paragraphs:
"... Color selection remains a mystery for many quilters of all levels. Sometimes the most meticulous stitcher just does not have the eye for color. Alex explains that she spent the first 15 years of her quilting career – despite her college degree in art – feeling uncertain about colors and fabric choices in her quilts. One day she realized she was sorting her quilt fabrics by colors, not values.

“Value is simply a matter of light, medium or dark,” she explained. To make a successful quilt, Alex says the quilter must use all three fabric values – a light, a medium, and a dark. An exception might be made for baby quilts, she added, since soft colors generally tend to be light in the choices we make for babies.

“In the olden days when I taught, I would tell people to put it in three piles,” Alex said. She has since changed her teaching method. “Now when I teach, I’ll say, ‘Put it in the light pile. Put it in the dark pile,” The third pile is the medium pile. All colors that cannot be identified as either light or dark are put in it.

Just when you think your trip to the fabric store will be easier, Alex notes that light and dark fabrics are not easy to find. This is because manufacturers create the fabrics that will sell more easily, most of which fall into the medium category.

Many of the light and dark fabrics are boring, she explained. Companies concentrate on producing a bulk of fabrics with medium color values, then add in only a couple of lights and darks that might coordinate.

But, if you don’t have lights and darks in your quilts, they will look flat. To step around this obstacle, Alex advises quilters to always have an eye open for fabrics with light and dark values. When you run across these fabrics, buy a little for your stash. ... "

Please, see this site where she explains more:
http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/151...rson-color.php

Some of mine are just scrappy but as you can see I like to arrange too. This quilt took me years. I was stringing this along (haha) as I was building my scrap pile.

What is it with cats and quilts? The other cat actually climbs under the quilts and sometimes can wrap himself. He gets to use the quilts before I do.

I made the "mistake" of adding a bright red in with a muted quilt. Didn't bother me but I gave it to my MIL who has dementia and she always mentions that red piece. So we turn the quilt over to the other side. (smiling)

I guess being raised by "Hippie" parents has really set me free, I have no qualms about fabrics not matching, no hang ups with random fabics coming out of the bags, I just go with what I grab. I love the quilts I get with this abandon and if someone I want to gift with the quilt isn't so enthusiastic about it,I then ask what would you prefer and make them a new quilt. My scrappy abandon quilt then finds a new home with someone less structured. I have 2 DD's one is a structured "control freak" (her words, not mine) the other goes with the flow. Structured DD is learning to quilt now and I am slowly getting her to mix fabrics that she doesn't think match.

This, also, is my method. Seems to work!!

This is pretty much the way I do scrappy too.

dd - LOVE your scrappy!! As for your cat, he is trying to see if he recognizes anyone in the great cat fabric you used! My Quilt Supervisor tells me that she is merely adding to the warmth of the quilt by laying and shedding on it!! LOL!

Some of mine are just scrappy but as you can see I like to arrange too. This quilt took me years. I was stringing this along (haha) as I was building my scrap pile.

What is it with cats and quilts? The other cat actually climbs under the quilts and sometimes can wrap himself. He gets to use the quilts before I do.[/quote]

This does it for me, too! A good quilter friend advised me to stop locking my jaw when I reached in to grab a piece, because after the quilt's 1/4 done, I'd see for myself that it ALL goes together. She was right.

I am anal. Mine have to be arranged. lol

I only do scrappy .If I can not play with color I do not play.BUT there are ways to play.One is to pick a border fabric with many colors in it and use all those colors both lighter and darker than the border in the body of the quilt.this will create a very good looking quilt with lots of different fabrics used If the pattern you choose needs a back round a black or off white fabric will give the continuity you need to tie it together with sashing.I am not a person who likes colors in the brown family so I find that because I like jewel tones both light and dark they worf in florals and others.If you like a particular type of fabric e.g. period fabric than make you quilt out of those it will allow you to .use many and create continuity. Hope this helps I could go on and on.

E
If you find scrap quilts hard to make then donate the scraps to a scrap quilter! It is okay. But there are many ways to make scrap quilts. Check out quiltville.com Bonnie Hunter does a wonderful job with scrap quilts. I understand wanting a matching colors type of quilt. But scrap quilts are the root quilts of quilting. Like many said just put the piece back in the bag and pick a new one. If too many of the same color are left add a few new scraps to the bags. Split the bags into light and dark only. I hope this helps. More importantly is to enjoy the process!