Hey! I just realized I don't live far from you at all. I live in Gainesville. I-75 is just down Newberry, two minutes from me, then it's a hop-skip-and a jump to Lake City.
Do you belong to a guild in L.C.?

No, at this point I don't. Have to watch the pennies. On fixed income but do love to quilt. I have a neighbor that quilts & she has given me so much fabric that I don't know where to start. I am in Gainesville on Sunday as we go to church there.

Well if you can ever make it to G'ville on the first Thur. of the month you are hereby invited to my guild. We meet at 9:30 AM at the Westminster Presby. Church and would love to see you. Just let me know through this message board and I'll give you directions.
Bev

I sort by color also, but I never cut scraps to a particular size. I wait until I know I want to use it, but then I haven't made that many quilts either. If I were like many of the people on here that can whip out more than two a year (lucky to get that done but then mine have all be queen-size), I'd cut them as I stored also.

OK - now I'm motivated to start on a crumb quilt. Do y9ou use anything at all for a backing. I've heard of using pages from an old phone book or those wax paper squares from Sam's. Any recommendations? These would be fun to practice FAQ on -- almost impossible to see the stitches with all that noise.

Holy Cow Im from Lake City Fl what a small world. I Live in Biloxi now but i still come home to visit. Wow

Holy Cow Im from Lake City Fl what a small world. I Live in Biloxi now but i still come home to visit. Wow

Hi Pink, it's nice to hear from you on the board. What are you doing so far from home?

8-)

I've heard a vicious rumor that some quilters use muslin to back them, but I can't be sure. I make lots of string quilts --- small ones, and always use muslin for the backing. I hate paper because of all the work getting it off.

8-)

yeah sorry I usually lurk i thought i couldnt reply here at work but just did today so now i can be more active. I am in the AF stationed here in Biloxi, MS. It's nice to read all the posts here while at work. I work 12 hr shifts and there is a lot of down time, here.

Well I'm glad you'll be able to participate more now. My DIL is in the Airforce too. She and my son are in Italy. Not bad duty. 8-)

Well, I'm glad you'll be able to participate more now. My DIL is attached to the Air Force. She and my son are in Italy right now. They were transferred there a couple of years ago from the Azores. Not bad duty. I have visited them in Italy, they live near the base (I think the name of the base is Aviano) in a lovely small town, Cordenone.

Bev - do you use that cheaper looser-thread muslin or the closer weave muslin? What's the larget size square you've made?

I use whatever muslin I happened to have gotten on sale, but not usually the cheapest kind. It shrinks and it doesn't hold up as well. Oh I've made up to 8" in size. But lately I'm downsizing my blocks to make small quilts as opposed to the lap size. I recently joined a mini-quilt bee and am having a great time making lots of very small sizes. That way I get to try all of the blocks I've always wanted to, but don't have to make dozens of them. Instant gratification --- it's great!

8-) 8-) 8-)

YOu can make small blocks and set them together with sashings and cornerstones to make it larger, that gets rid of strips you may have on hand also.

It is a small world!! How long have you been gone? Where did you live?

I thought this was supposed to be a "quilting board". There is a live chat room for people to just 'chat'.

Sorry, guess I got carried away.

What a concept! Sorting the scraps so they are usable at a moments notice instead of staring at an unusable pile. I am in the process of organizing sewing room and was trying to figure out how to sort charm packs. I clean the kitty cages at our local PetSmart and they are always throwing away stuff. I noticed the large cardboard displays that they have the small treat bags in. They were being thrown away so I asked if I could have them. The charm squares fit in perfectly standing on their sides. I just need to cover them with paper or something because they are ugly. Recyling creatively.
Wendy

???????
:?:

Mine are pretty much all over the room. I intend to get a plastic container big enough for all of them. I do not believe that I will sort them, because, when I make my next scrappy quilt, it will probably have all kinds of colors in it. Some of them are already in little groups by color though, as I recently made a Log Cabin that was all blue.

I keep a tote bag on the door knob near my sewing machine and put all my leftovers into it. Anything over 1/4 yd goes onto my stash closet by color. Everything 2" or larger gets put into my very large scrap tote, also by color. I used to cut strips and squares and put them into boxes but now I just tie leftover fabrics together by color and cut whatever I need at the time. I make a lot of string quilts and use muslin or thin light colored fabrics for my foundations. My Guild is always getting donations of old fabrics that aren't suitable for quilts but those old thin light prints make excellent foundations after I wash them.

Gathering scraps now for a red, white and blue log cabin twin sized quilt. After cutting what I need from the scraps I'll move onto the smaller pieces in my stash closet. Have plenty of red for the center square, and lots of blues but it's the whites and small white prints that I don't have enough of. Will be at my Guild's meeting place on Saturday for a Pillowcase Sew In and while there I'll check out Guild's stash for some whites. May in Jersey

You've all given me so many good ways to deal with my scraps. It seems though, that they multiply faster than I can keep up with them. I had just finished organizing my quilting room and all of my scraps when I started on a group of small quilts for my bee's show. Yesterday I finished up with the last of those little quilts, and guess what? I now have another whole bag of scraps that have to be sorted! I'm exhausted at the thought of all this organizing again. I think I'll just give them to my friend the trashman. Kidding! They'll go to the guild if anyone wants them.

These are my 'finds' from PetSmart. They are used to display cat treats and were going to be thrown out. Now they display charm packs. I still have to figure out how to label them. Right now they are sorted by type, i.e., florals, civil war, fall, Christmas, etc.

Wow. What a great find.

thats a lot of charm packs, WOW

I prefer the Trader Joe method...Brown bag with handles....lol

Maybe we should have a scrap swap? Whatcha think?
Karen

Should have added that there are all sizes of squares/triangles stored in there, including fat quarters. One of the LQS had charm packs on sale for $3.00 some time back and I lost my head (and checkbook)! I'm not great at coordinating fabric so having the charm packs with the collection works for me.
Wendy

How did you get them? Did you just ask them for the cases or do you work there? I like your idea.

The one that is filled was sitting in the aisle empty. The other two were in the back by the receiving doors where they throw out the trash. I just ask if I could have them. The store employees do know me so I don't know whether or not that would make a difference but it couldn't hurt. By way of a vent, it makes me SO ANGRY at the stuff that is thrown away. Having said that, they are a big contributer to many of the rescue organizations but so much stuff is thrown away it is unbelievable!!!! Last night, there were 15 bags of dog & cat food, litter, some toys and other 'opened' product that was unsaleable. It was all going into the dumpster this morning. When I can, I go over and "dumpster dive" to pick out useable items. Some of the food that is thrown away is "expired", that is the 'use by' date was maybe Monday. It get thrown out Tuesday. Or maybe when employees are opening a crate, the bag is slit - out to the dumpster it goes. If someone returns a bag of food, out it goes. There have been nights I have gone home in tears. My biggest haul one day was 4 40 lb. bags of Purina dog food, 6 bags of various cat food, including Science Diet and Iams, 2 dog/cat beds (they were missing the little pillow), 4 collars, a retractable lead and 4 packages of cat litter. It used to be that they would just throw the stuff in but now they make big slits in the bags/boxes, rips in the beds, break any toys, smash the hampster cages, stomp on the pet carriers (the ones you put your pets in to carry in car or wherever) and then dump it into dumpster. Sometimes they don't do a great job and I can recover it with not too much damage. I've sewn rips together in the little beds, the animals don't care at the shelter. As I said, I would have gone back early this AM but we got so much snow last night that I figured everything would have been wet. One of the other volunteers got lucky so I have some to take to the shelter tomorrow when I go to get more kitties. On some days, they have had to give the animals less food because they just don't have it to give. Do you think 'they' care if it has been expired for one day or if the bag was cut by the employee? To a hungry dog or cat, it just doesn't matter. I know I'm way off the thread so I'll shut up. Just ask one of the managers if they may have anything or if they would be willing to put your name on it to save before tossing. I have been really happy with the one I am using and look forward to figuring out the best use for the other two. 3 more items NOT going to the landfill.
Wendy

Wow! I'm gonna have to take a run over to my local pet store. Who'd a thought??!!

It's not really a bad thing to welcome someone to this forum. Certainly we were a little wordy in our chatter, but it didn't go on at great length. Sorry it became offensive. However I notice the other ladies have not been back for a visit since they were rebuffed. Did they really need to be scared away?

I'm sorry if I was one of the ones that were too chatty and caused offense. I was definately surprised at the comment and having reread the posts, really don't understand. However, I will watch what I write in the future.
Wendy

Yeah I think so too. Let's just trade one big grocery bag full of scraps for another one. No rules as to colors or sizes needed. Except they should be big enough to be usable at least in a string quilt. Not everybody can take the time to make crumb quilts (like me.) How would it work?

8-) ;-)

Sounds like fun, but I don't have enough "scraps" to trade. I'm trying to collect enough to do a string or crumb. I'm just not a really prolific quilter so I don't produce many scraps to begin with. Good luck.
Wendy

I'm only half way serious anyhow. I don't see how we could do it.

Too bad I don't live closer to those who wanted to "try" my free stash storage system (kitty treat display). As I was walking out of the PetSmart on Thursday, one of the employees was dragging several of them back to the trash area. They will go out to the dumpster in AM.
Wendy

are you still sorting your scraps!

Yes and no. I have been working with the scraps that wonderful angels have sent me for the shelter kitty quilts and have them 'sort of' sorted, They are all in one place with the batting so I can just go to that bin. I don't have many scraps left of my own because I used them all up before I asked for scraps on the board. I am still collecting selvages for my tote bag that I'll get to someday. Just by looking I would guess I have enough to do 3/4 of one side of a med. sized tote so I have a ways to go. I am trying to get my sewing room back together since I know I am going to need that room for the foster kittens. The little boy I have now will only be here for another 3-4 weeks then go to the people who found him. We may consider it even sooner once he is off the bottle and on solid food. I would rather he start bonding with them since he is so attached to his "momma" right now. He is going to be very, very hard to let go. He's sleeping tucked under my chin right now, purring. I found a really neat project that is PP that I am going to start collecting scraps and pieces for. Maybe I can use some of the smaller pieces from the leftovers of the kitty quilts. Thats where I'm at. Unless I get way ahead on kitty quilts it's going to be awhile before I'm working on anything of my own except for the two doll quilts I owe. They come first. We have had so many adoptions that they (the quilts) have been flying out of the center with the kitties as they go to their new forever homes. I can hardly express how wonderful the quilters on this board have been helping with this kitty quilt project. I knew quilters were special, I just never realized just how special and caring they were. I could not have undertaken anything of this magnitude without the help I have been give. I have been very blessed and am trying to pass on those blessing to these little ones that can't help themselves and only ask to be loved and cared for. On the labels of these little quilts, it mentions the quilters of the Quilting Board and the Michigan Animal Rescue League. Anyways, long answer to short question. Thanks for asking.
Wendy B