Scraps and scraps and scraps
 

My limit on storage has been reached. I have every bag, tub, box and sack full of scraps. Good scraps, and I really don't want to deal with them now that the quilts are made.

What is everyone else doing with these bits and pieces? Everything that was a fat quarter or half a fat quarter has been saved to the tub of it's color.

Marcia aka Battle Axe

I give them away to whoever wants them. Some wind up in dog beds, some wind up in quilts. Storage is an issue, for sure, but for me it becomes overwhelming to have a bunch of scraps around.

The scraps that I have already cut are in their respective drawers, the scraps that haven't been pressed and cut, are in big black garbage bags. I was doing really good at getting a couple of bags emptied, but now the drawers are Full, and now I need to get busy and get them made into something. LOL The pieces that are too small are put into pillowcases and eventually into pet beds.

I have so many, I feel like a slave to scrap quilts. I keep making them, thinking I'm using up my scraps, and they just seem to multiply!

I do make a lot of scrap quilts tho. If you take a peek in my profile albums you will see.

Marcia, take them to your Bonnie Hunter class and offer them as free scraps!

Great idea. I'll put them in baggies. There is a place on the way to Bonnie Hunter's class called the ARC. It is a thrift store for a group of disabled adults. If there are any left after Bonnie Hunter's class I'll take them there. Marcia

I just bought an Accuquilt Studio with a bunch of strip dies. The plan is to start turning those scraps into strips and then into quilts. I hope the plan works.

Most scraps go in a paper grocery bag beside my cutting table and when full, I give it to my friend and start a new bag. She’s big into scrap quilts so they go to a good cause and off my back ! I have yet to wish I had kept a scrap.

You could do just what I did in the last 4 days: start of quilt from your stache in an attempt to reduce it, discover you don’t have enough fabric and then buy 4 times more than you need to finish the “scrap” quilt!

I am getting ready to go through a couple of bins where I have stored bits and pieces (i.e, crumbs and strips). I am going to dump the bins and start fresh because over time, I have used them too many times in scrappy quilts and now I am tired of them so time to move on....I have another bin with larger pieces left from FQs and I will start new with fresh prints and colors.

I agree with SBG, those darn scraps seem to multiply.

I also have a bunch of "if I have to use this one more time....." fabric, so I'm going to bag it up and put it out on Freecycle, and it's usually taken by another quilter and/or a crafter the same day. Win,win for both of us:)

I am not a scrappy girl either but save some for machine EMB applique projects. It bothers me to keep items that I'm not going to use so pass them along to others.

I recently sorted pieces of fabric that were perhaps half yard more or less. I don't consider these scraps. LOL.These were ruler folded on a five inch ruler and folded into 5 inch squares. These fit well in a plastic bin. It's easy to see colors and remove one piece as needed.

I am a scrappy lover and have been working on a couple of scrappy quilts. One is Pam Buda’s 1800 quilt. I have made over 600 9-patches for it (2 1/2”) and will be cutting out the setting pieces later today. The other is Sew Many Strips from BH&G’s last issue. I need to finish the border and attach it so it can get quilted. Here is the picture of it.

I love scrappy quilts but I hate scraps. I know it makes no sense!
I donate mine. I really don't like looking at them or having them take up space in my sewing room. When I finish a project I never use them so off they go.

Battle, you sound like an organizer! So, since you have your scraps sorted by color here is an idea. It works for me any way. I choose a color that pleases me at the moment and make a quilt top that uses just that color way with a background that I already have on hand. When I do this, I can see that bag, box or bin of that color shrink. Not a solution to the scrap abundance but it helps. Below is an example of one of my one color way quilts. I have another ready for quilting but not ready for a photo. This pattern is from the QB - Mystery Train Quilt #18. Lots of green scraps, lots of neutral scraps and one color for pop. All fabric even the back was from my scraps and stash. Quick, easy and top finished in a week-end. PM me if you can't locate the pattern. I have it book marked.[ATTACH=CONFIG]613307[/ATTACH]

I love scraps and have three big baskets of them. Not sorted. My last bunch of quilts have primarily been with those scraps. The baskets never seem to reduce in size. I don’t cut or sort til I work on something. Sometimes people will give me some scraps. I always accept!! Sometimes I am left with very tiny pieces and I don’t think I will make a miniature so I pass those along.

This is a great idea, my green and blue scrap bins are full so I will look for a pattern. Thanks

I try and cut most of my scraps into 2 1/2" squares and just pile them in a bin then when I am ready to sew them together I have many so I don't have to cut any. If I can't get at least a 2 1/2" square out of the scrap it is tossed into the garbage can beside me.

I work mostly in planned scrap quilts and have been working at reducing my stash. It is (the stash) fairly well organized in cardboard boxes (no problems with bugs here and they keep out the light) which are variously organized by theme or color. Everything fat quarter and larger goes into the boxes after being pre-washed, ironed, and ready to go. Saving the little bits and pieces was always hard on me but it was worse to throw them away because that's actually the size I really use. For a long time I used a hamper and just threw stuff in there but it was a horrible mess and unpleasant to actually go into there and find stuff and use it. So for the last several years as my fabric gets smaller I would cut it into strips of various sizes.

As time has gone on I decided I really don't want to keep anything smaller than 6.5" and that well yes, I do need some larger pieces of yardage I can cut down on a lot of the fabric I have by keeping by just having one WoF strip. My strips are kept in roughly color sorts, but I'm not necessarily using them that way -- for example maybe I want all florals or civil war or whatever. But they are pretty easy to handle and sort and store this way.

Recently I did a project and finally used up about 750 Y2K squares I've had sitting in my boxes for all these years along with some strips I had cut at 2.5". I realized from looking for ideas that I could spend the rest of my quilting life doing nothing but working with 2.5" squares! LOL some people might like that idea but it rather scared me and I decided then and there to get rid of all of them. So I packed them in a box and sent them away. I met a nice quilter here that does crumb quilts and happily accepts boxes of my fussy cut trimmings and smaller than 6.5" pieces. I keep a flat rate box next to my cutting area, depending on what I'm doing sometimes it fills up quickly and other times it may take a month or two.

Actual point is that life and quilting time is too short to be burdened by what we don't want -- and there is someone out there who wants whatever it is. Can be local or postage (and there are people here willing to pay for the postage), I gave away a lot of stuff through Craig's List. First to go was all the non-quilting stuff, it went to textile students at the local art college. Several bags including some UFOs and orphan blocks went to a church group who supported various groups. A bag went to the Girl Scouts. Boxes of craft stuff went to a public school art teacher, funding has been slashed and she was delighted.

And you can sell it via Craig's list as well. Last year I bought two 25 pound bundles of small pieces from a quilter's estate for I think it was $25 each, maybe it was $50. Mostly quality stuff from the early 80s. But the point is, they just took a picture of some of the box fanned out and someone bought them!

Yeah, I know, it's not much return on the investment but you don't really want them and they are taking up space that could be filled by something you want! That's called a lost opportunity cost, so really you are saving money :p

Sharon, this is beautiful. Motivational too, I need to tackle my scrap boxes I keep for hand applique, but would like to make a bigger and faster dent in them. Thanks for posting this. Might just have to see if I can still get the BH&G issue today for this pattern.

I have a taker for some scraps. Going upstairs to start to get this project started.

A real gem from Iceblossom: Life too short to be burdened with things I don't want.

I think I am overwhelmed by the scraps. I did not bu y scraps or order them off the internet. They just happened.

And SBG is right: They keep multiplying.

Sharon, I love this quilt and all the beautiful colors. Are you going to handquilt it.

I am a devoted scrappy quilter and am always ready and willing to take scraps someone doesn't want. I make donation quilts so it helps keep my expenses down. I also love to take orphan blocks and turn them into quilts. I don't have a lot of experience making those improv blocks but am working on that and having fun with it. Scraps that are too small for me to use I put in a bag by my cutting table and when it's full, I donate it to the thrift store that bundles fabrics for recycle.

Another way to use up scraps is to make string blocks. You can cut paper squares--phone books make approx. 7 1/2 inch square but I don't like tearing the paper off the back so I use think muslin, usually cut 8 or 8 1/2 inches square. Word of warning--they are addictive.

I cut a bunch into 1 1/2" strips and make 9 patch blocks...you'd be surprised how alternating them with a solid color block can make a really nice quilt..I just keep them handy and when I need to sew but don't have time to start a project, I whip some blocks out...satisfies my need to sew..then you have nice quilts to give as gifts or donate with very little cost to you...whatever you do..use them..just start..they don't do you any good in a bin!

a fall last week decimated my shoulder.no use of right arm for 6 weeks and absolutely no rotary cutting for longer than that. my sisters are going to purge the studio. scraps will be given away. strings recycled and every trip hazard in studio eliminated. i have kits from Craftsy/bluprint that will be dismantled for fabric or given to my quilting friends. the hard work of getting back to normal is coming and i am determined to recover but i will not have the desire to make large and complicated quilts like a king size lone star

I don't save scraps. I have a big bin under my cutting table and when it gets full I take it to sew day and by the end of the day it's empty. I never go into the bin looking for a piece of fabric while it's filling up so I know there is no use keeping any to wait for me to maybe use it. If I need scraps I'll cut some. LOL

When I get tired of making scrap quilts and start feeling like the scraps are taking up too much space I start filling large flat rate priority boxes. There are plenty of people out there who love taking them off my hands for the price of postage. It’s a win-win.

I keep buying scrap quilt patterns to use up mine. All I have accomplished is now I have too many patterns too. LOL!

Every time I decide to make a scrappy quilt with the sole intention of using up my scraps, I always feel the need to buy 4 or 5 additional fabrics. Now, more scraps. I’m not making any progress. It’s an addiction.

This is a Beautiful quilt luvstoquilt. I want to make one like this one day for myself. Looking at your picture, it doesn't look like 2 1/2" squares used in the center colored squares. They look more elongated. What size are they? Nice work.

There are people who like to make postage stamp quilts and would love to have your scraps. (Not me, I don't have the patience). But offer for free on this site and I'm sure you'll get takers.

Consider giving scraps to your local schools and afterschool programs. I am a retired art teacher. Scraps are valuable
for many art projects!!

LOL! So true!

I think if I vacuum pack it I can get more in. Half these things I don't recognize. Getting a thunder storm now.

luvstoquilt that scrappy quilt is absolutely gorgeous.

I am trying to use my scraps up before I get too many. I have been making quilts to use up some floral and purples fabrics. After I quilt the last two I will start on using the scraps.

This is beautiful, Sharon! I love the border you are using. Will you be putting it on all 4 sides?

Leslie

We each develop a style that is ours. It sounds like on this tread that some of us are scrappy quilters and others not so much. Both have value and if scraps annoy you then pass them on to those who love scraps. Although I don't plan on leaving this world soon, I also do not want to leave my family with my stash and scraps to care for. Thus, I have organized my scraps and work diligently at creating quilts that use what I have at hand. From time to time have the opportunity to make a quilt from scratch and buy all new fabric and I find it so frustrating that I almost freeze up trying to make choices. So, I guess I have morphed into a scrappy quilter over the years. That is my little place in the sun and I like it.

There are some wonderful suggestions here for putting scraps to good use. Enjoy the freedom of giving them away, selling them or using them. Our abundance can be a blessing to others whether it is in the form of a quilt or a box of fabric that is just more than we want in our life. :o