Sad to say, I have not figured out a really efficient way to tame the ever elusive scrap bin. Honestly, I am so tired of making scrappy quilts that from time to time I consider just give them all away. I have not gone out to shop for a specific fabric for a specific quilt in years. Admittedly, I do pick up fabric bargains and have a good stash but the scrap bin wears me out. Oh, boo-hoo! Whine, whine, whine. I really am blessed to have so many scraps that can be made into beautiful quilts.

I do have boxes organized by color for mine (now if I just didn't get frustrated with them and cram them into the first box I see :-( ) but they just keep growing and its just easier to me to use fabric I see on the shelf rather than dig thru a box. Sigh...my friend makes really good scrap quilts but she has boxes and boxes and boxes of scraps and I don't think she would be my friend if i gave her mine!

I went back and began reading all of the posts to this thread. Woodstock!!! :D One thing that I have done in the past year is that immediately after cutting pieces for a quilt, I cut the remainders, scraps into standardized "pre-cuts". This is particularly useful when trimming and squaring up the quilt just before the binding go on. I cut off that excess backing and cut it into usually 2.5 strips or 2.5 squares. this often gives me 10 - 12 squares of the same fabric. This seems to neuter the little things and they stay under control. I make 4 or 5 quilts per year using 2.5 squares and having so many on hand helps.

I also am liking the post about just donating the scraps when they get to a certain amount. Why am I keeping all of this when someone else could use them? This is thought worth considering. Ah, a deep breath of fresh air!

I love to read how efficient each one of you quilters are with your scraps. I quilt for a charity only. They give me scraps to work with. Sometimes I receive a panel--like a book panel. Or just a piece of fabric with one main animal or theme, like a dinosaur or one care bear. Ladies, take one or even several of these printed scraps, put them up on your display board. Now sew up some scraps in a clever pattern and fill in around the main theme of the quilt.
Use print fabric scraps and plain ones. In fact, you can call it a conversation style quilt. You will use up your scraps slowly, but use them up! I sometimes use some orphan blocks to "fill in" an area. It truly is a "unique" way to quilt and help a charity, and use up your scraps that you feel are a burden. Try it.

I am lucky to sew with a small group of ladies that love scraps, so I don't have them taking up all my space in my small sewing area. They really do make great comfort quilts to donate to different groups in my city.

LOL, when I first started quilting I wanted to do a storm at sea quilt (all scrappy), I too went out and bought scraps to make it. Since I was still a beginner and storm at sea is more of an advanced quilt pattern, none of my blocks matched up, I had missed all of the points on the blocks and it was a mess. I ended up putting the sorry looking blocks that I did in the scrap box with all of the scraps and BOOM, there started an orgy that has yet to stop. No matter what I do there are always scraps.

At our guild quilt show one year I sold 12 big plastic garbage bags of scraps for 50 cents each. I can imagine what a population boom I started and I bet they are still multiplying.

P.S. Every once in a while I come across those storm at sea blocks and I have a good laugh. But it does make me realize how far I have come in my quilting abilities.

Love this scrappy...don't sell yourself short, JFI, I so enjoy the pieces you have created in the past and this one is a winner.

justflyingin - I love your quilt!
Yesterday I had lunch with a friend at a sandwich shop near the library and because I was a bit early I pursued some quilting books at the library. Since i'm also needing to tame my scraps, I checked out a book called Cut the Scraps! 7 Steps to Quilting You Way through Your Stash by Joan Ford. I haven't read all of it yet, but it's motivating me to get into those drawers and organizing. She has some pretty patterns I'd like to try.

Love that quilt, justflyingin. <3<3<3

I love to make Sampler quilts and all you need is a piece of this and a piece of that. I am in the process of making a sampler now and one of the blocks is "Depression Block") It has 36 pieces and that uses up a lot of little pieces. Oh yah, I got it from quilterscache.com and it is a 12" block. I am also doing Log Cabin - also from quilters cache and that is 20 pieces. I am doing this quilt in all solids, so I am matching blends of colors rather than the pink rose matches the white daisies. And the 21st piece is the red square in the middle. It really is neat. I am going with the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and bright colors in the lower left and then pastels on the upper right! I have the colors all picked out. Never did a quilt in all solids. An Amish Sampler (so to speak). There is a lot you can do with your bits and pieces. I give some of my leftovers to my sisters and when I go over to her house I can see pieces of this or that in a crazy quilt designed valances she has in her home. Not to mention her table cloth.
I won't get rid of anything unless it is just to small to sew. Enjoy. Edie