How do you store your scraps? I started with a plastic bag and then last week moved to this really cute basket I have and now I"m using a grocery sack; the gallon size baggie and the basket.

AWW, honey, you haven't got much at all, considering what some of us have in boxes, bags, baskets, bales and hidden here and there so no one can actually tell what we have. And even we don't remember where we put most of it some of the time!!

LOL Doesn't take long to add up does it?
David

Yeah I figured I didn't have much yet - but I'm sort of neat and stuck in a corner to work (I have 5 kids and our house isn't really big) maybe I'll make a bag to store them in and feel better about what little I have....

Do ya'll store them by color or type of piece or just jumbled together and when you need something you just dig through till you find it?

I'm planning to chop my scraps up with the accuquilt go and then sort them into boxes by size.

I'm a dig through kind of quilter. That's half the fun:)

I am kind of new to quilting but I have been sewing for years. I currently have most of my scraps in Rubbermaid tote. No organization at all, just jumbled all together. I hope to someday organize my scraps but someday may be many days from now. LOL!

Here's a great way to organize scraps and since you're just starting you can get it right from the start. I've got several large bins full and some drawers full as well. It will take me forever to get them all sorted out.

http://quiltville.com/scrapusersystem.shtml

I kept my zipper bag from a mattress pad, filled that up and now my basket under the desk is about 1/2 full. No sorting. I do enjoy looking for applique pieces in there, it's like a walk down memory lane. I can recall every single piece and what it went into. And they are entirely random sizes. Some pretty good size some just a whisper but for applique every piece can be used.

This will lead to more, much more.

I can get empty copy paper boxes from work. They have sturdy lids and I sort my scraps by color, then mark the box. They stack quite nicely in my extra closet. O.K.....I do have to sneek new scraps in so my husband doesn't see. He thinks one day the house will be overtaken by scraps !!!

Will your bag be big enough for 5 kids? :lol:
I started sorting my material by color in plastic bin stacked on top of each other. I have one little bin for scraps. But it is overflowing.

Lol! I love scraps! I have 2 full size laundry baskets under my cutting table, FULL! I occasionally sort through them and take larger pieces and cut them into 3 in squares up to 8, and use the smaller pieces for mug rugs, crazy quilts, potholders, etc. I LOVE my scrap baskets! When $$ is tight, DIG!!!

I have my scraps sorted by color and stored in large ziploc bags with the bags stuffed into a 5 drawer storage container in the extra closet in our bedroom (the spare bedroom closet is already full of totes of yardage stash!!). My goal is to slowly take over the entire house for my quilting habit. My DH can have the half of the garage where my car isn't parked for his hobbies, but only if he wants to leave his car in the driveway!

I store all of mine in big see through Tubs , darks and Mediums
together and lights in different ones. I don't have all that much not like some here do, I try and cut out 5" or 6" squares from allot of it and store in big Ice Cream Plastic containers that are easy to stack in closet's. Hope you can get yours the way you'd like them to be. :D

That's not much at all :lol: .
I don't have mine organized at all. I have TONS of them and I keep finding them...lol. I keep them in drawers(the plastic cabinets) and bins, where ever I can fit them.

Jeanelle - I* sort of did this tonight - I sorted everything by size - triangles; squares; strips etc...then some went into baggies and others went into those drawer bins under my cutting table. I did take some time and sew a bunch of 20X20 squares of scraps that were different sizes but the same fabric patters - had fun doing that.

I think I'm just fidgety tonight because I didn't feel like working on my tube quilt or penquin quilt I'm WIP'ing....

Sherry - too funny - my youngest daughter reminded me that she doesn't have a quilt from me and those scraps would work just fine for her....I said right now its probably only enough for a skirt - being 15 she said "ugh MOOOOmmmmm!

Scraps? You mean those tiny little smigins that are too little to fold? Little squiggly corner pieces. I can't stand keeping them around. I keep them cut up into squares, triangles, or make crumb blocks. I can decide what to do with the cut pieces later, but at least they are ready to be productive. I don't have room to store a bag of left overs that look like "junk" to the unbeliever.

Thanks everyone - this is cool to hear - I was getting nervous that I was hoarding material rather than having something useful....my husband saw me responding a minute ago and asked if I had confessed that I had material stashed under every table in the house that could have a table cloth over it to hid what was under...I asked him if he wanted to sleep on the couch...and then figured I'd confess anyway....

SaraSewing - what are "crumb blocks"????

Crumb blocks are my latest craze. Go to quiltville.com to find a great example. I have been on a kick of them because they are ADICTIVE! Do a search at the top of this page to find more. I just finished one quilt and have another ready to set together. And have almost zero teeny scraps left!

Sara - this is sort of what I did tonight...and here I thought I was being original :roll:

I have to charge my camera battery (must have left it on last night) and I'll take a pic.

I use Bonnie Hunters method..

http://quiltville.com/scrapusersystem.shtml

I have mine in sterilite drawers like she does, labeled by size, some by color, I even have drawers for each individual shapes cut out from my Accuquilt Go cutter. Anywhere I can fit the drawers I did.. I cant seem to toss anything away..

I currently have a Crumb UFO goin on.. .

Me too. 2 years ago, I had 6 large plastic moving boxes filled with scraps. In a week's TV listening, I went through 3 of the boxes. I cut them into categories of Squares: 2.5", 3.5", 4", 4.5", 5", 5.5 and 6", with another category for long and skinny, and one for 2.5x5.5. By getting rid of the truly useless bits, I cut the volume in about half. I have now used almost all of those precuts. I don't know, or want to know where I am on scraps right now. I put each batch in its own grocery bag for sorting. Most of the piles were transferred into labeled gallon plastic bags, with the air squished out for smaller storage. The 3.5", 4", 4.5", of which there were less, went into small plastic bins. I often go to them for applique pieces, as well as many other uses.

I have a separate box for "critters". I know I will use those in kid quilts.

One of my guild sisters takes the time to cut off any useless bits as she goes along, then stores the remaining scraps by size and color. She came to a guild session with a plastic shoebox each of red, blue and green, all 2x5. She whipped out a Chinese coins quilt in very little time. I don't even want to be as organized as she is, but I do admire her work.

Sarasewing, I like your blocks. Good work.

Here is one of the pieces I did tonight....

I think this is the ultimate "Green" ! We use almost everything ! Wouldn't our Grandmothers be proud?

mine are in plastic bins. I have one that all scraps go into, then as I cut those down into certain sizes and shapes they move to other bins. Keeps me organized and helps me know when it's time ot make a quilt with a certain size piece (postage stamp, jelly roll, etc...)

LOL, You have been extremely busy! Could those scraps be made into a scrappy quilt? I made one with the scraps from a LQS that was throwing the scraps away. Here is my link. It's the last one entitled 'Love has no plan'. Close up pictures on the following page.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-80431-1.htm

My LQS gives its remnants to about 4 of us in rotation. We all use them for charity quilts. The LQS then takes in scraps from its customers and adds them to what it gives us.

No down side there! Some are big enough to go into non-scrappy quilts for me. The rest are used scrappily.

Wow, your colors are great together!

I've just recently bought Sterlite containers and have sorted by colors. I haven't cut them into any sizes like Bonnie Hunter's idea on Quiltville and am still deciding if I want to do that, however, in the few weeks since I have done that much sorting I've cut down on my looking for a certain color time way down. I just grap the container with the color I want and see what I got. I try to use up the smallest pieces first, that way if I do decide to cut into sizes, I will have bigger pieces and be more efficient.

ramona quote
AWW, honey, you haven't got much at all, considering what some of us have in boxes, bags, baskets, bales and hidden here and there so no one can actually tell what we have. And even we don't remember where we put most of it some of the time!!

and i concur! i sort even the little bitty ones ...folded and sorted by color in boxes or drawers or whatever. i have even answered a challenge yrs ago by group i was with ...collected all thier little snippings and made a pretty little pin cushion for dear friend...they continued to add to the tin that i brought in...and i didn't make any scrap converts there...but it is so good to see that progress is being made in the current quilt community

looks like crazy quilt blocks on the mini side...love it!!!1

....looks like mini crazy quilt...i love this!!! [ i am not sure how to do this so there is another post with same wording...but wanted to attach it to this amazing quilt photo :)]

Some people in my guild used tiny snippets which they glued in place to create pictures. It's not my thing to do, but some of them looke really nice.

I have a scrap bag I maid that clamps onto the edge of my table. When it gets full I emty the scraps into a plastic bags.

Charmpacksplus: The site you reference is really a neat one.
Soooo much information and it's fun to read. Thank you.
Dodee

I try to keep my scrap under control. When I finish a project, I cut the remainder into strips (for longer pieces) usually 1 1/2" and 2 1/2". Then cut squares from remainder. Beginning with the largest square I can get from the piece -down to 2" squares. Keep them in shoe boxes. When a box gets full, put them together for a charity quilt. Its amazing how fast those boxes fill.

I love my scraps, I am thinking of making my own jelly roll with them. I do charity quilts and they come in handy.