burchquilts

That's my method, too... kinda. I just do lights & darks because I find that "medium" is relative.

burchquilts

Oh, those sound yummy. Pictures? Please?

w7sue

I store mine by size - 1.5, 2, 2.5 - when I am ready to go, I put out ten coffee filters and sort one of each in each of the coffee filters. If I have five of one, then it goes only onto five filters, if I have nine then only nine go out, when I am done each coffee filter has a large supply of one of each that I then start working into squares/blocks. I did this for 290 nine patches made from 2 inch squares. The same fabrics are used all over the quilt but each block is different. I like this method better than just grabbing since I tended to grab the same fabrics over and over and it looked too planned. I am one of those people who sew two lines when doing half square triangles so the part that is cut off is trimmed down to one of the above sizes and they can be tossed in every once in a while - it uses all those little pieces that get trimmed down. I love a book called "Adventures with Leaders and Enders" by Bonnie K. Hunter - I have made three quilts from this book and the fourth one is just waiting for the perfect outer border.

I am pretty sure there is no right or wrong way - just your way and what works for you.

I just got an envelope full of scraps from luvTooQuilt (I sent her postage and she sent fabric scraps she didn't want anymore) - yahoo! I can hardly wait to press them all and trim them to their biggest sizes - they will add a little something to my quilts because they will be different than everything else I have.

Lori S

When I start a scrap quilt I throw all my darks and medium on the floor... Then stand back and see what "grabs" me. I then toss what really stands out as a "stinker" into a seperate pile. I them take lights and toss on the floor next to what is to be the darks /mediums and throw the lights and toss the stinkers with the stinkers. This may take a few days of me walking by ...toss ing a few back in ....tossing a few more out till I have my pile. I never judge what makes it .. from close up .. always at least 4 feet away. Then I figure out a pattern taht goes with the most efficient use. What happens alot .. is the pile of "stinkers" is its own quilt and I like it more than the original scrappy.
The era or style makes little difference to me its mostly all about the color range.

betsy121

I use plastic bins so that each color family has it's own bin. I use the plastic see through with white plastic tops. I randomly use whatever I put my hands on first. The more color, the better the result.

May in Jersey

I sort my scraps by color. I like to make 24 or 48 blocks string blocks using the same color for the diagonal center strip, this gives the scrappy quilt a little unity. I used lightweight light colored fabrics for the foundation of the string blocks.

Other times I make simple 9 patch blocks and have one square in each block in the same color, it doesn't have to be the same fabric, just the same color.

PaperPrincess

You need to go to Bonnie Hunter's site "Quiltville". She has info on all things scrappy. Lots of instructions and free patterns. Here's her organization method
http://quiltville.com/scrapusersystem.shtml

Peckish

Someone said the most successful scrappy quilts are willy-nilly, however I think it's a matter of quilt design and personal preference. I made a scrap pineapple quilt that was not "willy-nilly", I split my fabrics into lights vs darks and the contrast turned out quite beautiful. The string quilts I've seen that I thought most striking were either completely scrappy ones that had a unified center line throughout all of the blocks, or had some sort of design element such as fading from dark to light, or red vs. blue, etc. Again, however, it's a matter of personal preference - and what type you choose to make will determine your course of action regarding how you manage your scraps.

If you haven't already, you might take a look at the scrappy quilts pictured on this board. They might give you inspiration to make one, then you're off and running with your own ideas!

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...s-t187228.html

http://www.quiltingboard.com/members...bums16956.html

hevemi

I sew most of my scraps into various sizes of PP log cabins, coloring by the mood I'm in. I have piles of those, and string blocks. I use these for all kinds of small projects, gifts etc when I don't relly feel like making anything "real" but my fingers are still itching to sew Something. I've also made a couple of lap /twin size quilts with those just to pass time. Scraps breed like rabbits so I have no method for storing, I sort my scraps over and over again, by color or strip width depending on what I'll be working on at that time. Or I sort and switch them around just to handle lovely colors. I'm the messy type organizer, boxes labelled - Stuff- Junk - Scraps- Things etc.

carslo

I sort my scraps into three boxes manly, womanly and childlike. Have fun no matter how you sort them!