Scraps and old age
12-11-2023, 10:05 AM
#31
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 10,728
While I keep my scraps, what I do not hardly ever buy is precut fabrics. I find I don't use jelly rolls, layer cakes, charm squares or any of that sort of thing. I will occasionally buy fat quarters if I have a project in mind or need a bit of specific color. I no longer cut my scraps until I need them, and I do sort them by color. Those that are multicolored or large print are in a bag of their own. Those I actually may use in an "I spy" quilt.
12-11-2023, 05:56 PM
#33
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Elsinore, CA
Posts: 15,570
This is what I do. I don't worry that I haven't used up my scraps. I don't cut them to size. I use them when I can and use other fabrics when needed. I'm not worried about what will happen to them after I'm gone. If my husband throws them all out, I'm okay with that. Quilting is for me to relax and enjoy, not to worry about trivialities.
12-11-2023, 06:33 PM
#34
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Chula Vista CA
Posts: 7,428
Scraps can be fun and some can just be a waste - so not something I hold onto anymore. But I don't cut up left over pieces because I don't know what they will be used with or for. One never knows the mood. But I stopped stash collecting. It's just too disappointing when it doesn't really blend with others. :-). My family will decide what to do when I'm gone. My youngest may keep the 2 machines - a treadle and a 15-91 since they were family. The others - who knows... I enjoy them now and that is all they care about.
12-12-2023, 07:39 AM
#35
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 15,763
Onebyone I hear ya! I love scrap quilts but I dislike scraps! Sounds crazy I know but they make me nervous! I don't want them taking up my sewing room. I have beautiful fabrics that I want to use just as you said. I donate most scraps. I also get tired of fabrics after using them. That's another reason I don't like scraps too much.
As someone said there is something for everyone in our quilting adventure.
As someone said there is something for everyone in our quilting adventure.
12-14-2023, 04:57 AM
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 506
A guild member stood up one night to report how moved she was when, at another guild one young woman stood up and thanked all those who had put out free fabric and scraps on the free table as without those she could not afford to quilt at all.
I am fortunate to have a generous quilting budget. And I do keep my larger scraps in colour sorted bins. But now I am happy to put the fabrics I know I won't use out on the free table to find a new home and destiny. If they can help another quilter grow in her craft, they have done their job!
I am fortunate to have a generous quilting budget. And I do keep my larger scraps in colour sorted bins. But now I am happy to put the fabrics I know I won't use out on the free table to find a new home and destiny. If they can help another quilter grow in her craft, they have done their job!
12-14-2023, 06:00 AM
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Ont. Canada
Posts: 511
I've been following this thread, and it has really got me thinking! My stash is mainly small yardage amounts ( 1 yd or less.) and l use it in a somewhat scrappy way. When covid hit, the lockdown had me searching thru my scraps ( well organized, fortunately) for more options with each project. I learned more and more about actual use of real scraps. As l ran low, l asked friends l knew online if they were willing to part with some of their unused scraps. A few parcels later, l was the happy recipient of more scraps. I always had more scrap patterns than time to try them all, but l'm still happily working on using scraps plus my stash to try as many as l can before my quilting days end.
12-16-2023, 02:53 PM
#38
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: NW MN lake country
Posts: 3,800
As I read the various threads and posts regarding scraps and scrappy quilts, I think that everyone has their individual definition of scraps. Some people consider scraps anything that is left over after cutting a project; others have size qualifications; and still others only count bits and pieces that are considered basically useless because there is so little of a particular fabric left. I think it also depends on how you purchase fabric. People that come into quilting from sewing home dec., craft items for sale or clothing, generally think of and buy fabric in terms of yards, while many quilters buy in smaller cuts unless they will use it for backings, so what they will have left after completing a project will be different too, On a personal note, you don't have a lot of scraps if you cut efficiently. If all I will need from a 4" x wof strip is six 4" squares, that is all the length I cut from my larger piece, not the full width of the fabric, and I leave the additional part of the strip attached to the yardage for the next time. As a result, I have no scraps left over on that cut to deal with. Scraps are inevitable, but how we deal with them becomes a matter of personal preference and amount of storage space we want or are able to give them.
Last edited by SueZQ from MN; 12-16-2023 at 02:55 PM.
