quiltmouse

I have started using leaders/enders from Bonnie Hunter. She also suggests crumb quilting.

I have sorted fabric scraps into

1. crumbs-small, down to 7/8", but NOT as small as 3/4". A 3/4" piece of fabric only yields 1/4" of quilt for the work of sewing and pressing two seams. It's cute in a strip or crumb block, but just not worth my time/energy.

2. strings 7/8" & wider, up to about 2-1/2" & longer than 4". Smaller than this goes in crumbs.

3. Scraps - larger than both those.

I started Bonnie's scrap block cutting method. I'm uncertain if I will continue. It seems that I'm always trimming a tidbit off that feels wasteful. I'm thinking of trimming the widths she suggests, but leaving length as it is. Then, if the scrap is a bit wider than long, you can get two half triangles. For less fabric than cutting a square in half...cuz you cut it that width off when you cut your little butterfly corner off.

Trimming Fabric ends:
I used to trim fabric ends as narrow as possible to save fabric on the big piece. I was usually throwing away 1/4"-3/4" of fabric. Now, I cut it 1" to 1-1/4" at the narrowest part. This leaves me a usable string for the string bin.

Sewing crumbs. Don't waste time trying to find two crumbs that are the perfect match. Sew crumbs onto a bigger block scrap or string, and trim it to fit your crumb.

when sewing strings or crumbs, make your seam allowance 5/16, halfway between 1/4 & 3/8. This gives a bit more strength to your very small bits.

Do you love wonky cuts? I kind of do. I was sewing two strings together & then cutting them apart at crazy angles. I found I was spending a lot of time trying to find that perfect piece to straighten out the angle cut. Filling in with a couple of rows of strings... It felt like an unending patch job. So, don't make your angle cuts too crazy, lest it crazy-make you. One thing that works pretty well, cut your crazy angle. When you go to fill it in, use a wide scrap that is big enough to completely fill in the angle corner.

I am keeping a pile of my crumbs, strings, etc pinned & ready to sew as leaders/enders laying next to my sewing machine.

I'm using plastic shoeboxes with taped on postit notes:

crumbs
strings
wonky log cabin
scraps
to be pressed
to be trimmed

Go, Bonnie Hunter!

quiltmouse

Drat. The note is not TO Bonnie Hunter .... but ABOUT her method.

gale

I like your idea of cutting strips instead of squares/rectangles.

justflyingin

I always leave the length as they naturally are when making strips. Why would you trim them shorter?

Judi in Ohio

I use Bonnie strips method and my strings are in many forms. I don't use crumbs yet, but what I like to do is to sew the string shorties together for length. Love these multi fabric strings, adds so much. I take leftovers from quilts - had some 2" sq blk/wh that weren't used in the quilt and I used them for strings.

PaperPrincess

I also just cut the strip in the sizes that she suggests. If the scrap winds up being really close to a square, I will cut the square, but otherwise leave it in a strip.

justflyingin

Good idea! Now why haven't I thought of something so simple?

Thanks for posting this.

Jeanne S

Great tips! Thanks for sharing.

quiltmouse

I wasn't having fun cutting the scraps down. Tried to do it during TV time, but my tv is all netflix, so I actually like to watch those shows not just listen. I work full time so have to pick and choose what I spend time on.

Logical question. They were WOF trimmings, so were LONG. 20" plus long.

w1613s

Magnificent! Thank all of you for this wonderful thread. Thank all of you whose comments will be appearing on this wonderful thread; comments that aren't posted yet.

One of my interests can be summed up in "Okay, I did (whatever I just finished) and now what can I do with whatever is left? What leftovers can I add to the leftovers I just created and how can I use them?" I cannot wait to get home, unpack the rv, and move into my sewing room to hold a copy of this thread on one hand and pull out bits and pieces with the other. Yesssssssssss!

Pat