joe'smom

SusieQOH, that's great that you found those letters from your cousin; I imagine he will get great joy from them. That was quite a job to tackle while working on the mystery!

SuzSLO, thanks for that summary!

Yesterday I felt I had seen enough of the quilt to get started on the clues. It sure feels good to get going!

Iceblossom

I did absolutely nothing on the project yesterday other than digest the clue and play with the remaining pieces a bit!

Since I am using all the solid white as neutral I'm able to sew in strips and then trim off the hourglass units for this first round of sewing -- should go fast.

Thought I'd take some pictures as I'm cleaning up. My solution to "what do you do with small bits" is that I don't bother with them any more. Fabric that is FQ+ goes into the regular yardage which is sorted by color or theme. As the pieces get used, eventually they are turned into a 6.5" strip which goes in a box with nothing else but 6.5" strips. Every now and then I put it in rough color order, but these will all go in the box at the same time. That is where I go first when I need to pull little bits of specific colors or themes. Theory is I can always cut down but I can never cut up!

Part of the reason I like these Bonnie Hunter projects is that I can use up small bits. That's really the goal of my stash right now, to be used. Quite a few of the dark pinks used in this quilt came from 10" swapping squares from Y2K-ish. A lot of the yellows were the lasts of fat quarters I had used in other project.s

So the first picture shows some of the fabric that was used in this project and what is left is all that is left. There is plenty more of some of the others still as various lengths yardage.

The second picture shows the pretty large pile of things going to my crumb quilter. All the partial strips of various sizes less than 6.5. The ragged ends of bad cuts. Little squares and rectangles. The baggie of triangles. She gets to decide what is fun to use or what to toss/give away. The ragged ends and bad cuts and such can taper but I try to keep things above 1".

SusieQOH

Okay, kids, I'm done with the memory box! I have exactly 1 tote that is slim enough to fit under my bed.
I will do the kids boxes at another time. My one son is too busy with a new baby right now anyway. They are on auto-pilot with baby and 2 yr old!

I'm starting the clue today!

joe'smom

Iceblossom, those fabrics look so gorgeous together! How nice to have your very own crumb quilter to pass bits along to.

Iceblossom

I tried so many things over the years -- I am a scrap quilter and require a large amount of fabric to practice my chosen art form. It was a big day for me to realize that if all I really was going to use was 2", I didn't really need to keep 6 yards of it. But, ultimately, I don't like keeping track and care of the little bits. I tried the hamper method -- that had a large snarling mass that as not fun to go through and everything always required pressing -- and I'm on the record for disliking ironing! I tried cutting down to various sizes -- but the fabrics I wanted were never the right size and I always had to end up with cutting more. Eventually I settled down as this 6.5" strip being enough for when I needed charms or variety, allows me a large variety of fabric, and ultimately a fairly small and neat way of organizing it.

We were chatting on the boards one day, I said I had found it easy to give away large pieces of yardage, it was harder for me to find homes for the little bits. Someone else said, darn wish I lived closer and I said I was willing to pay for postage... I keep a flat rate box by my cutting area and send it off when its full. It's sort of funny, like archaeological strata, the bits are generally in layers by projects and so sometimes go together pretty well.

I don't really "get" crumb quilting, but I love the form! I know quite of bit of what I send is larger than a crumb, but she can cut down while I can't cut up! I did spend a couple of years maybe 20-30 years ago doing string stuff with what I call the ragged ends. Basically making fabric out of fabric.

woodland creature

I'm impressed with how organized you all are. I rarely buy anything smaller than about 2 yards, as I could never figure out what to do with that little. Well that, and the fact the the nearest LQS is an hour and a half away (plus $15 for the ferry ride), so when you go to purchase fabric, best to make the trip worth it. But after this experience, I'm willing to expand my wings in the scrap realm, and see what I can do with what I have. Thanks to all of you for the inspiration.

Iceblossom

Rargle snargle again!! I started the first step of connections to make my 9-patches but once again, I went boldly with a number of units that was wrong... When I went back to my cutting table where I was pinning I glanced at the directions and I had made 10 more sets of Hourglass/Neutral than I needed. I have now circled the correct count on my print out, which if I had done before I probably would have made the correct number instead of relying on memory.

I thought through my options. I considered keeping the wrong size connections for the next clue and hoping for the best, but figuring we are going to be getting into putting together pretty quickly so might as well deal with them now. I've decided that I will just have to have a completely unnecessary seam in the outer set. For me, better that than taking out stitches, better than cutting even more fresh fabric. It will be a quick and easy fix and while the weird seam that relates to nothing will be visible, it's all white and I don't even have to match fabrics or patterns.

The 9-patches and outer rows will be finished today. I might save the final block connections for tomorrow. Or, it's still early -- I might decide to watch a whole bunch of tv or do something else today instead.

Hope everyone else is having smooth sewing

Sandra-P

Well I am putting the outer parts on the 9 patches and see I did something wrong. Some of my "Butterflies" have one wing larger than the other on the 9 patch rows. Not sure what it is that I did, I may have cut too generously when making them. I am leaving them. Will be completely caught up, one down the rest to go.

Iceblossom

Sandra, they look as weird as can be when only one seam is in. You are still having issues with the insides after the outside is on?

Sandra-P

Yes, I will post a picture later. I have to redo this block as it is really noticeable.