As I worked through the mountain of scraps, I kept setting aside the small pieces that fit the description of a Crumb…
I dutifully saved all of these little pieces, storing them in five drawers underneath my cutting table….
But here’s my question….
Will I ever actually USE them?
In my entire quilting career (all 40+ years of it), I’ve made only ONE crumb quilt…
Do I keep these out of guilt or as inspiration??
So, here’s what I am going to do…..
One year from today…. September 1st, 2027, I am writing a note in my Google Calendar….
And I intend to stick to this decision!!
Here is what you can do to help me……
If you love making crumb quilts, send ideas so I can get inspired and not throw away all those lovely fabrics!!
Thanks!!
……………………………………………………………
STOP SAVING YOUR SCRAPS FOR “SOMEDAY”
With Crumbs for the Geese, you’ll confidently turn even the smallest pieces into a vibrant, finished quilt—no second guessing, no overwhelm.
🎥 You’ll also get a 30-minute step-by-step video on crumb blocks and precise flying geese
Just sew, build, and enjoy the process
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Such a smart idea. I have a few crumb containers. I should set a use it or lose it on my calendar as well.
I think it will be really interesting to see if I actually do anything with them. Since I will be easing into retirement in about 9 months, maybe I will use them as impetus to start something new!!!
Nooo to the 9/1/27 trash deadline! One of the things I realized when I started quilting 20+ years ago was that part of the problem with scraps is that we wait until *after* we’ve collected them to decide what to do with them by which time we have tons. At that point it takes a lot of energy to go look for something suitable (and more energy to define what “suitable” even means to us right then) and then narrow down which is the “best” of the hundreds of designs that are possible to use. Worse, depending on how you collect your scraps you may now need to “reprocess” them: either cut them to the needed sizes or worse, press crumpled up bits flat. I suggest that actively sewing them together now is more likely to generate a need/idea for using them than waiting for the inspiration to come to push you to work with them.
1st option: just randomly piece the crumbs of the same color together now (which can be a leader/ender while working on other projects) and save the resultant “made fabric” (ala Victoria Findlay Wolf) until you come up with an idea of what to use it in (much like you did for your “Bat Scrap” quilt). Made fabric can be subcut into specific part sizes just like regular pre-cuts or yardage can. Bonus: they will take up less space stored as pieced “sheets” of five or ten inch squares (or whatever ever size you think you’d be more likely to work with) than they will as a bunch of loose scraps.
2nd option: Foundation piece them to adding machine tape. There are a number of quilters (for example Karen Brown of “Just Get It Done Quilts”) who have quilt designs that use that kind of “made fabric”.
3rd option (and I have some put aside to do this one myself): use them to stuff a quilt sandwich (just a plain fabric top and back) to make pet beds that can be donated to a local animal rescue or shelter.
In all cases, using beats waiting when it comes to generating inspiration every time!
Great ideas Vivian. I think you are probably right about turning them into something as soon as possible. They do tend to languish once they hit the scrap basket! I have never been into Leaders/Enders, but I am thinking about starting a crumb strip factory with my next project!!