A CLEAN scrap basket!!

Well, I finally DID IT!!!

After a year of procrastination, I tackled my overflowing scrap basket…..

…and turned it into this…..

HURRAY!!!!!

And of course, it didn’t take nearly as long as I had thought!! Isn’t that always the way with things we dread?

I was helped along by using my AccuQuilt Machine….but more about that in a future post!!

At the end of the day, I had lots of 5-inch squares….

…2.5-inch strips…..

… and 2.5-inch squares…..

I used my scrapping decisions from Thursday’s post, and cut STRIPS that were 2-inches….

….and 1.5-inches.

As per my decisions, I did NOT sub-cut these into squares.

THAT cutting can be done when the squares are needed!!

It has given me an incredible feeling of relief to know that this particular task has been accomplished.

Maybe I can keep it up to date going forward…. but I wouldn’t hold my breath!!

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“Let’s Get Scrappy is about how to decide, not about what to make.”

Let’s Get Scrappy is an on-demand online course that helps quilters overcome decision fatigue and finally make sense of their overflowing scrap bins. With four hours of step-by-step video instruction, you’ll learn simple systems for organizing, piecing, and pressing your scraps—so you can stop overthinking and start sewing beautiful, coordinated quilts with confidence and joy.

Click HERE for more information about Let’s Get Scrappy!!

Scrappy Decisions Have Been Made!

I am in desperate need of cleaning out my scrap basket…..

…but frankly, I just can’t get into the groove with it!!

Part of my delay is that I’m unsure if I really want to cut the smaller units anymore. And, by smaller, I mean 1.5-inch strips and squares, as well as 2.0-inch strips and squares.

Somehow, those seem to be one step too far!!

As I considered my scrapping journey, I realized that a 2.5-inch scrap was my favorite.

A 1.5-inch square was just TOO small, and I was “on the fence” about 2.0-inch squares.

Then I had an epiphany…. IF I need 2-inch scraps, they can be cut from my 2.5-inch pieces, as can any needed 1.5-inch pieces.

BUT, what about all of those scraps that are too small for a 2.5-inch strip. Am I REALLY going to be willing to toss them?

The answer was NO!!

Instead, I decided to cut STRIPS of 1.5 and 2.0, regardless of their length, but not to sub-cut them into squares.

That way, I am not wasting the fabric, and I can sub-cut them when needed.

OKAY….decision made.

Now to get motivation to actually tackle the job!!

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“Let’s Get Scrappy is about how to decide, not about what to make.”

Click HERE for more information about Let’s Get Scrappy!!

When you GOTTA be creative!!

Yesterday I had one of those days….. there were things that I SHOULD be doing (finishing the videoing for my upcoming course), but I desperately wanted to be creative in some way!!

So, I decided to split the day…..create in the morning and video in the afternoon!!

But what was I going to create??

Was I going to continue working on this piece…..

Was I going to start quilting on one of the THREE quilts that are waiting for some time under the needle?

NO….. I was going to start something new!!

It began on Friday as I watched a video about string piecing. Then there was this glimpse of a strip quilt made with mostly brown fabrics but adding pops of red.

I couldn’t get it out of my mind and kept also thinking about all of the brown strips that I had sitting in my drawers….

So….off I toddled into the studio.

I started out by making a strip set….

….cut it into squares and then sliced on the diagonal…..

I added a red strip to the cut side…..

Now it was time to make another, smaller strip set, and cut the triangles out from the side….

I sewed the two triangles together….

And ended up with this fun block….

I made several of them and started playing with layouts….

This is DEFINITELY a design that I will play with more, but for now…..

…into a project box!!

I kept to my plan and spent the afternoon working on a video, but sadly when it started downloading, there was an error and I lost what I had done. VERY BIG SIGH!!

Oh well, I will re-do it today and it will be even better!!

So, that is what I do when I “GOTTA” create…..how about you?

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Summer Sherbet!!

The month of July has been put aside for creating my upcoming Scrap Quilting Course….. Let’s Get Scrappy”!!

As part of the course, I designed a table runner pattern that we will make during the classes, learning principles and techniques along the way.

However, I knew that I needed to try out the pattern first, so used alternate colors and came up with this…..

As I was working on it, I found myself getting hungry and realized that I was thinking about…..

….. Rainbow Sherbet….one of my summertime favorite treats!!!

I love how it looks on my table…..

….and it puts a big smile on my face when I pass!!

So, grab your scraps and get ready to “Get Scrappy”!!

It’s FINALLY a quilt….or two!!

When I left you yesterday, I had sewn the first round in my “jelly role race” quilt.

The next morning, I started on the second round….sewing the sets of two together to form sets of 4….

After a good pressing…..

….it was time to start the next round….

Fortunately, each round gets faster and faster so the quilt comes together quickly.

As I got to the end of each set, I used my scissors to cut the strips in half….

At this stage, I did a little extra pressing, making sure that the seams were mostly flat…..

It was exciting to see this…..

I cut this strip into three parts and sewed them together…..

THAT is a REALLY weird shaped quilt!!!

I debated about how to fix it, thinking about adding vertical strips to the sides, but finally decided to turn more of my scraps into strips, add 8 more rows….

….and CUT IT IN HALF to make 2 smaller quilts!!

I still had some of the long strip left, so I added it in as part of the border.

The first quilt was bordered with a grey fabric, and it looks nice…..

For the second one, I used narrower borders and a dark blue/black fabric….

This one is more striking than the first, but both will make great quilts for our guild charity.

AND, best of all, THIS is all of the strip set that I had left…..

SO….although this quilt looks NOTHING like the original plan, I am thrilled to have finished it and used up so many of my 2-inch strips!!

Now, what am I going to do with all of the 2.5-inch strips…..or the 1.5-inch strips…..or the 2.5-inch squares, or the 3.5-inch squares…..

OH MY!!! TOO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT!!

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You can sign up HERE……