As you know, I’ve been sorting, cutting, and organizing scraps.

I processed the piles.

I emptied the bags.

I filled all of those lovely boxes with strips and squares.

And I was DONE!

Or so I thought.

Then I found this…….

My original scrap basket!!

And guess what?

I NEVER FINISHED EMPTYING IT!!

Seriously???

At this point, I think the scraps are reproducing when I’m not looking.

But I am calling it.

I. AM. DONE.

Those scraps can wait for the next round of Bat-Scrap Crazy!

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!!

A few weeks ago, my friend Denise asked if I wanted her scraps. Knowing that her taste in fabrics was wonderful, I immediately said yes.

Of course, I expected a small bag of scraps and was surprised when she showed up with two HUGE bags….

I have been processing these over the last few days (more about that next week) and started wondering how much all of these bits and pieces were actually worth.

So, I went into Geek Accountant mode and did some calculations.

IF I am cutting 2.5-inch strips, I can get a little over 14 strips out of a yard of fabric.

Let’s say that fabric is $10 per yard…. I know….. $14 might be closer to the real price, but let’s estimate low.

So, each 2.5-inch strip is worth $0.71.

And, if I moved on to 2.5-inch squares, each one would be worth $0.045.

Those numbers add up FAST!!!

This past week, I gifted the quilt to Claire, so I wanted to show you the final product…..

There are still a couple of stories to tell about this one, and those will come in the next two weeks!

I had so much fun working on this quilt and remembering the 9-year-old who I would pick up from school one day a week, and we would spend a couple of hours quilting together.

She would always be starving and loved a warmed tortilla with spicy pimento cheese. I think of her EVERYTIME I pop a tortilla into the microwave to warm!!

I loved watching her pick fabrics…..

and make quilts….mostly to be given to her family and friends!

She was a quick learner….

…and had a great creative spirit.

This was the last quilt that we made together in 2019…..

….a Christmas gift for her Mom.

And here she is today…..

A beautiful young woman with a sweet, Godly spirit and a BOATLOAD of possibilities ahead of her!!

On one of our sewing days, she was working on something over in the corner, and I found this the next day….

It brought a smile to my face at the time, just as my memory of our time together does now!!

Go Claire…..GO!!!!!

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In my quickie update about the retreat, I showed you the work that I had done on the scrap quilt I am making for Claire…

Once I had these blocks sewn together, I was paralyzed about what to do next.

My original plan was to applique big flowers in each of the white spaces, but it just didn’t seem appropriate now!

I was also struggling with what type of border to add. I played with a couple of ideas along these lines….

…but nothing seemed to be working.

Deb H. suggested that a black border would be too heavy, but that using black for the binding might be perfect. SUCH a good idea!!

When I got home, I put it on the design wall and started playing more with borders. I liked the idea of two borders, and loved the yellow….

But as I looked more, I realized that I wanted to continue the checkerboard pattern into the border, so now I am thinking along these lines….

I liked this idea, but knew that piecing would be difficult….but where is the fun if everything is EASY!!

I started by sewing long strips of yellow and blue together, then added the first border with the B-W-B three-patch…

I decided that I needed to miter the corners, and they were MOSTLY successful. As usual, there was one that just wouldn’t work right, but we aren’t going to worry about that!!

I added the outer border with the additional black squares next.

I like how this looks, especially with a black binding in the future….

But I am stuck again!!

NOW….it looks TOO plain, so maybe I need to add my flowers???

I decided to let it “rest” for a few days and see if inspiration strikes.

Come back for more!!