Scrapping Principle #1

Earlier this year I took you through the process that I was using to get RID of my 1.5-inch scraps. Since I was doing this 10-minutes at a time during my BUSY season, I got to a point where I didn’t feel like I could spend even 10-minutes a day in my studio.

So this quilt faltered a bit!!

Here is the last post that I wrote about it…..

SCRAP Madness

…..with the gist being that since I couldn’t figure out a good layout, I decided to just keep making 6 inch squares, using as many 1.5-inch scraps as possible!!

So, once I found time to be in my studio, I grabbed the green squares…..

….and started sewing.

As I have worked thru all of these scraps, I have come across a few principles that apply to Scrap Quilting…..

Consequently, I have decided to work mostly with 4-patches as I finish up this top. I am finding that they are easy to piece and work well as the base to most of my blocks.

However, I broke the 4-patch down even further and started sewing couplets (you know, two squares sewn together) and quickly had quite a chain of them…..

I lined them up on my ironing surface (still attached to each other)…..

….and gave them a good press.

Soon, I had a BUNCH of couplets ready to use!

What am I going to do with them?

Come back on tomorrow and we will keep sewing!!

Summer of the SCRAP

Does your summer have a theme?

I decided that Summer of 2024 was shaping up to have a major theme……SCRAPS!!!

As I wrote in my recent post about planning, I am wanting to finish these five scrap quilts during the next few months…..

Untitled design – 1

I have also been invited to be an instructor at the “Conquer Your Fabric Scraps” Summit on August 15th thru 18th. The event is online AND free!! I will be giving more information as the time gets closer!!

After I got over my overwhelm, I took a look at all of this and the theme was easy to pick……

I LOVE HAVING A THEME!!!

Stay tuned for more!!

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A NEW quilt in the midst of the madness!

In yesterday’s post, I talked about the frustrations that I am having with my current scrap project.

So what am I about to do now???

Start another one of course!!

It started with this overflowing box of 2-inch squares…..

….plus this other box of blue 2-inch squares….

The 2-inch size is not one that I use a lot…nothing like the 2.5-inch ones.

So, I wanted to find a design that would work with these, and THIS TIME, I wanted a plan for it and not just start piecing.

SO….on Tuesday I was perusing Facebook (as we all do), and I saw a woman who had posted thes two pictures….

HMMM…maybe a triple Irish Chain???

I hopped on to Electric Quilt and started playing. Although I liked the original design, I decided that I might want to tweek it a bit. What if I changed the layout to 5×5 rather than 7×7.

The main blocks will look like this…..

AND what if I altered the center of the block to something like this….

But when I put them into a quilt, it was just too much….

Then I changed the alternating block to this…..

….the final quilt looked like this……

I like that better because it does add some open spaces.

So, I kept playing and designed this block….

.Now I get something like this…..

Now THAT…..I REALLY like!!

My guild retreat is coming up in less than two weeks and I was trying to think of something to work on and I think this might be it!!

Since it will be totally scrappy, I won’t have to worry about color placement.

I have decided to use a bunch of different whites for the “background” I don’t have tons of these already cut so I will pull out the Accuquilt this week and get to cutting. It looks like I will need 25 for each 2-block set.

I think that using a lot of whites will give it some sparkle.

I am much happier with the thought of having a plan for this quilt and also knowing that I can just sit and sew and NOT THINK!!

So, maybe this quilt will move me from the brink of madness, but the jury is still out!!

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Do you struggle to decide what to quilt in your blocks? If so, check out my FREE series…..

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SCRAP Madness

Yes, my scraps are starting to drive me MAD!!

I have been happily making 6-inch blocks and ended up with 48 finished blocks….

In making these blocks, I have used ALL of the BLUE 1-1/2-inch scraps which is SUPER exciting!!

But, as you know I am struggling with what to do with these blocks. I have tried numerous ideas, including a “rail fence” type of setting…..

I have spent hours on EQ, planning copious ideas for these blocks…..

BUT NOTHING HAS APPEALED TO ME!!

What to do….. Well, I love Calvin’s idea…..

“Calvin and Hobbes” by Bill Watterson

So instead of trying to figure it out, I am just going to deny that there is an issue and keep making blocks!!

Since my original goal was to clear out my 1.5-inch squares, I am going to proceed with making blocks using each of the colorways……

….until this drawer is empty.

I have already made a good start with the pinks…..

Where will this lead??

Who the heck knows!!

But, the important thing is that I am continuing to piece, and more importantly, I am CLEANING OUT THAT DRAWER!!

Wish me luck!!

Come back tomorrow and I will show you my idea for the 2-inch squares!!

Let’s add some more red!

Today we are going to continue working on the top for the “Down the scrap rabbit hole” quilt. When I posted last about it, I had added a narrow red border around the edges…..

You can read about it here…..

A Touch or Two of Red

Now it was time to add the final border and I had two ideas…..

First of all, it needed more red!

Secondly, I wanted to use up these left over 2.5-inch squares…..

My thought was to make 9-patch blocks with the center being red.

As I looked through my red squares, I found a stack of these….

….and decided to make the center the same in every block.

I did some math (I know, I am a dweeb), and realized that using 9-patches, it wasn’t going to fit the sides, BUT if I added one more row of three squares, it would be perfect.

So, I started piecing…..

…first the blue strips….