As I finished cutting scraps, I was running out of drawers and storage boxes, so I started opening other drawers.

Guess what I found?

MORE scraps……

…..5-inch squares that I had cut…..

….charm packs that I had won or been given…..

Even a HUGE stack of 10-inch squares…..

….either cut from my stash or added as Layer Cakes.

Even a Jelly Roll (or two) that I had completely forgotten about….

OH MY…. I had no idea it had gotten this far out of hand!!

The good thing is that now I know what I have and can make a plan to start using them!!

Expect tutorials for scrap quilts coming up!!

…………………………………………………………….

“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.

Yesterday, I cut the larger fabric pieces into strips at least 20 inches long.

But what can I do with all of the shorter strips? They are too short to use easily in a strip scrap quilt, so let’s turn them into squares!

I start by making stacks of the shorter strips along the perpendicular lines of the Accuquilt die…

….run it through the cutter….

…and make stacks of lovely 2.5-inch squares….

The final cuts that I made were for the 2-inch pieces of fabric. I cut them all into strips, but didn’t cut the shorter strips into 2-inch squares.

I can do that if and when I need them!!

We are nearing the end…. HURRAY!!!!

As I ironed the scraps, I placed them into piles…..

• one for longer pieces that can be strips (normally 20+ inches in length),

• one for smaller pieces that can be cut into squares,

• One more pile for pieces that are smaller than 2.5 inches but at least 2.0 inches

• Finally, one pile for pieces that are smaller than 2 inches (these are my crumbs)

Now that the sorting is done, let’s start cutting!!

As I have mentioned, I use my Accuquilt machine to cut my scraps. First, cover the cutting die with pieces long enough to save as strips. Then run it through the Accuquilt….

….and voila….

…a set of strips is ready to store!!

At this point, I am trying to keep things separated by color…

Hurray for empty bathrooms next door to the studio!!

Next step is to cut some of these strips into squares….. see you tomorrow!!

…………………………………………………………….

“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.

The one dilemma I face when I am given fabrics is whether I need to wash them.

Now…..let’s not have a fight here, but I am a pre-washer!!

I know that it adds extra time and may make my piecing less accurate, but I want to wash out those chemicals before I start using the fabric.

And there was another reason with these scraps….. Denise has a sweet cat, but sadly, I am allergic to him, so it was imperative that everything be washed before it blended in with my stash.

I wasn’t excited about washing small scraps, but I loaded up lingerie bags with the smaller scraps….

…and ran them through a fast washer cycle.

When they came out of the wash, they were all tangled together and looked horrible….

I honestly thought I had made a BIG mistake!!

But when the dryer clicked off 20 minutes later, they were clean and fluffy…..

….and ready to head to the ironing board….

At first, I ironed every single piece of fabric, even the ones going straight into the crumb drawer. But finally I came to my senses and only ironed the ones that could actually be cut into scraps.

Next step…..start trimming!! Come back on Saturday!!

…………………………………………………………….

“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.