Time marches on and I am beginning to see it even more in the birthdays of my children. Hard to believe that these darling children have their own lives and are wonderful inside and out. I only hope that time begins to slow just a bit. I want to cherish each day and truly be grateful for the time I have with them. It is hard that they are living in different places, so I am not able to be there for their birthdays but thank goodness for Facetime on my IPad!
I am so fortunate that my family has always been supportive with my love of All Things Quilting! Quilt shops, quilt shows, projects completed, projects in process, looking at fabric, choosing fabric: I am supported with my quilting! How wonderful to share what I do and feel the support!
Quilts and quilting is an art and craft that has definitely changed over the last couple of decades. Moving from an era of hand quilting to an era of machine quilting was not anticipated by most of us, I would guess. Even the world of machine quilting has changed in the last few years. Regardless of the changes, the basic joy of what quilts and quilting bring to each of us has not changed.
As the years pass, my scrap collection has also grown by leaps and bounds. I have looked at many ways of trying to contain this collection from using baskets, bins, tubs, etc. I used to dig through the tub looking for the size and colors I needed and it seemed to take forever. In fact, it took far longer than I wanted to spend, but I felt that I needed to use the scraps first, before I make a trip to the quilt store.
The problem of dealing with scraps needed a solution. I began to research ways that many quilters organize their scraps. There must be as many ways as there are quilters! (Ha, ha!). So . . . . . . . I believe that the scraps must have certain rules to be functioning the best way for their use.
One: The scrap fabric must be easily accessible.
Two: It must be organized in a fashion that would be used most often.
Three: Standard sizes make it easier to use for a variety of projects.
Four: It does take time to get a handle on your scraps.
One: I decided that the standby rubbermaid containers would work the best for me. They come in different sizes, I can see what is inside, I can easily stack them, and I can easily label them.
Two: I thought about color coordinating the scraps. I make many scrap quilts and projects and decided that I did not need to color coordinate the scraps. I can sort through the sizes and pull the colors I needed fairly easily.
Three: Cutting my scraps into some standard sizes makes it easier to a) find the size in the color I need, b) organize them in containers based on size, c) have many scraps of the same size used in a variety of projects. I rarely use scraps smaller than 2 1/2″. I would rather use strips for projects needing that size. My cut sizes are 3″, 4″, 5″, 6″, 8″, 10″ for squares, and 2 1/2″, 3 1/2″ strips, and I do not cut everything into smaller pieces. Sometimes, I keep larger pieces depending on the size.
Four: I devoted time every day in my sewing room (about 20 minutes) to work on my scrap system. As I began to cut the pieces and organize them in my bins, I found that the stacks took up far less room than the bunched up scraps.
I will always have scrap fabric, but I do not feel quite so overwhelmed with it. I am also able to use quite a bit of it in my current projects. I still go to the quilt shop though!
Classes: I am going to be teaching some classes at Cindy’s Quilt Shop in Caldwell, Idaho this fall. Keep your eyes open for them.
Cabin by the Lake will be a twelve month BOM using scraps for most of the quilt.
Mystery Stash Buster Strip Quilt Series will be a five month, five quilt series using 2 1/2″ strips.
Advanced Quilting is a class that builds on beginning quilting.
I will post more about these classes as I get them ready to schedule this fall.
I do have a couple of longarm quilting spots in September, October, and the first part of November. Let me know if you would like one of these spots. (I fill up fast).
Remember to count your blessings!
Sue
