And.... let there be scraps....& more scraps.... more.... & more......

If you've been quilting all your adult life as I have, and you have a thrifty streak, then you know scraps can become a problem.  Last year I began organizing my new scraps by cutting them into strips and squares that I frequently use for piecing.  So, those pieces are neatly stored and marked in bins that make finding just the right color or size quite easy.  However, I didn't attack my existing backlog (nice word for hoarded supply of little cut up pieces of fabric!).
These older scraps are stored (hidden) in various places around my house.  They are my insurance against any upcoming cotton fabric shortage and prevent me from worrying about not having anything to sew should such a shortage occur!  You know....  one can never be too careful!  What I like about scraps, is having the ability to make such wonderful, colorful things out of what most people would throw away.                            
                                                                                                                                                                                  

This quilt will be a large square when finished.  I've worked on it for well over a year.  It's been the quilt to work on when some mindless 'movie watching' sewing is called for, or when some quilting problem must be thought through.  The bin was always close by so that when I just had a few minutes some progress could be made.  I've come to the point where it's not far from being finished.  All the blocks are pieced, and I'm joining them together.  Each 7.5" block is joined into a block of 4, then 4 of those blocks are joined together to form a larger square, then 4 of those blocks are joined to form a 30" square.  I've been considering adding some black feather stitching between the dark and light pieces as an outline.  But haven't decided yet.

These are piles of the squares pinned together along the seam line.  At this crucial step, another movie on the computer is called for.  It seems a bit of overkill, but makes a big difference in keeping everything square.


Below are stacks of recently joined smaller blocks.  All of these are now together, awaiting another pinning session. 

I hope this post has encouraged someone to attempt a scrap quilt.  There are so many simple patterns that could be made by simply sewing fabric on any geometric shape of paper.  The shape, could be an equilateral triangle, rectangle, square... anything really.  There are many ideas online for scrap quilts.  I have resorted to keeping computer folder of just scrap ideas.

Start saving your scraps!