I have begun to amass quite a mess of scraps. Right now I am just throwing them all into a bin. What I would like to get is some opinions on what sizes to cut them into or how I should organize them.
Have you tried the Scrappy group? I bet you could find some great ideas there. I would suggest cutting them into sizes like 1.5, 2.5 3.5, but having said that I, personally, would probably just cut them when I had something particular in mind.
Life is like a quilt...bits & pieces, joy & sorrow, stitched with love
there is a great book that I have on this subject. It is Scrap Therapy, Cut The Scraps! 7 Steps to Quilting Your Way through Your Stash. by Joan Ford. It is great. Gets you so organized.
Or, just Google Quilt scrap organization. There are sites out there with the info for free.
I use Bonnie Hunter's system and have made MANY scrap quilts by following her tips on saving scraps and using them with her Leaders/Enders idea. Here's the link to her blog article about saving scraps:
http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/scrap-users-system.html
Kelli
I use the "lumberjack" method. You cut your scraps into sizes you would find in the lumber yard...such as 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, squares, and 2.5 by whatever rectangles. These sizes go well together.
Vinton, Virginia
Thank you all for the ideas. At least now I kind of have a starting point :)
I like to organize my scraps by color (because I'm planning for a certain quilt which requires this), but I know most people organize by size and/or shape and/or lights/darks.
FWIW, I usually find that after organizing (and flattening crumpled pieces of fabric and packing them neatly into ziplocks), I never seem to have nearly as many scraps as I thought I did. This is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. :)
LaJuan Sukochi Lee: there is a great book that I have on this subject. It is Scrap Therapy, Cut The Scraps! 7 Steps to Quilting Your Way through Your Stash. by Joan Ford. It is great. Gets you so organized.
One of the ladies who works at my local quilt store just told me about this book. She cuts hers into squares like you all have suggested then goes to this book.
She also told that one of the other ladies there cuts all of her scraps into 2" strips and on January 1 of every year she uses them to make a log cabin quilt.
Bandmama: LaJuan Sukochi Lee: there is a great book that I have on this subject. It is Scrap Therapy, Cut The Scraps! 7 Steps to Quilting Your Way through Your Stash. by Joan Ford. It is great. Gets you so organized. One of the ladies who works at my local quilt store just told me about this book. She cuts hers into squares like you all have suggested then goes to this book. She also told that one of the other ladies there cuts all of her scraps into 2" strips and on January 1 of every year she uses them to make a log cabin quilt.
I think I will be stealing this idea. So, next Jan. 1, there will be a log cabin quilt to start. What a great idea. Start the new year with scrap!
I know. I like the idea too and she reminded me that it goes pretty fast if you already have the strips cut!
Kelli, I took a class called Scrap therapy. It was awesomely neat. There are tons of patterns that go with the theory too - but the best thing was it allowed me to throw some of them away. I have tons again right now that need to be gone through and I am setting up a day to do it. When I get organized I put them in bins of different sizes.
It is one of the things we are going to tackle in our Christmas all year long group. I am going to have some ideas for using those scraps to make gifts for people - different things we can do.
Check out the Scrap therapy website. I haven't been there in a couple years so am not sure if they are still around but they have some really awesome patterns for bags, hot pads, small quilts - large quilts... all with scraps.
I absolutely LOVE my scraps! I put all my newest scraps into a small bin on my sewing table so that I can just keep them near me until I come upon a few new favorites. Then I scan my old scraps in color to make a few notecards to send to friends and retire them to my scrap bin. I like to sort mine by color more than by size, it seems i pull my quilts by color first, then choose my pattern according to the fabrics I have choosen!
if you keep one each of your scanned notecards in a recie index, you will always have some idea of whats in your scrap bin.
I can only hope and pray I live long enough to use up the greatest bulk of my fabric friends, but I still plan to leave a few behind to my sewing framily (friends as family).
Happy Scrappy Sewing!
Donna
P.S. I adore Bonnie Hunters scrap methods.
Kelli, And when you really get down to the scraps that really aren't good for anything, make a pet pillow. I buy pillow ticking and just make a nice size rectangle, fold in half, sew the 3 sides leaving a nice size hole at the top to turn, and fill it with all those teeny tiny scraps. Also tiny scraps of batting, etc. I give them to my local vet for pet pillows and their washable cuz it's all cotton and scraps. My vet really appreciates them and they don't go to the landfill.
Diana (Bink) in East Tn.
Diana: Kelli, And when you really get down to the scraps that really aren't good for anything, make a pet pillow. I buy pillow ticking and just make a nice size rectangle, fold in half, sew the 3 sides leaving a nice size hole at the top to turn, and fill it with all those teeny tiny scraps. Also tiny scraps of batting, etc. I give them to my local vet for pet pillows and their washable cuz it's all cotton and scraps. My vet really appreciates them and they don't go to the landfill. Diana (Bink) in East Tn.
I love this idea and, I have 2 dogs who will also. :D
I've been looking into the scrap therapy book this morning and, I was kind of bummed out. I wish they would make more books available on ereaders. Well, I guess I'm going to head over to Barnes and Noble and pick the book up.