Well, this month’s tips, is sure to make some shutter.
Lets get organized!
After sewing for years in my dining room, we finally cleaned out our basement, painted a bit, got heat, and my husband built tables, and is working on storage. As he was building, I was sorting and sorting and sorting. I purchased shoe box style buckets, all tops had to match, and sorted my scraps by color, and when I had to many, sorted by light and dark. Well let me say, it was a very depressing venture, I never realized just how much I’ve accumulated in the years.
When I primarily sewed clothing, scraps were pitched, nothing worth keeping. But when I started to quilt, there isn’t anything that one doesn’t keep. Ergo my idea; reuse all my scraps and combine them into the backs of quilts.
So here are a few tips:
1) Purchase a book focused primarily towards scrap type quilts.
2) When you are in cutting mode, cut all scraps into frequently used sizes and shapes, i.e., 4” squares, 2 ½” squares and 2 ½” strips.
3) Keep all scraps coded by color; try not to distract yourself to much by planning your next project.
4) If you have something in mind start a shoe box with a copy of the pattern you want to use.
I still have to subdivide my scraps, but having them color coded for now is a huge start.
So good luck with your scraps, stay tuned, I have a couple of scrappy ideas I’ll keep you posted.
Happy sewing and cutting,
MaryJane
