Got Scraps? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

Y'all know my love of scraps.  They're so much fun!  So when Mom handed me a binder full of scraps waiting to be used...I said, "what the hell is this?"

So as I'm sure most of you know, Blank Textiles got bought out last year by Jaftex.  So what that meant is that most of our color cards were useless, because many of the lines were being reduced or discontinued.  On those color cards, they had a bunch of tabs of fabric, up to 3"x 5" and as small as 1"x 2".  When you think about a 3" binder full of those pieces, that's a lot of waste if you're just going to toss those cards!  So I was tasked with doing something with those itty bitty pieces.  So out came my iron (to melt the adhesive) and off I went.

I decided to go with a row quilt.  And polka dots.

Problem solved.  I haven't quilted it yet though...that's down the list a ways.  But it just goes to show you really can make something from little bits of nothin'!

The Garbage Quilt

I am posting this just to show that I don't cherrypick which quilts I post.  Not every quilt is a success story...we all have some quilt fails, and I'll be the first to point out that this is one of mine.

I call this one The Garbage Quilt.  Why?  I was going for a scrappy Thin Mint look, but it got way out of hand and very quickly started looking like literal garbage.

Guess who endorses this quilt?

So it started out just fine with the pattern.  I chose Farfalle by Villa Rosa Designs.  And, I decided to go with dark brown scraps with bright/light green scraps.  Thin Minty.  Or so I thought.  The first block wasn't too bad. 

Things escalated quickly from there,  But for whatever god awful reason I persevered against my better judgment.

And then it was done.  And it was this.

Too much pattern, too much variety in tone, too much going on and the pattern got swallowed up and sort of lost in places.

If I were to do this again?  I would probably only use scraps for one of the two colors, and use a solid for the other.  Or, if my heart was set on scraps, I would be a little pickier about pattern and I would try to keep the tones of all the fabrics for each color more consistent. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Like my Dad says, "If 'Ifs' and 'Buts' were candies and nuts, we'd all have a merry [flippin] Christmas."  Too late now!  This quilt just stands as one of my quilt fails...ya can't win 'em all!

HEXIE MADNESS

When I got my temp position at the VA, it became quickly evident that an hour lunch was a lot of down time that I needed to fill.  [At the time] I didn't know a soul there, so social lunches were pretty out of the question.  I cannot just sit there like a stupid lump - I am always doing at least SOMETHING, and Netflix alone just wasn't cutting it.

So I hopped on the bandwagon and gave English Paper Piecing (EPP) a go...nevermind the fact that I hate handwork.  I have tons of scraps, some time to kill...I am using the 1" hexagon cardstock templates that come precut, 100 to a pack.  

Let's just say 6 months and almost 600 hexies later, I am an addict.  EPP is actually quite fun and instantly gratifying. I don't have a finished project yet because honestly, I only do this on my lunch breaks...now that I have a new job on the books, we'll see how the rest pans out.  But I have just been grabbing scraps and putting them together at random.  Some of the pieces match, some don't, I'm ignoring directionality (which is HARD for me to do) and so far, it's just been a lot of fun. 

Here's a little snapshot of some of the pieces....there are MANY more and I do have a 2'-3' piece all put together - this picture was taken a few months ago.  

I've started to assemble the flower shapes

Let the assembly begin!

And naturally....no picture can be taken without Toki's say so.

Thanks, Toki.  

WIP Wednesday: Vaudeville

Holy crap, I worked on something.  This is out of the book Sensational Small Quilts...and while sensational, it's by no means "small." 

The sample in the book was red and cream, but blah, so I did purple and cream/tan to go with a vaudeville themed black and cream print I have for the border (no, I don't have a picture right at the moment).  But I am doing it scrappy style so maybe, just maybe, my purple scraps might shrink some.  And they have.  Woo!

All the blocks are done, and all I need to do is finish assembling the rows.  Three down, three to go!

I have to have it sideways on my design wall, so it really isn't wider than it is long.

Tina keeps trying to lay down on keyboard so I guess I'm done...

THANKS TINA :-)
(yes, her under bite is so bad her tongue sticks out.  Poor sweet girl.)

WIP Wednesday: Granny Squares

This is another long term WIP.  After seeing a granny square how-to on another blog (I can't remember which one, it was several months ago) I thought it would be a good way to eat up more scraps.  The one I saw had a 100% white background with each block divided by sashing, but I thought it might be neat to have the block separated by background colors.  So, each block has a different background color in a solid fabric, and then the squares for the interior of the block would be scrappy. 

So I made some, put it away, made some, put it away....and neglected to take notes on how I needed to trim the squares.  Now three of them so far are about 3/4" too big.  Those I will be ripping apart, trimming and reassembling probably last thing.  But this time I was smart enough to write down a note about trimming those pieces and put it in the box for next time. 

Nice, but WRONG by 3/4"

But here's what I have so far.  I think there are 25 or 30 total that need to be done. 

I'll finish the rest one of these days.

One Bajillion Blue

I thought I had already taken pictures of, and posted this....but I didn't!  So Sam (click her name to check out her blog, Diary of a Mad Fabriholic), this one's for you!

I used one single block (I know, I had 100 to choose from and I only chose one, lol) from Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks

This wonderful book that I need to make more blocks from

I chose Number 77, because I thought it would be neat to make a larger block from 4 of these blocks.

I wanted to alternate lights and darks to get an optical illusion...And I needed to get rid of blue scraps.  So I chose 50 light blues, and 50 dark blues and when to town.  There are only 100 different blues here, but after all that picking, and cutting, and piecing, and pinning, and pressing, and assembling....it might as well have been one bajillion.  Hence, one bajillion blue.  

 

Right now the quilt is on display in the shop as a sample for the book.  The walls are pretty high (very tall ceiling) so from down here I know the picture isn't all that great....but you get the idea :-)  And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you....it does lack a binding. 

Lifesavers

I have been feeling SO unmotivated lately, hence, no updates.  Getting the flu last week certainly didn't help.  While my fever finally broke on Friday, I still don't feel 100%.  I can't complain though...I haven't had the actual flu since I was 8, and no, I don't get flu shots (unless my grandmother physically drags me to Rite Aid to get one, which, she has done that).  That doesn't explain the few weeks prior, but you know, whatever.  Not motivated, end of story (I guess).

So anyway...I'll try to catch up on posts. 

Here's another scrap quilt I've been working on.  I got the idea from Pinterest. 

 

Apparently, based on seeing it in other pins, this is a quilt from Red Pepper Quilts.  I realized this AFTER I started making it, of course.  I have no idea what the original dimensions are, but I used 5" squares for my Nine Patches, so it's going to be pretty large once all is said and done. The original above has a very neat and tidy color scheme, but I was trying to deplete scraps, so I went with 9 colors to each block, with 2.5" sashing all the way around.

Here's mine...the blocks looks a little gross on their own, I admit it, but I'm pleased with how they turned out when I got the first bits of white sashing put on there..

I need to get the horizontal sashings put on yet, and the rows attached together ( the rows themselves are already assembled), but that's another job for another day.

Attic Window Scrap Quilt

I needed another project like I needed a hole in the head, but well, making half-assed attempts at clearing out your sewing room will do that I suppose! I was going through scraps and ran across my favorite pieces.  I have NO idea what line they are, or even which company.  A few years ago a rep gave me some of their strike offs since the fabric wasn't available anymore.  Boy, I wish I had asked so I knew where I could fin yardage online!  I've made another quilt (well...UFO) our of these pieces and these squares are all I had left, just about.  Talk about precious scraps!

But I saw a "cheater" (ie, no miters or y-seams) attic window block on Pinterest and it was perfect for these pieces.  I cut my stuff out and claimed (erroneously) that I had no intention to start it for a while, I just wanted to make sure I had enough of what I needed.  Well...whoops. I got home and started piecing it, thinking, well, I'll just do the blocks and put them away for later. Whoops. The rows are almost all pieced together and I'm looking for borders to make it a little larger.

 Beware, it's a bright and bold eyeful, but I love it!

Math, My Mortal Enemy

As I supposed most of you have gleaned from reading my blog within the past year, I am WAY into scrap quilts. Big time.

Lately I've been working on this kind of mock houndstooth quilt using up my scrap 3.5" and 2.5" squares.  It makes for small blocks (4" finished) so if I wanted a quilt of any real size, I had to make a LOT of blocks.  I decided on a 15x15 layout so you really saw the pattern come out, and so it had some size to it before I put borders on it. I had a pretty cramped set up with all the sorted colors and pieces parts...my ironing capabilities are a little limited but luckily there isn't anything larger than 4.5" so far to deal with.

Yesterday, I got really excited because I thought I was in the 40 block home stretch - only 5 of each color left to go!  Wellllll turns out I screwed up my math and I need 80 more.  And then after recalculating, I forgot I needed an additional 40 more 3.5" black blocks to go with my additional 40 3.5" colored blocks.  I'm starting to run out of scrap variety, so I'm down to the wire on my black fabrics.  We'll see if I have to break down and stash dive for those last 40 black pieces.  Ah, well.  Quilting problems! 

Once I get all the squares pieced together it shouldn't look so busy.  I'm really enjoying the process and the outcome.  By the time the borders are on it should be a pretty decent sized throw (over 60" square) or maybe a slightly-undersized bed quilt.  We'll see! 

Lovely Frankenstein's 24 Days of Christmas: Scrappy Mug Rug with Pocket

Photo Courtesy of SEW We Quilt!

I think it would be pretty cool if someone made one of these, popped a packet of coffee, tea or hot chocolate in the pocket, found a cute little spoon to put in there, rolled it all up and stuck it in a neat mug. Bam - awesome gift, especially for office parties or Secret Santa exchanges where you don't know the person particularly well. Or maybe you do know them well and you know they drink a lot of coffee/tea/hot chocolate! Either way :-) CLICK HERE for the tutorial and thank you to Jennifer for sharing!

Lovely Frankenstein's 24 Days of Christmas: Sewing Machine Cover

Photo Courtesy of Sew Mama Sew

The idea of making someone a fitted, custom sewing machine cover is great and all, but how conspicious is it to go to a friend's house and take measurements on their machine? I can see it now: your friend walks out of the room for a minute, and while they're gone, you bust out the measuring tape and start taking the dimensions of the machine. They walk back in and you have that awkward moment when you're at their machine, tape measurer still in hand and all you can do is answer the "what the heck are you doing" question with, "...nothing...just....quality assurance..." Yeah, busted! So avoid that awkward moment take the winter gloves approach: one size fits most! This simple machine cover will fit most domestic machines, and adjustments can be made for longer machines (if you know what the machine is). I know you're getting so sick of me saying this, but uh, guess what? ...you can use scraps and stash for this one too. CLICK HERE for the pattern and tutorial. Thanks to Jessie at Tiny House for sharing this at Sew Mama Sew!

Lovely Frankenstein's 24 Days of Christmas: Pincushion Threadcatcher

Photo Courtesy of K Quilts Studio

Here is a neat gift idea for the quilter who has it all. Fine, so everyone has their own way of doing things at home, but how great would this be to take to classes? Your pins are right there and you don't have to worrry about making a mess around your sewing machine while you're in the classroom (hey, some people do worry about those things), because there's a little bin attached for your threads, pieces of fusible, snipped dog ears, or whatever you're needing to throw away. The process of making one of these little guys is actually pretty easy and once again, it doesn't require a lot of fabric you can probably use what you've all ready got! Bonus there, huh? CLICK HERE to the the pattern and tutorial - there is amore printer-friendly version available on her page. Thanks to Karen for sharing!

Lovely Frankenstein's 24 Days of Christmas: Scrappy Tote

Photo Courtesy of, well, Don't Call Me Betsy

If you know me you know I'm a big fan of bags and totes. I have no idea why, but I've beent hat way since I was a little kid. Anyway, this tote is a good size and very customizable for whoever you're making it for. It can be as classic as what is pictured, or as wild as you want to make it. Plus, it's another great opportunity to use leftover precuts and scraps for the decorative part of the bag. I could see my aunt loving one of these! CLICK HERE for the tutorial. Thank you to Elizabeth for sharing this!

Lovely Frankenstein's 24 Days of Christmas: Fabric Gift Boxes

Photo Courtesy of Geta's Quilting Studio

This is from one of my favorite blogs, Geta's Quilting Studio. It's done by a gal in Romania and I just love her projects! She has a great way to use up your leftover pieces of stabilizer (even the heavy duty stuff) and scraps to make these sweet fabric boxes. They're perfect for gift-giving, or just to spruce up your sewing area or home while being practical at the same time. CLICK HERE to get to the tutorial. Thank you to Geta for sharing this!

Lovely Frankenstein's 24 Days of Christmas: Scrappy Stocking

Photo Courtesy of Stellar Mother

Scarps are the name of the game when it comes to this cute little stocking, so it's guilt free! Use up your stash and make a cute and useful gift for yourself, family or friends in no time. Too bad my roommate already bought a stocking, otherwise I'd have made her one. CLICK HERE to get to the tutorial. Thank you to the lady who writes for Stellar mother! I'd post a name, but there isn't one available. So just check out her blog and enjoy!

Why Scraps?

If you haven't all ready, you're going to notice a lot of posts centering around projects that are either, A) scrap/stash focused, or B) easily done using scraps/stash. I work in quilt shop. Why am I posting such things?

Allow me to explain.

It's the end of the year, near the holidays. Money is always tight, but now with the rapid approach of the holidays, it's even moreso. Money for fabric has gone to money for gifts, food, airfare, decorations, gas, entertainment and what have you that is by and large absent ove rthe rest of the year. Not to mention, time is of the essence and what is quicker and easier than using something you all ready have? The key with these projects is use what you have as you can, and supplement with bought fabric as you need to. It's good for everyone, and the person who is recieving the gift will never be the wiser as to whethe ryou just bought the fabric or you had it in your stash; they'll be too busy being absolutely THRILLED that you thought to make something special just for them.

So use your stash, use your scraps and supplement as you need to with quilt shop fabric. Your local quilt shop will be happy to help you find something perfect to match with what you have all ready!

Some Finished Projects, and Tippy Tuesday!

Well, it's been QUITE the weekend. I can honestly say I pushed myself to the point of being so physically and mentally tired I couldn't think of the word for guacamole (and I love guacamole). We changed the store up...just about the only things that didn't move are Color Wall and Clearance. It looks pretty dang good if I do say so myself, but it was a LOT of hard work. Mom is notorious for pushing herself too hard, and so considering a week off of her heart attack she was wanting to move things, I made sure I stayed late and came in early so I got the heavy lifting done before she got there so she wouldn't try to do it herself. Who'd have thought that there would be heavy lifting in a quilt store? Well, there is...those bolts are heavy if you move more than 2 at a time (which I did). But it wasn't all me thank goodness, we got my folks, my aunt, brother and my roomate to help get things done and after 3 days of moving I swear I couldn't have done it without their help! The busted their rear ends too and for that I thank 'em. So y'all will have to come in and see!

Besides doing the big fall floorset, I got a couple quilts done too. The first is a quilt from posts past. I finally got the borders on and it looks fabulous! It was really hard for me to do a random and scrappy style quilt, especially one that is really heavy on pattern, so I'm happy with the results. We were going to have kits for this, but when I discovered how the borders had to be cut to look right, it just wasn't going to happen. So, just about all of the fabric is still available, but no kits.

The whole kit 'n caboodle. Scrappy, yes?

A detail shot. I am in LOVE with that border print. It's a strong pastel, which, any pastel isn't really my thing, but this one is really cute. And it's a sewing theme too so it's gotta be good ;-) In case you're wondering, the beige in the print is actually a sewing pattern for clothes, the kind that comes printed on the it's-so-thin-you-look-at-it-sideways-and-it-tears tissue paper. It's a little hard to see in this picture.

A detail of the ceter of the quilt. And my feet.

 The other quilt is a quilt from a postcard pattern. They're $2 apiece and all of the quilts are simple and of various sizes, from wall hangings to very large throws (this one is I think about 74" square). I started this in January and obviously got very, very sidetracked. But it turned out nicely, and it's definitely in my favorite colorway.

Simple, but it's one of those quilts where color and value placement make a world of difference. This quilt could look completely different by turning the blocks different ways and placing the color differently.

A little more detail of the fabric, sans feet. I am also in LOVE with that border. this picture doesn't do it justice, the color is so vibrant.

So enough of my quilts, now on to this week's tips!:

* If a spool of thread you're using doesn't have a notch or anything to keep your thread from unwinding when it's not in use, cut a thin strip of Saran Wrap or Press & Seal wrap and rap it around your loose end. It prevents the thread from unspooling, it's easy to remove when you need the thread, and it doesn't damage the thread either.

* To keep scissors or thread clippers handy near your sewing machine without having to watch that they don't fall of the table while you're sewing/cutting, a suction cup hook from the Dollar Store attaches/removes easily from the side of your machine and keeps what you need easily accessible and out of the way.

* A Boning gun (the gun that attaches the plastic "bone" to both a garment and the price tag) comes in handy when you want to keep blocks or like scraps together for use later. The hole it creates is no larger than a T-Pin and your pieces won't come separated from each other until you decide to use them.

* If you're quilting a large quilt and find yourself struggling with the weight of the quilt forcing it to fall off your table while you're quilting, the following 2 tips help combat that weight: 1) if you're able to, put your sewing table in a corner while you quilt - that elimiates 2 sides from which your quilt can fall over and pull while you're sewing, and 2) if you can't put your table in a corner, take the loose end of your quilt and drape it over your shoulder and chest - it won't fall and your arms are still free to quilt the way you need to.

* For smaller quilts, use a spray adhesive on the back of your backing and of your quilt to baste it to your batting. it saves you time on pinning, doesn't come undone, and doesn't gunk up your needle or machine. Just be sure not to spray the adhesive on to your batting - it will simply absorb the adhesive and your fabric won't adhere.

* If you are quilting a quilt yourself and don't want to use a stipple and youdon't have access to a computerized longarm for designs, your local craft store has a large selection of stencils that can be used as quilting patterns. Use a chalk pouncer or a water soluable pen to trace your design, and stitch on your marks.

* If you don't have a hard floor, go to your office supply store and buy a hard mat that is for underneath a rolling chair, and put it under your sewing chair byu your machine. Threads and scraps fall to the floor all the time, and this hard surface is a snap to clean - just sweep your threads/scraps up and you're good as new. A magnet will help pick those pins that fall on there quickly and poke-free too!

* Most stores when you're buying clothes will either give you the hanger, or ask you if you want to keep it; if it's a clip style pnats hanger, say yes please! Those clip hangers are great for storing finished, unquilted quilt tops up and away from anything that could damage themor cause your fabric to ravel. They are also great for storing odd pieces of batting, quilting stencils, large pattern pieces, large pieces of template plastic or odd sized cutting mats.

* To keep your cutting accurate, use the right ruler for the job and measure using your ruler, NOT your mat. Over time and wear, mats can groove and warp, making your cuts less accurate as time goes on. The hard acrylic rulers are made from does not warp with time and your cuts will always be accurate. It also enables you move where you cut, which causes less wear on your mat over time. This method works for cuts as larger as youer needed ruler allows, from strips of varying width up to 25" square.

* The rubber stops on knitting needles are great to use on your small sharp scissors. They prevent your points from getting dull from storage (other items may hit your scissors) and it protects both you and your projects from accidentally getting poked or cut.

It's "Tippy Tuesday!"

So I've decided that this blog filled with only my projects can get boring and monotonous (I'm sure some of you out there will scream if you have to see one more BooVille photo!) so I'm going to start doing a few episodic (weekly) posts and hopefully it'll jazz this up some and stay around! So...let's start with some tips to make your quilting life easier with Tippy Tuesday!


*Not all of us are lucky enough to have the space for a pre-fab Design Wall. If you have limited space, a large piece of white cotton batting/white flannel is a great substitute! Hang it up  or drape it where you need it while you're sewing, then fold it up (even with your blocks still on it, they'll stay put!) and put it away when you're done.


*I'm a bad quilt girl and I don't pin my binding while I'm hand stitching it on. If you too hate pinning, a great alternative is to your the snap hair clips (you know, the ones you bend and they snap open) instead. They keep your binding in place and you don't have to watch where you stitch (or sit!)


*If you're looking for use applique ideas but don't want to draw them out yourself, check out your local scrapbooking or craft store. They have lots of stencils, punches and die cuts that might be just the design you're looking for.


*Do you like the idea of saving scraps, but then don't know what to do with them after the fact? Try cutting them into manageable sizes that you know you'll use down the road. For example, if you have enough cut some 2" strips, 2"-3"-4" blocks, half square triangles, whatever you think you'd use. whatever's left you can keep in a box for future applique projects - as we all know those applique projects can demand some tiny pieces, and a scrap earmarked for that may be just the thing you need.


*If a piece of fabric is the right color but a few shades too dark, there's nothing wrong with using the "wrong" side! If you have a good quality fabric, the print will still be visible, bit it'll be a paler version of the "right" side of your piece. No one will know the difference unless you tell them!


*"To help determine the value of a color (light, medium or dark) look at the fabric through a clear piece of red glass or plastic. The red neutralizes the color allowing you to see only 'black and white'" This is a good one! I don't know where to find a plain piece of red plastic, but my best guess is that an art supply store is a great place to start looking.


*Quilters are extremely skilled at dropping pins on the floor and forgetting about them, especially if it' s a carpetted floor. At the hardware store you can find telescoping magnets, and they are fantastic for pullin gpins off the floor/carpet without you having to spend a while bent over picking them out by hand.


*If you're travelling and can't have little embroidery scissors with you (yeah, I'm looking at you, TSA), wind a bobbin with the thread you are working with and put it inside a dental floss container (they're very simple to take apart and the center spindle is the right size for MOST bobbins). The cutter in the floss container is sharp enough to cut through most threads without fraying them.


*If you're having difficulty threading your needle try one of these methods if a needle threader isn't available: If you're having trouble seeing the eye, thread it with a white piece of paper behind it - that makes the eye much more visible. If the eye of your needle is large enough, you can use a thin piece of paper folded in half the same as a traditional needle threader. If your issue is the thread catching on the needle and not making it through, cut the tip of your thread to a beveled edge and try that - that will get rid of any little fibers that might be snagging. Also, every needle nowadays is stamped out of a larger piece of steel when it's made, so every needle has a front and back side; usually the front is easier to thread than the back, so just flip your needle over and try threading it again.


*Napkin holders are a great way to store the rulers that you use the most by your cutting mat, if you don't want to poke holes in your walls to hang each one




Well, that's it for this week's Tippy Tuesday. check back next week for more, or if you have any tips you'd like to share (hint hint hint) comment on this post and I'll post them for everyone next week!

You can't spell "scrappy" without...

There is nothing in my current quilting life that is more frustrating than trying to force myself to use scraps. I save all my scraps...but do I want to use them? No, not really. I get so enamored with the new fabrics that all I want to do is incorporate those. I found a fabric today at the shop (shopping and blogging during our Second Saturday classes? I'm a bad, bad person. lol) that would fix the issue I'm having with that dang Vietnamese fan.

I really don't want to rip that out but you know? I'm going to fuss about it and fixate on it until I do. Damn those perfectionist tendencies. lol.