What a fun way to get to know more about everyone!  We've smiled when we've read your emails and now that everyone has had a chance to meet our fellow quilters, it's time to move on.  Are you ready?  Here we go!

The First Step

Find your scrap box.  Well, for me anyway, this step wasn't hard.  My scrap box runneth over and threatens to take over my sewing room.  Okay, I don't have a sewing room, I have a sewing "corner", but just the same ...  I almost hate to go digging through it.  I'll expose the fabric on the bottom and once given air, my fabric scraps will grow overnight!

Don't have a scrap box?  Dig out your fat quarters.   

As you fluff through your fabric, begin pulling out pieces that are at least 3-1/2" wide x 7" (the longer, the better).  If you happen to have some pieces that are 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" square, set them in a special pile all their own.  Don't you love finding pre-cut pieces! 

Make two stacks of fabric.
1)  Lights - really light fabrics (white-on-white or cream-on cream or white with a very small print, light tans work as well). 
2)  Darks - really dark fabrics.  The more colors, the better!

The object here is to have a high contrast between your lights and your darks.  You will need equal amounts of both lights and darks.  This will be a really flexible quilt.  You can make it as large, or as small as you like.  After all, this is your quilt and your retreat. 

Put your fabric in a safe place until the next step is revealed.  (I like to store mine in a plastic zip lock bag, but then I have to hide them as Cooper [my cat] loves the feel of plastic and will literally shred the bags.)  The trick for me is to remember where I hid them  :o) 

I can never do one project at a time, so whenever I dig through my scrap box, I pull out strips that are too narrow for this project, and set them aside for a Scrappy String Quilt.

Tell us about your Scrap Box!   Send me an email and I will post your comments. 

Maria - Canada - Scrap box!  How about scrap boxes! VBG!  I find it difficult to throw away the tiniest piece of fabric and now have a good excuse not to. Saw a guest on America Sews making bowls with the teensiest pieces of fabric, batting, ribbon, threads (the ones we snip off and usually go into the garbage!).  I would have to go down to my sewing room to count the boxes. A conservative guess would be about 10 in various sizes from large to small. Some are cardboard, some are see-through plastic.  Recently decided to start organizing them, so from now on, whenever I'm finished with a project, I'll cut leftovers into strips and squares of varying sizes  so they'll all be ready to use in scrappy quilts, which I just love.

Carol - Illinois -  scrap bag....  oh my.... Everyone is going think I have lost it!. I cleaned out my sewing room just a few months ago. [before I bought my wonder cut ruler] I looked at all the little pieces and though I would never use then so I put then in the TRASH!  Now I could use them. I did save some, so I can use then but I did have a lot of them that went bye-bye. LOL  Live and learn it always happens to me I save something for years and get rid of it and bingo I need it the next day! Happy wonder cut.........Not so bright, Carol from Ill.


Pam - Great Kansas City -  I've got some fat quarters I've been collecting and using for a Christmas quilt top, and I've started collecting blue 6x6 squares for a quilt.  I also have a broomstick style skirt (or two) made from the VIP Colorworks collection.  In my mind this is the start of a Dresden plate top, but I haven't gotten as far as ripping into it.  Maybe now is the time, just to build my stash for this quilt.

Lynn - nippy Oregon - Or in my case,  FQ drawer - I have very few scraps, as I haven't done anything yet**sheepish grin** I guess I'll have to dig through the FQ drawer. The lights are no problem, as I have plenty of white on white etc., but now for the darks...do I go with jewel tones,primary colors or dark earth tones?? Flannels or flat? Prints or solids? Decisions,decisions:) This will keep me busy until next Friday for sure!  (I know about the nippy part ..egads!  We have had our first snow this morning.  Makes you want to break out the Christmas carols, light a fire and cuddle up with a snuggly quilt! - Deb )

Margaret (mgt) - NE IN - I do not keep scraps. I give them to some quilters that love them, I do not. I will be using FQ's for our project.
I love the idea of using all the planned overs!!!  This project may be too slow for me.... Itching for a peek at the pattern. I am up for a little swapping if anyone is interested.  That might make it even more interesting. Like put about 5 FQ's in a mailer and pass em around and see what comes back? Could be useful for those with a micro stash, LOL   Note - If you are interested in doing a Fat Quarter swap, send an email to Nadine .  (Deb)

Pat - Utah - My scrap heap is a little chaotic at the moment due to making donation quilts. I have a supply of squares 1 1/2 to 8 inches by 1/2 inch increments stored in clear plastic cookie containers from the store, sans cookies of course. I have a bunch of misc. strips left from a postage stamp quilt. Not to mention a million or so FQs roughly in color piles. I would cut the required lights and darks and put each size of each tone in separate brown bags. If you need a light 3-1/2" reach in that bag, a dark 3 1/2 by 7" strip reach in that bag and so on for it to be really scrappy. Whatever you pull out is what you use even if you think it "doesn't go".  If you think the design can take large prints, that would be good to know. Super way to use "uglies", the more variety in the fabrics the better. Scrappy is a unique adventure because you have no idea what you will get until it's done.

Trice - New Braunfels, Texas - I have only been doing this "quilting thing" since May of this year.  I do have several fqs of white on white and a few dark blue scraps from a flag
quilt I did for my hubby.  But not to fear....the Quilt Haus here in New Braunfels has tons of fqs so this will be a good excuse to go get some darks!

Becky - Dubai - I have only recently begun a true scrap basket.  I keep it on the floor under my cutting table.  The table by the way came from Ikea and has adjustable legs so no more back pain, and lots of storage space underneath, also some Ikea products under there and a huge lovely basket, brimming with fabrics.    I am saving even the smallest pieces as I have a Sun Bonnet Sue friend who would love them all.  I plan to give her a bag of them for Christmas.  She did a Sun Bonnet Sue on Safari quilt which you can see on my webshots page.  Look for "quiltinginthedesert" and you will run across her quilt.  Larger scraps from a particular project I keep in zip loc bags.  I plan to make pillow shams to match the quilts they were from.......or toss pillows to go with the quilt.  I also have a nice plastic box full of two inch thirties strips from another project, very handy as they are in sections in the box by color.


Send email to:  Deb Hopkins



This page created on November 13, 2004.