Here they are on the cutting mat so you can see how tiny the pieces are. The whole strip is a little over 11" long. Below them at the left are some tiny squares less than 1" that will probably get tossed. The rest of the usable ones are stacked there too.
I piled all of the leftover strips together...............
and bagged all of the strips 1" wide and narrower in one bag and the 1/8 yard and other chunks in another bag. All of the Kaffe scraps now fit in one of those zippered bags that you buy twin sheet sets in. They were previously in a huge blanket zippered bag but I used most of them in the last project.
And so you see Suzy, I can clean up my mess and I dusted off the table and oiled my machine, so there!!!
I may toss the bag of strips 1" wide or narrower because most of them are about 3/4" wide which ends up being a 1/4" strip in a project. I really need to draw the line somewhere since I have all of that yardage sitting on the shelves waiting to be used.
35 comments:
Ha ha...I know what you mean about those narrow strips. They make the seams too close together and quilting it is more difficult. I have learned to make myself toss them away. (but it is hard to do!)
I cut my narrow strips to 3/4" and use them for my clothesline wrapped projects or to tie on packages in place of ribbon. This looks especially cute when I "pink" the edges with my pinking rotary cutter.
Wanda, you are without a doubt a Quilting Goddess! There isn't a blog entry that doesn't contain some piece of info I can use -- or at least tuck into the recesses of my mind for future reference. I can't wait to see what those pieced strips will be when they grow up.
Can you tell me what you are using as your sewing table there in the picture? Did someone construct it for you, or was it purchased? A sewing center is on the top of my wish list right now, and yours looks like just what I'd want.
If you'd want to toss your narrow strips my way, I'd use them at school with the kiddos. We put them in our mosaics that we make with paper. It adds extra impact and interest to their work. I can pay the postage!
Things to use those thin strips for:
- tying tomato plants up to their cages/stakes
- taming other large plants to stakes
- tying bows on packages
- using around bundles of things in lieu of rubber bands
- some recycling centers will take fabrics too.
- craft project for Girl Scouts: take a wire hanger retwisted into a circle, but your strips to about 5" long, tie and tie and tie those suckers on all the way around. These make great gifts for grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc. (I have one that ny niece made when she was 4 or so). As long as they can tie a knot, they can do the whole thing themselves.
- ellen in MD
Clean space to create. Fantastic!
Not just anyone can make scraps into something beautiful, but you can, Wanda.
You GO girl. I love starting my day with you, Wanda.
It is hard trying to decide where to draw the line on scraps isn't it. I have so many also and some of my pieces are quite small. Right now they are not in my way but one day I might have to start getting serious about them when I get the next box down looking for "the right piece".
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
So much that you can do with scraps. It will be interesting to see where you will be going with this quilt. Suzy homemaker would be proud!
It is amazing how one thing leads to another but it is good when Suzy comes to visit inbetween. I'm talking to her myself and deciding when small is too small!
I remember a phone conversation with Carter Houck, Editor of Ladies Circle Quilts and author of many books, years ago. I was concentrating on my Magnificent Miniature quilts at that time.
She said "Kay, your are going to have to start making larger quilts if you want to use up your fabrics."
Yeah!!!! You get the SUZIE award!! Now forget about her and go back to having fun!! Isn't it nice though to have it sorted once in awhile?! I thought I was the only person who sewed small scraps into strips....fun isn't it! Thanks for all of your sharing. Gail norback
I read many folk have all sorts of ideas for your narrow strips but I agree with you .IN THE BIN.Nice to start anew.
One lady liks to start her day with you I love to end my the some way. Nigh nigh.
Oh yes, it looks so neat, but I see no wonderful creativity there!!! Those 3/4 inch strips are hard to toss. How about a snippet quilt?
Our charity group takes all the tiny scraps (and I do mean tiny) plus threads and batting scraps and stuffs them into a casing to make dog beds for our local animal rescue center.
Linda E in AZ
I vote for using the skinny bits to tie up plants or tie around items in lieu of rubber bands - NOT for stitching. NO GUILT if they go in file no. 13 (as my mom used to call it).
Congrats for being able to see the entire surface all at once . . . just don't let it stay clean too long!!!
Don't toss the scraps! I'll take them. I'll even send postage! I have trouble tossing even the smallest scraps.
The really tiny bits and cut off pieces get used for dog bed stuffing at my house. The local vet uses the beds when someone doesn't bring in a cushion for their pet.
I have just started reading your blog and it is a blast!
Thin strips like that are great for tying bows on packages, to use for stuffing when making dog or cat beds or some miniature quilts!
Your lovely clean space looks like it's ready for you to start something new -- can't wait to see what that will be!
I'm envious... I haven't seen the top of my tables or desk for such a long time! Thanks for this post and the comments are super too. What a great quilting community living online!
You could use those strips to make fabric post cards with. I use that size all the time. So if you make postcards you can still use them. I use pieces as small as 1/2 inch.
OMG!! You are a quilting rock star! Love the tidy workspace! Have you ever thought of selling scraps? I'm sure there is a market for it, you could jam a whole bunch in a flat-rate mailer... wonder what people would pay. Anyway, your influence is obvious as I look around the web. Keep it up!
Hi Wanda,
I meant to comment yesterday, but got in late -- crazy snowstorm!
Your lopsided log cabin is so cute any way you arrange it. That block definitely has possibilities.
I bet your clean work surface has projects simmering on it already ...
Vicky F
LOL with your post for Suzy Homemaker.
Seeing your immaculate work table inspires me to get busy and clean up my mess.
You never mentioned your 3.8 earthquake that made national news. The rumbling and tremors woke up the entire area at 4:00 a.m. my sister said. The earth quakes we have had never rumble.
J~MT
Wow! This is a great way to get rid of scraps....even the tiny ones.......I love your strip piecing and the clean-up is awesome!!!!
That looks almost too clean, is that a table I see?
A fun post! How wonderful to see the clean... but I love the mess, - it denotes creativity.
I toss anything less than an inch, it isn't worth the efforts, like Gene said.
You can toss some outside for the squirrels when they start building their nests. They love the stuff.
Wanda, I love that quilt! The more fabrics the better, and you have the best scraps! All that color makes me happy.
I love your scraps too! But I'm also a huge organizer... I have plastic bags o'plenty for all my leftover fabrics.
I recently bought a bunch of clear plastic shoe boxes to store my fabrics by color / project. I love that I can see into the boxes and know what's what, but also that I can pull out only one section of my stash without digging through everything.
I bet you felt really virtuous after all that work! I throw anything smaller than one and a half inches (reluctantly) but have boxes for several different sized strips and a box of wonky or odd sized strips too.
throw out??? throw out? no way - 3/4" is still great to use.
My suggestion instead of throwing them out is to use them for stuffing. Make a throw pillow for the couch and use the leftovers as stuffing together with polyester stuffing.
I sort by color those 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch strips and sew them end to end and crochet them into a small rug for in front of the door or tub. Work great and easy to throw in wash. Also would make a nice chair cushion or mat to stand on to save legs when cutting.
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