Thursday, April 25, 2013

Bits and Pieces

Last summer when a few of my friends and I stayed in Pismo Beach, we went to a quilt shop in nearby Morro Bay called the Cotton Ball.  There I found some small bundles of fabric, around 12 pieces to a bundle and each piece measured roughly 6" x 10-1/2".  The bundles were priced, I think, at $5 each--kind of like a quilter's version of penny candy!  I picked out one bundle that was red and white and another that was black and white.  I've had them tucked away in the Sweat Shop since August, waiting for just the right project, and I think the Schnibbles Hat Trick pattern is it.


I've paired up these little pieces--the three rows at the front in the above photo--with some red, black, and white coffee cup fabric that I'm thinking about using too.  Tonight I cut the (mostly) white row of fabrics into 2" squares for the 9-patch blocks.  Do you remember what Hat Trick looks like?


The 9-patch blocks will be made using either red and white or black and white fabrics and I might use the coffee cup fabric for the unpieced setting squares and triangles.  Or I might do something different and more surprising--we'll all have to wait and see what happens when I've made the 9-patch blocks and see how they look.

In the meantime, I have to tell you that my scraps have scraps--in other words, my larger scraps from my scrap basket, when used for the Pie in the Sky project, are leaving behind another pile of smaller scraps.


Now what am I going to do with these?  I probably should have used them for Hat Trick, but I didn't want to end up with another scrappy quilt using all of the same fabrics.  Maybe I can use these scraps to make pillow shams or throw pillows to go with the Pie in the Sky quilt.  Do you have any other suggestions?  What do you do with your small scraps that are too large to throw away?

11 comments:

pcflamingo said...

I just had a friend drop off two kitchen-size garbage bags full of scraps on my porch last week. I cut them into 2", 2 1/2", 3 1/2", 4 1/2" and 5" strips and squares for use in making charity quilts. Then I put them in ziplock bags to pull from.

I like to pull from one bag and make a quilt out of just that bag and send a picture to the friend that gave me the scraps so she can see what a garbage bag full of someone else's throw-aways can become.

Sharon J. Hughson said...

I sort my scraps and pick a Bonnnie Hunter scrap quilt pattern (she generously has free ones on her blog site). That's what I currently do with my scraps. I have a lot of them. 8-)

dianne said...

ooooooooh!!! THAT's what scraps are?!?!

i could NOT figure out how all of you could make entire blocks out of scraps!!! i really, really couldn't ... when i finish a project, i call the fabric that is left "LEFTOVERS" and i put them in bins with their respective colors, unless they are too small for anything, and THOSE i call SCRAPS ... and i let those pile up till the bag is full and then i donate them...

so ... maybe i actually CAN play along with Scrap Basket Sunday?!?

Linda said...

Really, really little bits of fabric can stuff dog or cat beds. When I practice my machine quilting I take the pieces and turn them into pillows stuffed lightly with this stuff and donate to an animal shelter. As you all know, cats and even dogs love to pile onto your quilts! I save the slightly larger bits in the cleaned out plastic salad containers. One for each colour and then use them for donated charity quilts.
Lurking Linda

Miss Jean said...

I spy Scottie fabric!!!! We had a great speaker at guild the other night. She talked about scraps. As soon as she is done with a project, she organizes the scraps left behind and cuts them into appropriate sizes, strips, rectangle, and squares. Then they are all ready to go when you need them. She doesn't wait till she has a tub full as it gets too overwhelming. The best hint she gave us was for the squares. She keeps a box of squares (say 2 1/2 ") by her sewing machine. Rather than using bits and pieces for "leaders and endings" she uses the squares. She makes four patches or nine patches with them while sewing on her main project. Before you know it you have enough blocks for a project. Hope I've explained it clearly enough!

Sally K said...

Lately I've been trying to use up the scraps as I finish a project. Mug rugs, pin cushions, zipper bags. Yesterday I made a thread catcher. A pretty fabric band with rick rack edges on a kitchen towel. Maybe even a key fob.

Beverley said...

I make a Bonnie Hunter quilt with mine.

Patti said...

I use Bonnie Hunter's scrap saver system. I cut them into strips, squares, and bricks of various sizes and distribute them into the appropriate scrap box. Sometimes I pair fabrics and make half-square triangle squares of various sizes - I have scrap boxes for them too. When the boxes are getting full it is time to make a quilt from them. Usually by then I have a collection of scraps from at least a couple dozen quilts, so when put together they don't look like any quilt I've already made. Sometimes these quilts become favorites, and sometimes they go to charity. It is a great creative learning experience to figure out how they all go toge ther.

Shirley--Knot-y Embroidery Lady said...

Scrap On - and I do believe they do something to multiply whilest you are sleeping (no matter how late you stay up to catch them!).

Brenda said...

Love your scraps. I would probably use them to make a table topper or a runner. Pillows would be good.

Rosa said...

They look gorgeous.Happy sewing!!
I made some string blocks,though they are waiting to be joined.