Just grab your scraps and we'll have a great time! Sign ups are now open for Scrap Basket Sunday!
A blog friend asked what was considered a "scrap." I told her that to me, scraps are leftovers from other projects that are around 1/8th yard or less--too small to put back in my regular fabric stash. She makes a lot of quilts with pieces of this and that, so her definition of "scrap" was something much smaller; I think she was happy to know we didn't expect her to make a postage stamp quilt with 1" squares for Scrap Basket Sunday. Her question started me thinking, though--what do each of us consider "scraps"? I went looking for a quilter's definition of scraps and found this blog post and comments--click HERE. So here's my question: What constitutes a scrap to you? And don't forget to sign up on Mister Linky if you're planning to post a photo of your scrap project on Sunday!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
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13 comments:
Since I inherited my Grandmothers material & my mothers I think I started out with scraps then I add my own to the stash from yard sales and such. All of mine are scraps unless I have purchased myself a yard or two, which I do very little of.
I suppose content makes a difference in how I define 'scrap'. A quilt is 'scrappy' if I use "lots" of different fabrics from my stash. Quilts with lots of different fabrics, but specifically purchased for the quilt is not scrappy - my blue apple core is an example of this - 220 different fabrics each used only twice. It did generate a lot of scraps! But the viewer of the quilt wouldn't know that if they didn't know how the quilt came to be.
On the other hand, if you are speaking of 'scrap' as the noun - referring to a piece of fabric, in my world that's anything which ends up in my "scrap" basket to be dealt with later. Anything from those long pieces cut off of backing to the tail end of a strip. but that basket eventually gets processed and the fabric becomes pre-cuts (I follow Bonnie Hunters Scrap User system), strings, crumbs and trash.
Essentially I think every quilter has their own definition of "scrap". I watched a quilter throw 2 - 2 1/2 inch strip of fabric from the end of a FQ into the trash can because it wasn't needed in her quilt. Those were rescued immediately. My friends recently bought a ton of 'scrap bags' from a LQS. Yes, there were some smaller pieces (3" squares, 3 x 6 pieces) but the vast majority of the fabric was in the range of 7 - 12" by WOF!
So what is scrap to me? Something, I haven't cut to a pre-determined size which is left over from a previous project or given to me.
To me, scrap fabrics are anything left over from previous projects that are too small to make more than a few blocks out of.
They could be strips, fat quarters, charms or just randomly cut sizes and shapes.
My definition is much like the one you posted the link to. When I can no longer easily fold a piece of fabric so it fits back into the stack on the shelf it becomes a scrap. At one time I bought a bunch of fat eights - I'm now calling them scraps. If a fat quarter has been partially used, but I can still fold it easily on the fold lines, it is not a scrap. If I can no longer fold it on the fold lines, or it is half or more than half gone, it becomes a scrap. This makes for much larger pieces thatl some would call scraps, but it works for me. That said - if they are reproduction or fabrics used in primitive quilts, they go into their separate scrap baskets. Especially the second category - so many primitive quilts use small pieces for applique, so I always check the specific scrap basket before pulling a fabric off the shelf. These special scrap baskets get saved for reproduction or primitive quilts.
My scraps are left over pieces that I have used in making a quilt. Also, my guild exchanges 6 1/2" squares, so, for me, those are pieces that I can use in scrappy quilts.
All I know is that I have a ton of scraps, all categorized by color.
(just in case my e-mail doesn't work, it's scentsinspired@yahoo.com. :) )
Hmmm...a scrap is anything I don't feel like dealing with now...and doesn't end up getting put back on the shelf! Usually that means anything smaller than a fat quarter...but not always. You never know what might be lurking in my scrap bin...it's a bit of a bottomless pit.
Hmmmm. I don't think it's size that counts, it's what you use the fabric for. I consider the thrifted clothing I buy to cut up as "scrap" and some of those shirts and things are pretty big. I'll cut up anything in to scrap if it's a "scrap" project.
Did that make sense? :-)
I consider a scrap to be anything too small to fold and put on the shelves in my quilting closet. Usually, that means a piece smaller than a fat quarter. I rarely save tiny scraps, though I am re-thinking that policy now that I've seen what others do with them.
Scraps is when I don´t have enough fabric and put it in my bin and join it with others to create a wonderful rainbow project,but scraps can be anything.
This time my project actually looks like a scrappy project. I've chosen a block and will make many over the course of the next weeks and months. I'm going to save this project for Sundays only, and it will be the size I can make with the scraps in the basket. Thanks for the motivation Kim!
I have linked up my post! Sorry that I don't get to it actually on Sunday... I can't wait to see what everyone else is up to! Thanks Kim!
Just linked up -- weather is great here and I have just been too busy! Love the scrappy blocks!
If it's too small to fold around a comic book board, it's a scrap in my sewing room. I have several plastic boxes for the different colors of scraps. If it's smaller than about 2", I try to cut it into squares or strips. I don't keep any that are smaller than 1.5" because 1" finished is as small as I care to work with.
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