Oh Scrap & I May have a Scrap Problem

So... when I started quilting I was NOT going to have a stash and I was NOT going to have scraps... I was firm in my believe that I would make a project, then throw away the scraps. I would not buy more than I needed and I was NOT  going to become my mother. She had two sewing rooms, floor to ceiling full of fabric drawers. It took totes upon totes to get rid of it.
Then I started working at a quilt shop and then another and I started teaching classes and I started accumulating a stash and scraps. I'm still not a big fan of scraps, but I have found a few patterns that make them easier to deal with. I cut my scraps (smaller than a fat quarter) into these sizes - 2.5" x WOF strips, 5" squares, 2.5"x 5" bricks, 2.5" squares and 2" strips if that's all that is left. If I have 2.5"x 1/2 WOF I use those for Trip Around the World, so those are not cut up either.
So here's the pile I have been working from this month. I have a bunch of 2.5"x 18.5" strips that I am using to make a scrappy trip around the world. This one does not have a control fabric, which makes it very scrappy. I'm loving it so far and it's a great use of scraps. It's also super accurate to piece. The seams are nested so they take no pinning and are fast and easy. I sew a bunch of sets of 2 together, then I sew them into sets of 4 and then sets of six, then press and sew into a circle. I take them to work and cut them into 2.5" circles at lunch and then start taking them apart in the order they will go. They are then clipped together with mini binder clips and are brought home to sew together. I usually do about 15 blocks at a time (that's about all the patience I have for strata sets).

My first two blocks

Then i added 3 more. The little one is for a different scrap project.

Then another 4

and another 4... plus I have 15 more setting ready to sew together. It's a slow process, but they go quickly when I work on them. I've made all of these this month.

I started working on mini granny square blocks using up my Frolic strips, but have been side tracked by the TATW blocks. I've made six quilts from this line and this is the last little bit of scraps from it.


I also worked on this pink cowgirl coin quilt that I am using up the last of those scraps. I usually like to keep my fabric lines together until there isn't enough for another quilt. In this case I've made 4 quilts from this line and this is the last one.


I'm also working on another quilt from MO Quilt Company using X & O blocks. It's using up my 2.5" squares and I sew them together at home or at my sewing night with friends and then I take them to work to trim off the corners and press. Then they are ready for me to sew when I get home. This is my leader/ender project, so it's taking quite a while to complete.


I'm linking up with I May have a Scrap Problem and Oh Scrap!

OMG: March Goal Completed!

My March OMG was to finish my mom and grandma's Wall Quilt Guild Friendship quilts and donate them back to the guild at their Quilting Weekend. I was successful! It came down to the wire, but I got them both done. I think my mom would be happy they are both made into quilts.

After quilting at dad's I got this picture. I spent one afternoon out there quilting them both up.

Mikaela and I went to the Bed Turning with my Aunt Jane and my dad's wife Ann. Mikaela took her own quilts to show and talk about. She was so adorable.

Grandma's finished quilt

Mom's finished quilt.

I've been participating in a bi-weekly Farm Girl Vintage BOW and this is the first block, Simple Star

Two weeks ago was Milking Pail. I like the pace of this and so far have been keeping up.

I made this Loralie Quilts quilt to use up mom's stash. I think it will go to my friend who's had a lot of health issues in the past year. She was also a friend of my moms.

I've been busily making scrappy trip around the world blocks. I'm planning to teach a class in June. I just love making these. The technique is so awesome and they use up a lot of stash scraps.




Our Family at Easter. We're celebrating the life of my husband's grandpa this week, so a new suit was in order and the kids got new outfits as well, so we were really dressed up for mass on Easter Sunday morning. I got a new dress for our graduation next month, but it will work for all three events.

Oh Scrap & Design Wall Monday

This past week has been super productive. I've finished 7 mini granny square blocks, including these two the that I sewed up Friday morning before work. A change in schedule for our family means no one is sleeping when I get up except for the kids, so if I get up a bit too early, I can sew! I'm loving it, although I won't be getting up extra early every day. These are made from the last of my Frolic scraps. I've made 4 baby quilts out of this line. I just love the Frolic line, although I am not a huge fan of the orange.

These five were done as of Thursday night. I have nine laid out and enough, I think, to do 7 more for a 16 block quilt.

Friday afternoon I took off and went to my dad's to quilt. I was able to quilt both this 16 block friendship quilt of my Grandma Elaine's blocks, which is 63" square. I plan to put binding on this week and donate them on Friday.

I also quilted my mom's friendship block quilt which is 42"x 55". I ended up using her block in the center as I needed just one more. I'm sure the ladies who made the blocks will be interested to see them as I am sure their skills have improved in 12 years. These blocks were done in 2004.


This weeks goals include:
Bind Grandma's Friendship Quilt
Bind Mom's Friendship Quilt
Make 2 more Mini Granny Square blocks
Make 10 Trip Around the World Blocks

I'll be linking up with Oh Scrap and Design Wall Monday.

Scrappy Mini Granny Square

Last night I was feeling the need to work on a lot of different projects at once. I started sewing 2.5"x 18.5" strips together for a TATW quilt while the kids were watching cartoons. Mikaela decided to help me, which was actually a good thing. I had 5 piles of strips and she would randomly pull from each pile for me to sew them together. Since I struggle with scraps and things not matching, this took away my control and made it way easier to sew them.

When I did the batik TATW, I put them in groups of six fabrics and made a couple blocks at a time, being very careful with my fabric selections. This time I'm putting to strips together, sewing them and when I have a big stack, I put them into 3 sections of 2 and sew those together. I was able to get 7 done last night. Now that they are done, I bring them to work and cut them into 6 - 2.5" sections, then start ripping them apart at lunch, so when I get home, I am able to sew them back together. I love the sewing them back together part.

After the kids went to bed, I made two more mini granny square blocks. These are 4.5" finished blocks. I have 6 made and three more laid out. I think I may make 16 since I have enough scraps cut.

In between both projects I started sewing brown/pink cowgirl scraps into blocks. I'm doing 2.5"x5" bricks, which I sewed into 2's and now I'm sewing them into 4's. They are for a coin quilt, made with the very last of the Riley Blake pink/brown cowgirl fabric from several years ago. I've made at least 4 quilts out of the fabric so far.

Tomorrow I have quilting plans! I have two quilts I'd really like to get quilted, so I am planning to go to my dad's after work tomorrow. I think I can have both of them done in the 2 hours I am allowing myself to quilt.

OMG March Goal

Looking at the calendar this month, it's pretty open right now, so I am hoping to get a lot accomplished. My OMG goal for this month is to finish my Grandma Elaine's friendship quilt. It's circa 2004 and the blocks were made by her quilt guild at the time. It's a very small guild and at the time there were only about 3 quilters in it who were in the intermediate/advanced category. It's an older group of women and at the time they were mostly beginners. My mom and grandma joined together for something to do together. When my grandma passed in 2006, my mom received her blocks. When my mom passed in 2011, I received both grandma's blocks and mom's blocks. I just couldn't throw them away, so I decided last year to sash them, quilt them, and donate them back to the guild to use as they see fit. This week I pieced my grandma's top, the backing and the batting. My goal is to quilt and bind this one as well as my mom's before March 11th when we are going to the guild trunk show. Mom's top/backing/batting are already done.


I'm using a VIP fabric for the sashing and backing. Mom must have gotten a good deal because she had over 10 yards of it! It's so thin though it won't be staying in my stash. I'll donate it for their quilts of valor project. It really reminds me why I don't like to "stash" away fabric for later. Colors, quality, and trends change. I want to be able to adapt and change to whatever I like at the time. This fabric is probably only a little over 10 years and to think I wouldn't be using it if it wasn't free says a lot! I'm really working to finish the UFO's and WIP's in my collection and the new quilts I'm starting are coming from my scraps. I'm starting to feel a bit more successful with my quilt making.

For those who have made it this far... a word of advice... DON'T wait 3 years to update your quilt journals! I seemly quit updating my quilt journals when I had to order new ones. I ordered 9 at the time. That was 3 years ago when my son was born. I haven't updated them since! Luckily I'm really good at updating Facebook and Flickr so I have a well documented list of the quilts I have made, but even so it's taking me days/weeks of lunch breaks to update them. Plus the cost of printing out all the pictures of all the projects I have made over the last 3 years is daunting. Add on top of that the fact that I haven't made photo albums for my kids for the past 3 years and it's overwhelming. BUT... I'm starting, I have a plan and I'm going to get all of these updated!

SPONSORING OMG!