Scrap-a-palooza day 6

It only took me an hour and a half to cut up the small bin of white/off white fabrics. Here is what I ended up with.

I will now use that bin to hold my 2 1/2" squares

Next I will work on this large bin of yellow scraps. I will be reusing this bin for my string pieces. I figure it will take me 4 to 6 hours to cut all of this up. The hardest part is when I get almost done and there are just small bits and pieces left.  I really have to focus and resist the temptation to just pitch the bits in the trash!

The day goes by so fast and before I know it I haven't got my walk in for the day. The last couple of days it has been dark when I walked. The best part now is seeing all the Xmas lights. This is one of the best displays in the neighborhood I have seen so far. Today it is pouring rain. I will have to watch for a break in the rain and try to get some steps in.

Scrap-a-palooza day 5

 I attacked the bin of orange scraps and here is what the bin looks like now.

Here are the pieces I got. As usual 3 1/2", 2 1/2", 2", 1 1/2", 4 1/2 x 16.5" for chevron quilts, string pieces, and a couple triangles.

That bin will now be used for the 3 1/2" squares because the tray I was using was overflowing!

My 2 1/2" square tray is overflowing too.  I will cut up this bin with white and off white scraps then I will use it for the 2 1/2" squares.

Here you can see how the bins will fit in the shelving unit I am using to keep the trays.

I did work in the yard a little bit yesterday. I wheelbarrowed up the hill four loads of mulch and spread it in the flower beds. I also moved the little ornamental grass plants to under the mugo pine. The deer just will not leave them alone. I though if I put them under the pine maybe with the branches poking the deer in the face, they will leave them alone. What the heck - it is worth trying! LOL!! The angle I took this picture makes it look like the plants are more in the open than they really are.

I did do a bit of Xmas shopping this morning. This is just a bunch of little stuff. I went ahead and wrapped everything for two reasons: 1. get the job done and more importantly 2. I won't be tempted to eat the caramel M&Ms, the giant peanut butter cups, the popcorn, or the Ghirardelli squares - out of sight, out of mind!

Scrap-a-palooza day 4

I cut this pile of scraps which only took a couple hours.

 

Here are the pieces I ended up with - 3 1/2", 2 1/2", 2", and 1 1/2" squares, a couple 4 1/2" x 16.5" for chevron quilts, and a pile for string blocks

I wanted to cut more so I grab this pile sitting on top of the bins of scraps. I cut a lot yesterday and finished them up this morning.

Here is what I ended up with.

The 2 1/2" and 3 1/2" trays are getting full!

I decided that I will work on this small bin of scraps so I can use it to store either the 2 1/2" or 3 1/2" squares. I will need a small container for each size so the next bunch of scraps I cut after this bin will be ones in another small bin. What is nice is this small bin will fit on the same shelf unit the trays are stored on.

I appreciate all your wonderful comments and encouragement. I am learning that it takes patience and a sharp blade in the rotary cutter to plow thru these scraps. The sun is shining finally today - it has been very gray and rainy - so I plan on getting outside and take a break from scrap cutting.  I will be doing a bit of clean up around the yard and spread more mulch to the flower beds. With all the wind lately there are about a billion sticks that need picked up!

Scrap-a-palooza day ... let's just call it day 3.

I was working hard to get thru the last of the scraps in this first pile. Here are the squares, 3" strips, and strips for strip blocks I had cut by end of day yesterday

I found a bunch of triangles - guess there will be some HSTs in my future!

In the pile I found these little 2 1/2" square bundles. These came from QuiltCon years ago and swag bags from the American Quilt Society. I put them in the 2 1/2" squares tray which is filling up!

Then there was all these left over units and end cuts from making all those 16 patch blocks.

I decided to trim the end cuts to whatever width I could cut them.

I have the end cuts all trimmed, so I plan on just sewing all the units together in a random fashion. I have no idea if I have enough for a baby quilt top; I will cross that bridge when I come to it! LOL!!

So here is the lid I had the scraps piled in. It's empty!

This small pile sitting on top on the bins will be my next scraps I will work on cleaning up.

Scrap-a-palooza continues

Thanks for all your kind comments and encouragement with my journey of dealing with my scraps. I feel like I made more good progress. I worked for another two hours cutting and sorting. As my mind wandered as I work, I thought I should make a pile of pieces that were narrower than 2" and make some string blocks out of them. Duh! So here is the pile I started for the string block strips and more 3" leftover binding strips I will make into zig zag blocks.

Here are the 3 1/2", 2 1/2", and 1 1/2" squares that I cut in this last 2 hour session.

Here is what the pile to cut and sort looks like now. It is slowing reducing. I think I will work on these a couple more hours today. I am anxious to get thru the first pile of scraps.

The city is attacking the leaves in my part of town today. They first send a guy with a leaf blower to get the leaves to the street. The guy came halfway up my front yard and blew the leaves even though I didn't have many. He even took extra time to get inbetween my ornamental grass to try and get as many leave as he could. That suprised me. They shove the leaves into these huge piles then another crew comes around and uses a front end loader to dump them in trucks. It will be nice to get the leaves picked up because the streets were getting narrow with everyone blowing their leaves into the street. Finally, the street sweeper comes along to get anything left behind.

I figured out that I need to use the new Microsoft Edge for online stuff - I think that is what it is called - to post now. Explorer just doesn't want to work. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! Be safe!

Scraps and backing

Here is the first pile of scraps I decided to attack.

I found these vintage hankerchiefs in the pile. I relocated them to the box with the other vintage linens.

I found this leftover binding from the double wedding ring quilt. I am glad I found this and will be using this for binding the quilt out of the leftover blocks from the 16 patch quilt. I am out of wine colored fabrics so this was a good find!

There were a bunch of 3" wide pieces that I used for binding. I will probably sew these to white/off white 3" strips and cut into blocks that I can use to make zig zag quilts.

Here is the pieces I have cut so far out of this pile - 3 1/2", 2 1/2", and 1 1/2" squares.

So here is what that pile of scraps looks like now. Not bad for 2.5 - 3 hours of work.

I was digging around the fabric storage room looking for backing for disappearing 9 patch quilt and I found some that I forgot I had. When I worked at the quilt shop twice a year for their special sales the first thing I would look for when I got there was backing down in the bargain basement. I use to find some decent yardage. I believe this is one of those pieces.

15th finish for 2020

I finally was able to get the page so I could post. I played around and I think what I have to do is to open the previous post, close it and then a new draft page opens. Weird! Anyway here is the whole cloth quilt finished. It turned out 64" x 80".

I was asked to make a pillowcase to go with the quilt. Now I just need the information for the label and I can get this in the mail.

Scraps, scraps and more scraps!

The internet was not cooperating today so that is why my post is so late today. Here is a picture of the scrap issue I have. Yes, it is going to be quite a challenge to tame.  This represents decades of scrap accumulation.  At the bottom of the page is a picture of one of the many quilts I have made from scraps.  It was a full sized quilt I made in 2011. 

I have this bookshelf that the food containers fit on perfectly. As I cut scraps I can double stack trays depending on the sizes I end up cutting . My goal is to cut scraps for an hour a day. That fabric at the bottom is the blocks left over from that last 16 patch quilt I made.  I almost have enough blocks to make another baby quilt; another project for another day!  LOL!!! 

I now have 3/4 of the whole cloth quilt quilted. I also got the binding cut from what leftovers of the floral fabric was left.

Changes

I have been AWOL for a couple days because I am getting my routine revamped since I am now working from home again. The company started sending people home to work as of Tuesday. I do not know how long this will last, but the state of Ohio has a three week curfew starting tomorrow to try and keep people at home between 10 PM and 5 AM to limit contact by 20 to 25%.  I got my computer set up and working so I am ready to go. 

Meanwhile I stopped at the store a couple days ago and got this little cutting mat, some new small blades, and a little ruler that were on sale so I could start cutting scraps at lunch time at work after I was done walking.  A few minutes here and there and I made some nice progress.  I have piles of these little scraps that are from the lining part of the corners I cut out from making the boxy pouches.  The outer body is interfaced so it is too heavy to use in piecing.  I can get a 1 1/2" square out of each piece so I will have a great start for a postage stamp quilt. 

Here are a few pieces cut.

I now have a 2" tall pile of 1 1/2" squares.  I have these trays I saved from a pig out we had at work last year which will make great storage for the cut scraps. Tomorrow I will show you how I am going to store the trays and the scrap problem I have.  I just have too much good stuff to just pitch.  Hopefully have made some progress on the whole cloth quilt too.

Progress on the whole cloth flannel quilt

I made good progress on the comforter turned quilt. I have it half quilted. I am using an off white thread. I tried using purple on the back but the color was poking thru the to the front. It is kind of boring after awhile since the top is all the same.

I got five facemasks cut out for one of the guys at work. His kids keep stealing his so he needs more.

The storm yesterday was fierce! The winds howled and the rain was hard. The winds finally died down some time during the night.