All posts tagged scraps

Scrappy madness!

I like to keep my scraps organised by colour in polythene freezer bags, the ones that have a grip seal. I’ve got a couple of large plastic storage boxes to keep them all tidy but, now and again, I reach the point where I can’t fit any more of a particular colour in. Then it’s time to do some scrap busting!These are all the purples I had. There’s a few pieces left over from the F2F quilt which was made as part of a block swap organised by Kate a couple of years ago.

I remembered this particular fabric but I wasn’t sure it fitted in with what I’d planned. It’s from a very bright and cheerful jelly roll that I made a French braid quilt top with years ago. Here it is, still sitting in a box and waiting to be quilted after almost 6 years. Time flies!

Do you always remember where every bit of fabric came from and the projects you made from it? I digress.

I pressed all the purple scraps and divided them into groups according to shape and size. There were loads of 5 inch squares, part jelly roll strips and 5 inch rectangles with selvedges still attached. I’ve now cut the selvedges off and have ended up with over 200 rectangles that are 5” x 1.5”. There’s also about 70 five inch squares and the equivalent of 60 full jelly roll strips. They’ve all been bagged up for future purple projects.

I then cut all the other bits into strips as wide as I could get from them.

Then I stitched them all together. That’s what patchworkers do. We chop up fabric and stitch it all back together again! A bit of mindless sewing is good for you now and again, isn’t it?Then it was fun time! Why have lots of pieces of purple fabric when you can have one big piece instead?Keeping everything square as I went, I just kept adding different widths around and around and couldn’t stop because it was so much fun. I pressed the seams open because there are no quilt police here I thought it would lie flatter that way.

Sometimes I added a strip to each side rather than all the way around, depending on how much of that width I had left. I ended up with purple scrappy madness. It’s a good job I like purple ;-).

It’s now about 36” x 24” and I have no purple scraps left. Any ideas what to do with it? I’m happy to leave as it is or chop it up. Don’t say “bin it” LOL.

28 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on May 2, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Quilting and Patchwork

Tagged charm, fabric, french braid, jelly roll, patchwork, purple, scrappy, scraps, square

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on May 2, 2018

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2018/05/02/scrappy-madness/

Is it a mug rug?

Good morning everyone!

What a glorious sunny day it is here in the North East of England. I hope you are all well and that crafting is keeping you happy. For me, it’s just been work, work, work these last couple of months so I’m very pleased to be back here with my crafty friends at last.

I finally had a day off yesterday and decided to finish a little project that I’d started weeks ago. Those of you who read this blog regularly will know that I don’t like scraps of fabric. If I make something, I cut the pieces in the most economical way and often achieve no-waste projects. It takes an awful lot of planning but the pleasure I get from having used every square inch of available fabric makes me very happy.

So, not having any particular project in mind, I decided to get rid of a few scraps. I had several strips of blues leftover from bindings so I split them up the middle and began to sew them together not knowing what it was going to turn into. Before long I had two different rectangular blocks that I thought would make a nice mug rug or maybe a mini quilt table topper.

It is actually rectangular in real life Smile .

Well, just before the binding was sewn on I had a brainwave (which doesn’t happen to me very often). My tablet could do with a case! So I turned it over, grabbed some more scraps, made a lined pocket and HEY PRESTO! It’s a tablet case Smile .

I also added a fabric tie.

Look at that wobbly edge at the bottom. That happened because I stretched the front block as I was attaching the lining Sad smile . I used nice thick wadding/batting to protect the screen.

I think I like the back the best.

Here’s my tablet, all snug as a bug in a (mug) rug Winking smile .

Some of you may remember my previous scrappy playtimes. Here’s a quick reminder.

All proof that you can make it up as you go along. Have fun scrap busting! I did Smile .

Avis x

51 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on June 22, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Cross Stitch, Embroidery, Quilting and Patchwork, Uncategorized

Tagged binding, craft, cross stitch, embroidery, fabric, handmade, interior design, machine quilting, mug rug, patchwork, pattern, pin cushion, pin pillow, quilt, quilting, scraps, sewing, sewing case, tablet case, tutorial

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on June 22, 2014

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2014/06/22/is-it-a-mug-rug/

Fabric Archeology

The scrap bag was just about to split or overflow, so today was the day when I felt the need to sort it out before the bag bio-degrades. This is my pale collection of bits and pieces that are too small for current projects or larger leftovers from previous ones.

I don’t have storage boxes for different coloured scraps like other quilters seem to find so useful because I would probably find the odd dead or alive house spider in there and wouldn’t like that very much! I prefer to put my pieces in large freezer bags, the ones which have a grip seal strip and the only criteria used for this big bag is that the fabric must be pale coloured.

It has been quite an interesting and very relaxing day. Now I know why some people are fascinated by archeology. Looking back through this bag of goodies has reminded me of projects past. I remember where I bought the fabrics and who I went to the fabric shop or quilt show with. Some designs were bought on the internet and I’d saved details of the sellers for future reference. All in all, today has served up a potted history of my last year or so of quilting.

So these pieces are all freshly pressed and chopped but most still have selvedge edges, so although it looks like a tidy pile, there is still much preparation needed before they can be turned into something nice.

How the darker bits managed to find their way into the “pale bag” I’ll never know!

I do love those Michael Miller hedgehogs! but they don’t scream “pale” to me. Nor do the red polka dots.

So, quite a bit of work has been done but there is still plenty left on this lot. There’s some quite big bits in here!

These ones on the right are a much thicker cotton, a bit like canvas. I can feel a pencil case or two coming on here 🙂

Did this really all come out of one bag?? Yes!

Well, it may seem to some readers like a waste of a day and, at this stage, I agree because it hasn’t been too creative. However, it is the preparation that is the most important step for any project. I’ve had lots of time to be creative in my head and now have numerous ideas for using up this goody bag AND it was like rummaging through my own personal treasure chest!

There are several projects to keep me busy for quite some time in one bag of scraps and I didn’t have to spend one penny. Also, I wouldn’t dare go and buy more fabric today as I know DH has squirrelled away some Moda charm packs for my birthday. Roll on Tuesday 🙂