What makes a scrap a scrap??

What makes a scrap a scrap??

Is it a scrap, or just part of the fabric "stash"?

 

I've been asked a few times what I would consider a "scrap". For ME, it's anything that's only usable if you trim it up in some way. It could be a piece large enough to get several usable strips or charms out of, or only one little square. Usually it won't fold neatly unless you straighten it up in some way. Here is a prime example of a LARGE scrap I was given:

I'm compulsive about cutting things on the straight of grain, so that's the first thing I check. Then I start deciding what the LARGEST pieces I can cut are. For the scrap above, here's what I ended up with:

Every single piece is usable for projects I know that I do! Note the tiny pile of trimmings at the bottom that will be thrown away. VERY little goes to waste in my sewing room. I will make good use of every inch of this piece in several of my scrappy quilts. It took me a few years as a quilter to realize I don't have to use it all in one block or even one quilt! LOL!

 

Happy Quilting!

Jean MaDan

 



Scrappy King Log Cabin Plus

How my quilts happen.....

 

Okay, so you know how there are always things you plan to do, but never really get around to? I had a little mental list of things I wanted to try, and decided I would put them in one quilt. So.... first thing I did was pull out my 1.5" strips, and decided to use those log cabin style. I wanted smaller blocks than usual, so I just made them with less rounds:

 

 

I did enough of those to exactly cover the top of a king size bed, but a bit longer to allow for pillow coverage. Then it was time to decide what borders I would use. The first was a no-brainer for me, because I wanted to try prairie points. (Yes, this really was my very first time to do those! LOL!) For the following rounds, I decided I would do a PRIVATE round robin... just doing a row around and THEN deciding what kind of round would go next. No pre-planning... just letting the quilt talk to me. This was the final result:

 

Personally, I REALLY like this one. It is very much "my sort" of quilt.

 

Happy quilting!

Jean MaDan