getting scrappy

I’ve just realized that I don’t have any strict upcoming sewing deadlines. This is a good thing, of course. I plan to make a twin sized quilt for my daughter, but that is a long term project that won’t be rushed. {I think I’ve decided on making her a very scrappy equilateral triangle quilt.} I also have two lap sized patchwork blankets that need to be finished. They were made in collaboration with my son and a friend of his and have been languishing for a while now. It’s time to finish them up. But otherwise, the field is wide open and I’m pretty excited about that.

When I don’t have a strong feeling about what I want to make next, I go straight to my scrap boxes and just start sewing stuff together. I will try a paper pieced quilt block I’ve been curious about or a brilliant new-to-me technique for sewing together half square triangles, for example. Usually, one thing leads to another and I stumble upon my next project.

Because I find so much inspiration by working with scraps, I like to keep them fairly well organized. One of my go-to activities is sorting and cutting my scraps. I use templates to cut them into 2.5 inch and 4.5 inch squares and also make piles of long strips and shorter bits. Sometimes I just need to connect with my craft, even for just a short bit of time.

{“Connect with my craft” sounds pretty dramatic. I am chuckling at myself right now but am going to let it stand.}

4 thoughts on “getting scrappy”

Liesl says: April 10, 2011 at 8:11 pm

I enjoy the limited-brain-power-required part of “the craft”. When I dive into my scraps, I often make a ton of hexagons for English paper piecing using freezer paper. Just because it gives me something to do–or wait, that sounds like I am bored and don’t have things to do–ha! I should say, it’s a easy distraction, while still keeping me productive.
(And now that I’ve come up with an idea on what to do with them, I already have them all prepped and ready!)