Monday, January 13, 2014

Putting Scraps To Use

Scraps are as much a part of quilting as water is to a fish!  Scraps, scraps, scraps.  We all have them, we all love them and we all wonder what to do with them.  Mine seem to multiply seemingly over night.  Do yours?!  At the end of every year I go through the agonizing sorting process.  Keep, use or toss.  I use to keep every little bit, and I mean every one.

I have been doing two things with my favorite scraps.  For the prints that I love and cannot part with, I have been cutting into 2 1/2" squares.  Solids have been cut into 5" squares. Both sizes are neatly stored for future projects!  Good start to the scrap pile.

My first scrap project are these red and black placemats.  There is something about that color combination that I like.  Classic.  Never out dated.  Making placemats is a perfect project for scraps.


I paired the red with black and began the piecing process.  Simple panels of red and black.


Strip piecing works great for these panels.  I never make any two a like.  I choose to pieces smaller pieces and mix and match so that each placemat is different.  I could save myself a lot of work...but then again I never seem to follow the easy path!


Red, black, red, black.  Repeat eight times!  


Eight done.  Eight different.  Eight the same.  I am still in the process of hand stitching the binding to the back, but they are well on their way to completion.

So.....why quit there?  I'm on a scrap mission!  I'm on a roll!  I decided a different color combination was in order! 

Orange, brown, gold...ewwww!  It sounds so dated don't you think?  Not necessarily.  I made a quilt using these colors.  You can check it out here.  The quilt is surrounded with off-white, but who wants white placemats?  Spills would be way too noticeable!  I'm going with a chocolate brown.  Perfect for spills and the perfect color to highlight the panels.


Using mostly Kaffe Fasset Shot Cottons, I began what I refer to as my 'mosaic' piecing. Each placemat gets 3 mosaics in 3 sizes.  Each different.  24 mosaics.  (going for the gold...8 placemats again!)  I am a big fan of the broken frame design.  The off-white not only sets the mosaics off, but the tiny brown frame makes this design for me.


I'm thinking the brown was a good choice.  What do you think?  At least they won't have to be washed as often as white!



There you have it!  Another 8 ready for the binding pile.  I didn't make a huge dent in my scraps.  I most likely never will.  Again...scraps are a part of quilting!

What do you do with your scraps?  I would love some to hear what they are!

Scrap:  a small piece or amount of something.  One that is left over after the greater amount is used.

Linked to:
FRESHLY PIECED WIP WEDNESDAY

23 comments :

  1. Thank you for providing my day's inspiration!!! I just LOVE these - I make all kinds of scrap blocks and pile them up, waiting for just the right thing to do with them. Surrounding them with the solids is excellent. I'm a big fan of red and black, and then when I'm working with other combos,they become my favorites! WOW - off to my machine!

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    1. These don't take nearly enough scraps to make a dent! But they are fun! I am so pleased to provide inspiration to you. Getting inspiration is great, but giving it is even better!

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  2. Sorry, but I cannot see eating on these. I'd take two of the brown (gaaaah, they're so pretty) and put them on the wall together.

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    1. Jenny!!! You would have to use them...after all they are for the table! LOL

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  3. Good luck on getting all those scraps sewn together! I have been working on mine for about 5 years :-)

    Love your projects!

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  4. Thank you Cynthia! One of the pitfalls of quilting. !he scrap piles only get bigger!

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  5. I love orange, brown and gold together and I think fall when I see it most of the time. But yours-I see Modern- love it!!

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    1. I think of Fall/Autumn too! There are many ways to approach the orange, brown and gold theme!

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  6. I love scraps! I do almost everything scrappy. Your placemats look great, the bold colors really shine!

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    1. Thanks! I'm very motivated to use my scraps!

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  7. I started paper piecing. Amazing what you can do with scraps. Love yours though!

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    1. Paper piecing is something I have dabbled it. I hope to try more this year.

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  8. I love improv. The majority of my work is improv. Scraps are so perfect for that!

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  9. These are so pretty! What a joy to eat on them!

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  10. I always love your improv work!! Such a fun way to use up scraps! One of my favorite ways too.

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    1. Thank you so much Karen! I love doing improv. Scraps go fast, but improv also makes even more scraps to deal with! Vicious cycle!

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  11. amazing improv work! Your place mats are a great conversation starter;)

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  12. You are sew right. That red and black combo is a head turner. Both of your sets of place mats are beautiful! Thanks for sharing your ideas for scraps at the Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts!

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    1. Red and black are just classic...and always will be! We are all looking for ideas for our scraps it seems!

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