Let's start with a giant HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME:))
It was fun finding out I would spend my birthday with so many quilters!
Ok, now down to business....
How do you define a "scrap quilt"?
You are here because you are taking part in the Scrap Quilt Challenge and they have rules, one of which is this:
A Scrap is defined as a piece of fabric smaller than a fat quarter left over from a previous project either done by yourself or someone else. (It's okay to have scraps from another person)
So now we know the size but are there other rules?
I don't consider myself a scrap quilter by any means in comparison to all those who do it well and sometimes I question what the term "scrap quilt" means.
Is it different colors all put together willy nilly? Can the sizes be large or small? Should there be a common background? Does it all have to be random?
These questions would stop me in my tracks until I learned a new way of looking at scrap quilting.
Being military, I understand a 'scrap life' better:
a $10 bookcase here, hand me down bed there.......
When it comes to scrap quilting though, I feel the urge to control the outcome and might consider myself an organized scrap quilter. What is the difference you ask?
Some scrap quilters can just let go and use that exercise where you just pull scraps from the bag without looking and go for it.
I cannot! I have tried and as soon as two colors came together under (ok, near) the needle, I stopped and grabbed for another.
If that is you too, then join me in my thought process so we can learn to be 'organized' scrap quilters together.
I'm not a matchy-matchy (all fabrics must be from the same line of fabric) quilter but to my eye the most successful scrap quilts are the ones with a common background so that there is a place for my mind to rest and the scraps are framed or shown off better, and ones that have a common element or theme.
An organized scrap quilter might pick a theme such as all florals, novelty, ocean, or birds. A cream background combined with every floral scrap is beautiful but still hard for me.
OR, maybe deciding on a color scheme guides your scrap quilting and not the designs on the fabric.....I tend to fall into this category more!
When preparing to start a pattern sample, I shop from my stash first. That seems like step one in organized scrap quilting because I now know that I have to make things work from the scraps on the shelf.
I don't remember anyone putting a size limit on how big my scrap could be so my rules are quite a bit looser:)
Exhibit A: Las Flores de Amigas
This sample started with a FQ pack all from the same line and matched beautifully. Did I have enough to finish the top? No! From my stash I had to shop for the backgrounds to the applique flowers, the black petals, most of the green leaves, and the borders and 9 patches.
The applique background isn't one fabric but the scraps are similar so that it reads as one common background.
In my 'organized scrap' mind, this counts as a scrap quilt! The red, purple, and center gold are the fabrics from the pack and everything else was shopped from my stash.
See how simple this is..... Next.
Exhibit B: To Market
This sample started from the shelf and on a tight deadline. I had enough of the beige background for the quilt and not much else. The pumpkins are 4 different oranges along with using 3 different greens, 2 different reds, and 2 different browns. Again, doesn't really follow the rules for this challenge but Baby Steps!!
Exhibit C: Butterfly Cabin
This is probably my most successful 'Scrap' quilt. The creams and reds are all different! It didn't matter to me that the prints were different because I picked a color scheme and that guided my stash shopping. As long as the colors went together it didn't matter that one may have a panda in the background and another a flower. The pieces were smaller too because I really did shop from the strip basket on this one.
Do you have a strip basket? You know the spot where you throw those left over trim strips or excess binding strips.....
Get one, they are very colorful after a bit:)
So if scrap quilting isn't your thing, I do hope I have inspired you to at least attempt it in a controlled setting. After you get a few under your belt, it gets easier to let go (or maybe not:))
Go visit the blog to get started-there is still time!
http://persimondreams.blogspot.com/p/scrap-quilt-challenge.html
You can find me HERE:
http://www.nestlingsbyrobin.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NestlingsbyRobin
Thanks for stopping by!
