Mountains of Fabric

Further to Davina comment about how she cuts strips I have to tell you guys about a site that extends this principle (www.quiltville.com).  Its actually a long arm quilting business  in USA but the lady makes lots of scrap quilts for charity and provides extensive free patterns and techniques. 

 She cuts all her scraps up in advance (as they are created) into several sizes.  e.g. 1 1/2", 2 1/2", 3 1/2" etc (unfinished).  Andtogether with the Easy Angle ruler by EZ she can make most blocks with this. 

for those not familiar with the ruler it allows you to cut triangles for a HST from the same strip you cut the same finished size squares.  So from a 2 1/2" strip you can cut a 2" finished square and the triangle to make a 2 " finished HST.

This means she can start most patterns very quickly and has no time to wait when she wants to start a new scrap quilt.  Also instead if you have ever used a thread mouse - to save the long threads at the end of sewing, what she does is use her pre-cut scraps.  A normal thread mouse is thrown away after use but by using her scraps she ends up with a second quilt half sewn without realy knowing she was that far.

 finding her site have changed the way i quilt and organise my scraps because i was just throwing them out up until them.

Tessa

Great website, I love your quilts at Lowbyer Manor, I might just have to take my family there next time I visit Ruth. It's a really good site, we'll have to try to encourage readers here to visit.

Best of luck - and well done - do you feel like writing an article for us?!?

Katy 

Julie

That was a really good link, I have a bursting shoe box + carrier bag full of too-small-scraps, and quiltville has managed to put a bit of  a dent in it in an afternoon. I had great fun crazy piecing little pieces together. I'll post a picture when I've finished. I can't  bear throwing things away, but have had trouble having a vision for leftover triangles and bits before. I pieced 8 good 6 1/2in blocks in about 3/4 of an hour though, so it does work.

Davina's post had me looking at the special offers in Morrisons this afternoon, all plastic storage boxes, from tiny cheese savers to underbed storage were half price. I bought a number of BIG sandwich boxes, a bit smaller than shoe boxes to replace the cardboard shoe boxes I have been using for FQ's. I didin't see any DVD sized boxes though. I do think see-through boxes help.

I've got a children's storage unit from IKEA that I use (Picture of it here - courtesy of the IKEA website) You can choose which size boxes you have, and I believe that they have now started to sell boxes for it which come with lids, although don't quote me on that!

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Steph

Hi Katy,

You mentioned an article.....let me know what you are thinking of and what it could entail and I'll see what I can do.  I've written children's stories in the past freelance and been in touch with dozens of Canadian Childrens Magazines, but alas.....never had anything published.....it may have been that it wasn't really my genre. 

 Also, it's nice to hear from Steph....a young seamstress and quilter in the making.  I've been sewing for 42 years and there is still lots I'd love to learn. 

 I'd love to download a picture or two....but I think my dog could do it easier than me. 

Shoeboxes!! lol i have about 8 plastic storage boxes of strips and squares that have been organised using the system from Quiltville.  Also I have 2 larger ones of random scraps that still need to be sorted and two again with FQ in!  And I didnt think i bought that much fabric. LOL

 Am currently sorting out some 5" charms i bought when i first started quilting.  theres been a pattern on the quiltville forum called disappearing 9 patch  so im going to use that.  Just need to count up how many squares i have 

Julie

Julie

Thanks for the link to Quiltville.  I printed off the article so I can refer to it easily.  Can't wait to get up into the sewing room to get started on sorting out all the scraps of which there are many!  Still, I will have to be a little patient until I have reduced the paperwork mountain I need to sort out for Guiding.  Have already passed the website onto friends.

Elizabeth

I love the website.  it changed my quilting.  By the time you sort your scraps into the "Scrap Users System"  and then read all about leaders end enders then look at the patterns she has you are hooked.

 As it turned out i already had the EZ rulers.  Ive ended up changing the way i quilt cos of her site.  I wish everyone would look at this site.  even if you dont organise the way she does the patterns are great.

Julie