Scrap Saver System Reboot ~ Quilting UFO Scrap Quilt

Back in May, I decided to start a scrap saver system...again. The picture below was taken on May 3rd. I’ve tried this before but quickly became overwhelmed because I have so many scraps. This time, my plan is to cut only the scraps produced from current projects, with the exception of blue jeans and flannel shirts. My husband’s holey old flannel shirt has been waiting nearly a year to be taken apart, and I finally tackled it this weekend.

The picture below is what I accomplished on May 8th.  There are strips and squares ranging from 5 inches down to 1 inch, along with some circles cut for the yo-yo quilt I started last year. 

The leftover scrap 3-patch units from the Purple Iris quilt were added to the orphan block storage. 

This weekend was spent cutting up the latest scraps and putting away the larger pieces that were too big for the scrap saver system.

Right now, the scrap saver system is small. The plan is to keep the scraps visible because, as we all know, out of sight is out of mind...they need to be right in front of me. That’s also how I’ve been tackling UFOs, and it seems to be working. I’ve finished a lot of them over the last two years since I started keeping them out in the open in clear containers. 

I’ve been on the lookout for the perfect clear containers while shopping. The larger one came from Meijer’s tote section, the two smaller rectangular ones are from the Dollar Tree, and the square box is an Art Bin from a Fat Quarter Shop Sew Sampler Box a few years ago.

For now, everything can fit into the larger box.

I recently picked up a clear food storage container at the Dollar Tree. It’s a bit flimsy, so I wouldn’t trust it for carrying food, but it’s perfect for holding strips of fabric.

Flannel and denim are stored separately in a drawer under my longarm frame, and it’s getting pretty full. I probably have enough now for at least two full sized quilts. That’s what happens when you tell friends and family not to throw out their worn out jeans and flannel shirts.  

With all the fabric sorted and stored away it was time to load another quilt to the frame.  

We all have our favorite part of the quilting process. Normally, anything other than the actual quilting would be my favorite. But for some reason, I’m on a roll and really enjoying the quilting itself right now. While I’m in the mood, I might as well keep going. So yesterday, I loaded another quilt on the frame, and right out of the gate had to spend a little time with Jack the Ripper. At least I caught the error early. This little mishap didn't discourage me in the slightest.

Not too long after the mishap it was time to shut down the sewing room for the day.  So, I took a quick look at what I had completed.  Looks pretty good except for one little missed piano key. 

 Today is going to be a busy day with little to no time for quilting so I stuck a pin in it as a reminder.

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Posies and Pinwheels ~ UFO Finish

Today's UFO quilt top finish is a quilt made with the scraps of the quilt in my previous post.  

Finishing at 48 x 48 makes her a great size for a baby quilt or spring table topper.  

The backing was pieced from the remaining quilt top scraps and the backing fabric I used on the other quilt mentioned above.

The pattern for this quilt came from a magazine, but the chances of still having that issue are slim since I’ve given away about half of my magazine stash. So, I just went with the first name that popped into my head and put it on a label.

A few days after making the label and sewing it to the backing I stumbled upon the image below on Pinterest. This is the second or third time this happened recently, it's kind of weird and spooks me.  Is the web paying attention or the powers that be? (insert Twilight Zone music) Anyway...Much to my surprise there was a link attached to the image.   The link went to a stand-alone pattern and in the description for the quilt was the when and where it had been published originally.  I'm pretty sure I gave that magazine to my aunt a few years ago who had just started quilting.

The name? Little Blossoms...so much cuter than Posies and Pinwheels, but by then it was too late. The label had already been made and sewn to the backing. I also realized I’d left out some appliqué, and knowing myself, it was probably to make the quilting easier.

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UFO ~ Garden Lattice Quilt Finish

My, how time flies! It’s been three weeks since my last post.   I’ve been keeping busy with all the usual summer yard work and quilting whenever I could find a moment. This past Sunday morning, the Garden Lattice quilt was finally bound and tossed into the washer.

This quilt top has been waiting for years to be finished. It was started in July 2012. The fabrics for the lattice part of this quilt were bought at Walmart around 2005 or 2006. The border fabric, a white on white from Joann’s, and was purchased around the same time. I kept putting off quilting it because I knew the cheap white on white fabric would probably cause skipped stitches....and I was right. I tried every size and type of needle, but nothing fixed the issue. It quilted beautifully on the other fabrics, so the skipped stitches will be part of this quilt’s story. 

It started at 64 x 86 before washing. After the wash, it shrank to 61 x 83...that's a lot of shrinkage! But it gave it the charming crinkle vintage vibe some quilters love. The photo shows the before and after, with a trusty safety pin left in place so you know you’re looking at the same spot. You’ll also notice the 100% machine attached binding.  Machine binding a quilt means I'm not in love with it and just want it finished.  

All of my quilt tops are stored with their backing fabric and binding fabrics. Most of the time they are pieced and ready to go but not always. I’ve learned the hard way to always double check the binding and backing lengths because I do make mistakes sometimes. This time, the binding was not only two widths of fabric pieces short, but it was also cut at an odd size....2.75"! What was I thinking? I don’t recall ever using anything wider than 2.5". Thankfully, I checked and had more than enough scraps stored with it to cut more at that unusual size.

The backing fabric was the scraps of the pink and blue fabrics in the quilt top. I hadn’t pieced them together for a backing, and it wasn't enough to cover even half the quilt. So, I dug into my yardage stash and found enough of one fabric to use instead. The pink and blue scraps will come in handy for the next quilt top I plan to quilt. It too was made from the same fabrics.

 I named this one Garden Lattice because I’m not sure if I designed it or used a pattern, so I just went with the first name that came to mind.

Remember when I said this quilt was going to be trouble? Well, the quilting gremlins must have heard me and decided to put on a show.  About halfway through, the needle bar thread guide assembly fell apart, leading to a jarring needle break. Thankfully, it didn’t leave a hole in the quilt or cause me to wet myself. After the initial shock, I couldn’t help but laugh and think just one more problem to add to the list.   Luckily, I had spare parts ready because this had happened years ago, and I’d smartly bought two “just in case.” Now I’ll be ordering two more…you know, just in case the gremlins come back for an encore.

After attaching the thread guide, the saga continued. The needle crash threw my machine out of time, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the mischievous little gremlin haunting this quilt top. It took about two hours, but I fixed the timing and sent those pesky gremlins on their way.  

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Spooly Scrumptious UFO Finish

My Spooly Scrumptious is finally a quilt after 13 years of waiting. Waiting on what? Me! For some reason, I felt this quilt deserved “special” quilting because I loved the Bonnie and Camille “Scrumptious” fabric so much.  Now for those of you who also love Bonnie and Camille fabric, you might notice a few Bonnie and Camille Marmalade fabrics in there as well.  The two fabric lines blend so well they are hard to spot.

When you spot crosshatching in the background of one of my quilts, you can pretty much guarantee I’m in full “let’s get it done” mode. My heart was all for taking this quilt to the next level with intricate, dense custom quilting, but my brain yelled, “GET REAL!” and ordered me to finish it ASAP.

Now that she’s finished, I love it just as much with the simple quilting. My original plan for this quilt was to make it a wall hanging, but it’s also the perfect size for a lap or baby quilt. Quilting it too heavily would have made it more likely to be used only as a wall hanging. Now, I or someone else has options.  

The backing and binding are made from leftover backing fabric of another quilt. I would have preferred a different fabric for the binding, but I didn’t have what I wanted in my stash, and there was plenty of the large dot so why not use it. I could have pulled the backing over to the front to bind the quilt, but I’m not a fan of that look. So, it was machine stitched to the front and hand sewn to the back.

And as always, a simple label was added to the backing before quilting. 

Even though my original vision for this quilt didn't happen she's still Truly Scrumptious to me.  The original post for the start of this quilt can be found here.

If you're curious about how I came up with the name Spooly Scrumptious, this clip from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will clear things up.

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