Working with scraps can be quite the challenge. You can't just grab a nicely folded piece of fabric and make a few quick cuts and start stitching. The picking and cutting of fabrics can take days sometimes. This year I've been working on keeping all my scraps sorted by color instead of throwing them all in one large tote. So far it's working out much better. My daisies are coming together quickly with my new system in place.
The biggest problem now is throwing away fabric. Every quilter has a limit to what they will keep. The dresden blades are about 1 x 2 inches unsewn. So that tells you my scraps can be very small. I've managed to get the first round of chain stitching done. So how do you decide what to toss?
Here's my rule for scraps. Below is Kay Bucklelys Perfect Circles. These are the best thing since sliced bread if you love doing applique. My set has been used to the point they need to be replaced. You can find a perfect circles tutorial here. Well anyway this is how I decide if its trash or scrap. See the little circle on the fabric? That's the smallest circle template, so this tiny piece of fabric is saved. Now I know you're thinking when would this template ever be used?
Actually I've used them several times. Here's my favorite! The center block is block 2 from Erin Russeks My Tweets BOM. Sorry it's no longer a free BOM but it can be purchased here.
So how low can you go?
Linking up today! You could too! It's always fun to find new to you bloggers and see what's stitching around the world. Click right HERE to Bee Social.
~ Lea Anne ~
Freebies from Erin Russek@Onepieceatatime
