Day 11 ~ Die Cutting Denim and Flannel

 Hi Quilty Friends.  Just when I thought I had reached the end of the fabric sorting, folding and storing, I found these.   How did I not see the big bag of blue jeans and shirts?  Oh, I saw it but I thought it was one of my half quilted quilts.  As soon as I tried to pick it up and it weighed a ton I knew there was more fabric sorting to be done.  This sent me down a rabbit hole of checking every box and bag for fabric.  Thankfully this is the last of the fabric to sort and store.

Most of the jeans and a few shirts have already been deboned.  Deboning is the process of cutting away the seams and buttons. I could leave them as is and deal with them when I'm ready to make the quilt but they will take up less storage space if I debone them. It only took a couple hours to get them deboned.

I could have stopped there.  Did I do that?  No, this morning I had the bright idea to go ahead and cut them into squares.  This will reduce the space needed for storage even more.  

Since denim dulls a rotary cutter faster than paper or batting I decided to use the Sizzix die cutter.  It may also speed up the cutting process once I get a good assembly line routine going.  

The Sizzix can typically cut 8 layers of quilting cotton at a time, but I don't think it can handle 8 layers of denim.  So, I started out with 4 layers.

 Maybe 3 layers might work better.  A few threads in the corner need to be clipped.  Maybe running it through twice would help?  Who knows, I've only used this contraption a couple of times. I might be doing something wrong.

From the scraps I'll cut 3.5" squares because I can't toss out good denim.  The smaller die cut through the 4 layers of denim like butter.  Yep, I must have done something wrong with the bigger die.  Of course it could be a faulty die.  These Sizzix dies with straight edges need to be a little crooked when you run them through.  Was it not crooked enough or too crooked?  Hopefully I can figure it out and zip through these by noon today.  Wish me luck!

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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Implementing the Scrap Saver System

 Well I've pulled out and dusted off the die cutter and decided to jump on board the scrap saver system.  What's the point of having all those scraps if you don't use them.  And what's the point of having a die cutter if you don't use it.  So lets do this!  Woohoo!  I'm super excited to get this journey started.  I'll be using the Bonnie Hunter scrap system.   As we all know she is the Scrap Queen.  So we might as well follower her lead.

My scraps are sorted by colors and age.  I know what your thinking, AGE?  Yes, I have a larger older and less loved bunch of scraps.  These go back to my early years of quilting when my pallet of choice was much darker.   Then I have my smaller "new" scrap stash of bright fabrics.  

To start off this scrap cutting journey I need to deal with the old fabrics first.  With this being a new to me way of dealing with scraps the chances of errors are pretty good.  Errors on old ugly fabric don't hurt as bad as errors on pretty new loved fabrics.  

Now which color do I start with first?  Hmmm.... Let's start with the green scrap bins.  It's getting close to St' Patrick's day so why not make this festive little activity. 

Years of saving scraps can't be sorted and cut in one day or one week.  Keeping my expectations real, I decided to pull out what I think will be 2 or 3 hours worth of work.  That seems like a reasonable plan.  If it works out well I could make this a weekly activity.  So here's what I pulled from the first bin.  Finding a few 2.5" strips felt like I won the jackpot.  No cutting required, YAH!  I'm off to a good start.  Now to start pressing the pile of fabrics to be cut. 

In my research about using die cutters I read you will get better results if you starch the fabrics.  I also read that this really expensive new product is the best.  I'll let you know what I think about this new to me product on Friday with a new Nifty Notions review.

As I dug through the second bin of green I found this bag of low volume whites hiding in the bottom.  This was a happy surprise. I might be able to combine the two green bins to make one since the low volume white needs to find it's way to the neutral bin.

Then I found tons of string fabric.  Should I toss it in the scraps for dog bins or save them for making rugs?  UGG, this is getting hard.  I'm a fabric hoarder.  The hoarder in me says deal with at another time.  So for now they will stay right here.

I didn't make a very big dent in my green stash bins.  Sigh...this scrap saver system could take months to complete.

After starching and ironing things moved along much quicker.  The Sizzix can cut through 10 layers of fabric at a time.  ZIP! ZIP! ZIP! Lickety split!

Here's the results of my first scrap saver system cutting session.  Several 2.5" strips, some strings for string blocks and a pile of scraps for the dog bed stuffing stash.  It took a little longer than planned, about 4 hours.  Hopefully this will get easier and faster. 

The problem.  Cutting fabric = Sewing fabrics.  It's only natural.  I cut fabric, I make a quilt, it's instinct.  The wheels start turning for a quick log cabin quilt or maybe a scrappy trip around the world.  Or I could whip out a really quick rail fence quilt!  Oh dear lord what have I done?  Do I start another project or do I continue with the scrap saver plan?

My word of the year

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