Before I could even think of quilting this on my DSM today I had to CLEAN behind my sewing machine. YIKES. I'm surprised I didn't find a mouse nest in there. I did find my small scissors and a seam ripper that had been missing.
I have my sewing machine set up on an old desk and behind that is a cutting mat 18 x 24 where I do all my rotary cutting. At the end of that mat a LOT of stuff accumulates.
These are the scraps after I spent hours sorting them into piles.
Sheesh, where do scraps come from?
On the left are all the 30s scraps which get their own pile no matter what size the scrap happens to be. On the right are pieces for the chunk box (well, really it is a milk crate).
On the left are 1.5 inch scraps. On the right are 2.5 inch scraps. Each has their own respective scrap box.
And then I have neutral scrap pieces (for a neutral scrap quilt in the works), a pile of pieces in autumn colors to be further cut (later) into pieces at least 3 inch long or so for my Pumpkin Peel (WIP) quilt, then there are strings that are at least 1 inch wide. There's also a small pile of selvages in there somewhere to go into the Selvage quilt WIP.
Then there's the rest of the scraps that don't fit any other category. These will probably get made into crumb quilts (along with all the other boxes of unclassified scraps). I'm thinking of making crumb leaves or bear paws in autumn colors. That's another sort for another time.
Any string pieces less than 1 inch wide go into the garden string pile. I use these to tie up things in the garden. Sometimes the birds steal them for their nests.
And the rest goes into the mulch basket. I have some pretty colorful flower and veggie gardens.
And speaking of gardens...on quilting breaks I walk out and do a little garden clean up.
Surprise, surprise. Crocus are up. I planted a few years ago under a tree out back and over the years they have found their way all over the yard. I'm not sure if the squirrels dig them up and rebury them or what.
The purple crocus are most prolific but I do have a few...
...yellow ones.
I just finished cleaning up the asparagus bed and the spot where I'm going to plant lettuce and spinach so now it's back to machine quilting.
Ah, retirement!!!!
7 comments:
I too have been going through my piles and baskets and buckets of scraps. I think tonight I am going to make some more crumb blocks. After I square them up into 6-10 inch blocks I them sash them and sandwich them. I use the deco stitches on my machine as my quilting. Make them to look more like the old crazy quilts. I use black thread and everyone is surprised at the outcome. Chris
Has it actually happened? The retirement? If so, CONGRATULATIONS! If not, it must be coming soon. Thanks for sharing the crocus blooms - here we go straight to daffodils because the local squirrels EAT the crocus bulbs before they have a chance to flower (BAD squirrels).
I don't comment often....but I just want to tell you how very much I enjoy reading your blog. I love your colorful-ness. I love your crumby-ness. Your posts always make me smile and I think to myself "Whoa! Why haven't I done that?" And then I add whatever "it" is to my list of things to do ala Cathy.
(I aspire to someday have scraps as deep as yours!) I've been eyeing my cutting mat lately because, like yours, it's starting to accumulate stuff. I'm planning to tackle the pile next time I'm down at the studio. I suspect there are monkeys lurking under there, ready to jump out at me. (Note to self: Wear helmet.)
So you really mulch your garden with fabric scraps? Do they break down or just get dirty?
Great idea to use your scraps to tie up plants! I love it!
Oh I can't wait to get outside! Still too cold here, but... soon!
Love your scrappy mess... it looks just like my table!
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