Strips of crumb fabric approximately 4.5 inches wide.
This year I decided I was going to deal with the boxes of crumbs I have laying around here taking up space. I set up an old sewing machine and keep the crumbs near it so I can sew on them as the urge strikes or if I have a very small segment of time. I decided on several blocks to make out of crumbs. And right now I'm sorting crumbs by the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month which this month happens to be pink.
I sort most of my scraps by size most often used. So I have boxes or bins of 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 inch pieces, strings, and chunks - pieces less than a FQ but normally greater than 4.5 inches in width since that's the largest size bin of scraps I have. Then that leaves crumbs - mostly weird or irregular sized pieces that don't fit any of those other categories.
The first thing I do is pull out all the larger pieces that look like they could yield a 4.5 or 3.5 inch square. I cut those squares and sew them into a variety of different blocks and a few slabs. Leftovers from the scrap go back into the crumb pile for later use. It takes me awhile to just cut squares from all the different pieces so I keep the large pieces on the cutting mat to cut in between cutting for other projects since cutting is not one of my favorite things to do.
When I'm left with the itty bittiest of crumbs I sort out all the angled pieces and try to find a mate to add to it so I have a bunch of rectangular shapes.
Then the new rectangular pieces are easier to sew to the rest of the crumbs. Most of the crumb blocks I am making use 4.5 inch squares so I keep that in mind as I sew pieces together into strips.
Later I will take the strips and cut off 4.5 inch pieces and then square those up to make my blocks.
At year end I will combine all my blocks into donation quilts. It will be fun to see how many quilts I can make.
After I'm finished with the crumbs all those little teeny tiny scraps too small for a seam allowance go on my flower garden paths.
On another note...something that's not crumby...
One of my Mother's Day gifts - a basket of Morels and Golden Oyster mushrooms freshly foraged on Mother's Day.
Super idea to use up those crumbs...I have bags hanging out filled with odd-shaped pieces and crumbs--so clever to use them this way...hugs and thanks Julierose
ReplyDeleteWould love to see what blocks you are planning to make with all these crumb blocks.
ReplyDeleteThat's some beautiful improv piecing, Cathy, fun!
ReplyDeleteAnd your freshly foraged mushrooms are amazing, lucky you.
Wonderful! I love crumbs, too. Crumbs n strings -- obsession actually. lol.
ReplyDeleteLucky you to get fresh mushrooms! When I was very young, (many moons ago), my maternal grandmother used to take me mushroom picking with her. She knew which ones were edible and which were poisonous. She used to can them if she had enough of them. And you have another sewing machine too. I guess I'm not the only one with extra machines. I just picked up another older Kenmore this weekend with extras including a case and booklet. For $10.00 I couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of using the tiniest scraps as "mulch" in the garden. I did read that you could add fabric scraps to your compost, but then I just started saving all the littlest pieces for the ladies who make dog beds. I like your crumb/strip ida. I've been making crumb blocks, but I always spend too much time trying to make the blocks the same size. Strips might be the answer.
ReplyDeletePat
Love how you attack your scraps and bits and pieces!
ReplyDeleteYour pink crumbs are looking fine. I'm just starting my crumby path and don't have any end goal for them yet. So my slabs of crumbs are just blobs until I cut them into something useful, someday. I'm interested in what you'll do with yours as 4.5" squares.
ReplyDeleteFantastic mushrooms! We pick in the autumn but don't get morels or golden oysters.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for scrap control! I may do this for RSC next year! Thanks for sharing!
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