I've decided that scrap management is a full time job.
(One that I am happy to have!)
After cutting up squares, I have lots of odd sized trimmings that I store in this pretty wood bowl. I love to sit down and just sew them together. It's such good therapy.
I recently sorted all my scraps back into their color coded baskets. That took a better part of a weekend to accomplish, but it was so worth it! The pattern for the boxes can be found in Sunday Morning Quilts. I have 3 more colors to make...purple, brown and white. Then I'll have a complete set!
I'll spare you a photo of my tiny ticker tape pieces, thus sparing myself judgment. (hopefully.) I really ought to throw them away, but I can't bring myself to do so.
Sew faster.
I'll let you know how that goes. :)
On the home front....my other full time job...
(another one that I am extremely happy to have!)
Early morning. (Yawn.) New shoes. New routine. Lots of jitters. And one very sentimental mama.
As hard as it was to send them on their way this morning, it was time. I am excited about finding a new routine and having some serious structure in my day. Hopefully with lots of sewing time!
Happy Tuesday!
As for scrap management , I agree LOL ! it is a full time job when you wish to use it up and be frugal ..Your kids look like they were ready to go, they look great for school !! Dont worry Mama you will have lots to do at home and before you know it they come running in hungry and there goes the sewing LOL !!!
ReplyDeleteI love scraps, and therefore I loved this post. Your scrap blocks are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love your scraps. Oh to have that problem. I haven't had enough time to sew lately to make more scraps, let alone sew the few I have! One day....
ReplyDeleteI could use a scrap management assistant, and perhaps a teeny tiny (but hardworking) ironing mouse. OH, and a copy of your book was plopped on my doorstep by the lovely UPS people. Can't WAIT to crack it open while the kids are napping (or pretending to nap - I don't care which!).
ReplyDeleteKarin @ http://www.leighlaurelstudios.com
I love your scrappy patchwork pincushion!
ReplyDeleteIf only I were half as organized as you are in the scrap dept!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you and the kids with the new school year :)
I'll swap jobs any day! Great scraps, delightfully organised :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and so many scraps!
ReplyDeleteSo colorful i love it
Hugs!
You know I love scraps just as much as you, so sharing pics of your lovelies now has me majorly distracted.... ;o) I want to ditch finishing binding my current quilt to go play with scraps!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteOh. My. Goodness. Look how tall and grown up your sweethearts are getting? Seriously, where is the time going? Happy 1st Day of School!
And all those 3" squares, only from scraps!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the colors you always use, they are so happy...
I like the blocks in your last photo. How do you do that, do you follow a special pattern?
Two lovely jobs to have! I'm looking forward to seeing those sewn together :)
ReplyDeleteYou are my scrappy inspiration.
ReplyDeleteoh, my!!! Your scraps look so amazingly yummy!!!Can't wait to see what you make. Good luck to your little peeps at school.
ReplyDeletehey, no scrap is too small, right? I love spiderweb quilts, and I'm tempted to make another one. If you're interested in seeing some great string quilts, head over to our group blog, http://stringthingalong.blogspot.ca
ReplyDeleteLove everything you do, of course. Color-coded fabric baskets? I cannot believe you did that. How absolutely wild! And, practical at the same time. YAY!
ReplyDeleteLuv your color co-ordinated baskets. I always luv your scrappy quilts. You will have lots of fun with all those scraps. You are definitely the queen of scraps!!
ReplyDeleteAww, happy first day of school (even though it's a tiny bit sad too). My mother would always call the first day of school and ask how it felt with the kids gone. Back to a routine and schedule, but always sorry to see the summer end.
ReplyDeleteI just spent some time last night putting some slabs together. That always leaves me feeling productive!
Love your posts, they are so motivating and your baskets of color are marv! Happy new school year.
ReplyDeleteTotally unrelated question. We have the same sewing machine. My free motion foot broke. I've ordered two since and both say they are the right model. But they are too short, the foot doesn't even hit the fabric. Are these adjustable?
ReplyDeleteFeel free to email me at jen@jenschultzphotography.com And you are welcome to delete this comment if you want, it's more of a personal message but I couldn't find your email address.
Thanks!!
Thanks for sharing all your pretty scraps with us this morning! Up here in Ontario, Canada, our kids had their first day back to school, too. My daughter just started high school. They just about grow as fast as the accumulation in your scrap baskets!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how organized your scraps are. It gives me hope for my own. Our first day of school today too. Why must the children keep growing up?!
ReplyDeletethis is such a pure-Amanda post: scraps, more scraps, sewing and your kids. i love it!
ReplyDeleteI'm saving scraps for you. You want them, right? I hear your inner Abby saying, "I wouldn't say no....."
ReplyDeleteI am just coming to grips with the fact I need to do scrap management. 2 containers of all sorts of scraps and one container with left overs from jelly rolls just doesn't translate to usable system. I am impressed!
ReplyDeleteLooks like fun. Maybe you should do a scrap retreat where you can only sew with scraps! I bet you would have a lot of people. Your baskets are a great way to organzie. Just need enough time to sew them up!!
ReplyDeleteAwwww, you poor dear! So few quilts that you must work your sewing fingers to the bone! And Ack! I shudder to think about all that you accomplished this summer when your time was un-"structure"d. I'll bet you're going to miss those three cuties during the day though!
ReplyDeleteOh that is such a great solution to all the scraps!! And isn't Flaun just lovely! I have a friend who didn't want to store her ticker tape sized scraps (she's just starting out but is totally addicted to quilting already), but didn't want to throw them out either. So she gave them to me. I jammed them into a basket with a mental note to myself to give them back to her in the form of a lap quilt or wall hanging. Some day.By the way, your stack of 3" squares are incredibly neat and I also love the neatness of your slabs (mine always end up as wonky slabs!).
ReplyDeleteI spent a week this summer just sewing with scraps. All day for 7 days. I made a small dent. Love your scraps!
ReplyDeleteI love that you use every scrap of scraps and made something that amazing.. great combination of colours !
ReplyDeleteScraptastic fun! Your biggest projects of all are growing so fast! At least a tad of quiet time.
ReplyDeleteFantastic way to use your scraps I love all the colours. I am fairly new to quilting and I can't wait to have a large scrap collection, at the moment it is very limited.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with us :)
so inspiring to see how even the smallest of scraps can be used. 700 3" squares and it only makes a lap quilt wow how many do you need for a double bed one? You can tell I am new to this wonderful world of quilting.
ReplyDeleteYou have me beat. I'm cutting 300 5" squares for a King size quilt. I think the pattern is called Jumping Jacks from "Quilts by Sweet Jane," by Sue Pfau. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteJust yesterday as I was sewing the binding on a quilt (a task I haven't done in ages), I was thinking, "Wouldn't it be nice if I lived near Amanda Jean so I could sew more scraps?"
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what you whip up as therapy while you adjust to the quiet of your house.
therapy ....
ReplyDeleteLike you, I can't bear to throw away the tiniest bits, and I keep my scraps just as organized. Lately they've all just been calling my name, and are getting louder and more insistent...
ReplyDeleteLove your scrappy slabs. Can't wait to see what you make with those.
I don't have a lot of scraps only finished about 3 quilts. I have lots of fat ates that I have cut into 11/2, 2,& 21/2 strips. I can only dream of enough scraps and crumbs to make something. I applaud your organizational skills and love your quilts.
ReplyDeleteI so admire the way you can manage all these scraps my scrap management consist of throwing anything left from a project into a drawer or should I say several drawers. Everytime I read this blog it is such an inspiration to see what you accomplish with just scraps. Now if I can just get motivated to do the same thing!
ReplyDeletemburnette912@bellsouth.net
I love the idea of the colored sorting baskets, but where do you keep them all!! Storing them would be a challenge for me. (My goal this year is to thin out my fabric stash and clear out (Ha!) my scrap stash....the scrap stash just keeps growing.)
ReplyDeleteYou could hire a scrap manager assistant and pay her in scraps! I'm sure many of your readers would be interested... :)
ReplyDeletegreat picture of the kiddos!! They look ready to go! enjoy your new found sewing time my friend! I'm going to check out your spiderweb quilt link-I've always wanted to make one, I probably have enough scraps too.
ReplyDeleteLove the color coordinated scrap boxes💜
ReplyDeleteI love scraps and am hoping to make the ticker Tape quilt from your book soon with the tiny pieces. I have just cut out 400 little shapes for the Gumdrop quilt too.
ReplyDelete