Friday, July 23, 2021

Scraps, Quilt Blocks, and Cat Shoes

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

Things might be getting a little out of hand in my scrap processing center, otherwise known as my sewing room.  To be honest, it's a hot mess.  That's because I needed to sort the scraps in 3 different overflowing baskets, and the only way I know how to do that is to dump it all out on the floor.  So I did.

First I dealt with all the Scooby Doo fabric left from backing two quilts.  (I should have done this right after I trimmed the quilts!  But there were so many other fun things to sew.)  These pieces made strips from 2 in. to 5 in. wide.  They will come in handy whenever aqua is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month.

Next, solid scraps were removed to an undisclosed location, some repulsive fabrics were set aside for possible donation (hey, other people might not think they were repulsive!), and a few tiny or otherwise unusable bits were binned.  Now for the real work.

When I was done, I still had 3 baskets of scraps, but now each one had different kinds of scraps in them.  This antique basket has 1800s reproduction scraps plus some traditional fabric scraps that will go with the repros.

This basket is all light scraps, the ones that go with bright fabrics.  Most are what we quilters call "white-based neutrals".  It will be very handy to pull from this basket when cutting pieces for quilt projects.

This last basket is sorted by color into plastic bags.  These are my brights, and I have been keeping up with them better than anything else.

Some colors have their own bag, others are sharing.  My biggest pile of bright scraps are multicolored.  I'm thinking about some projects to specifically use multicolored prints.  Any suggestions?

Whew, thank goodness the straightening up is done!  Back to sewing!

Here's the design wall, full of Happy blocks and log cabins.

Four of these blocks are purple.  Somehow I overlooked them last month.  The centers of the happy blocks are from scraps of the RSC color of the month.  For the outside strips, I just use a coordinating color.

I have used up all the dino print yardage I collected for Little Buddy's dinosaur quilt.  There are a few scraps left, though.  Here's one...

and here's another.

The log cabin blocks are always fun to piece.  I got to use some of the "new" fabrics I bought at the museum rummage sale in June, plus a lot of old favorites.  Dark blue is one of my favorite colors.

And now for some grand children pictures.  These are some more from our picnic at a local lake.

Baby Buddy was a little worried about the water, but excited about the sand.  That's Grandpa behind him.

Little Buddy and Miss E made filling a hole with water an exciting adventure.  It really was a beautiful place to play.

My love of novelty prints is not a secret (!) but it just might be getting out of control.  Check out these new shoes I bought.

Cats!  With fish and hearts!  I totally love them!  And I really don't care if wearing them makes me look like a crazy old lady.  The name of the shoes is Kitten Bitten, and they are very comfortable.  Bonus!  For every pair, a donation is made to animals in need.  No details on what that donation is, though.

It feels so good to get back into the sewing room!  I was sick with a sinus infection, and I really missed it.  There's just nothing like cutting up scraps and sewing them into something.

But I don't have to tell you that!

Have fun this week, whatever you do.

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Angela at So Scrappy, home of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge
Cynthia at Oh Scrap















20 comments:

  1. I really like your scrap process - it's time for a massive scrap "do " at my house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, maggie! I'd love to see pictures of that! You have such an amazing scrap collection.

      Delete
  2. Love the scrap processing center... I think mine is a scrap holding center! Love how you sorted things and those fun brights look great in the blocks. Love the log cabin as well. Great photo's of the grands and love the shoes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Deb A! I'm afraid I do a lot of "scrap holding" too.

      Delete
  3. Pretty blocks!! Looks like grands had a lot of fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ivani! I love it when all my grand kids can play together.

      Delete
  4. Oh, your shoes are so fun, Sylvia! I have that same problem with those long pieces leftover from the backs of quilts. I should spend some time getting them under control this week, too. I love your happy blocks - they really are happy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Diann! All these happy blocks make me happy too!

      Delete
  5. Beautiful blocks! I love the variety of blues in your log cabin blocks. Keeping the scraps organized is a constant challenge for me too. Love the shoes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Julie! Scraps just keep happening, so every once in a while they have to get straightened up. For most of us quilters, scraps are forever. And that's a good thing!

      Delete
  6. Especially love the log cabin blocks! I need to get back to mine.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That was a bit of scrap taming that you accomplished! Good for you. I LOVED your shoes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Terry! More cutting ahead, but more cut pieces means more pieces ready to sew!

      Delete
  8. To get organized, we must first create chaos. You did a great job with your baskets taming sessions. Do you only sew on your treadle? You and I will have to talk because I don't know how to wind my shuttles on my old Singer. Anywho! For multicoloured fabric suggestion, I really liked making the Framed 9-Patch block. Or since you are already making log cabin blocks, a multicoloured fabric tossed in every now and again looks good too. Enjoy! ;^)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Chantal! I do all my piecing on my treadle, but I quilt my quilts on my electric Pfaff (or have them done by a professional). I'd be happy to help you with your shuttle, send me a photo of the machine. Love your suggestions for the multicolored fabrics.

      Delete
  9. Look at you getting all organized! I am impressed and it looks like you will have some really cool projects coming up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Alycia! I'm working on one little messy scrappy area at a time, maybe I'll get done some day!

      Delete
  10. Happy blocks are my go to block on way too many occasions. But they are easy to do and easy to put into a quilt. I'm thinking of doing a top that has florals in the middle and go withs as the frame.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Bonnie! Your floral happy blocks sound great, good luck!

      Delete

Thanks for reading! Post a comment--I want to know what you think!