Charming Checkers at Moda Bake Shop

 I am feeling so excited and blessed today! 

Come visit me over at Moda Bake Shop to day for my very first post there!

It is a fun pattern for a pillow or a mini called Charming Checkers!

I hope you enjoy it!!

 

Yes, I have a scrap system!

Once upon a time I had a drawer.  That drawer was very large.  That drawer was full to overflowing with scraps of fabric. 

My system?  I cut.  I opened said drawer.  I tossed.  And I shoved it closed as best I could.

It was quite an impressive collection of scraps to pull from.  But there was the problem.  I never "pulled from".  Ever.  It was such a tangled, fraying heap.  Awful.

Then the amazing Lori Holt, of Bee In My Bonnet fame, created a whole blog post on how she cuts and organizes all her scraps.  It was the first time I had been introduced to such awesome scrap storage.  These were scraps I could really see myself reaching for and using over and over again!  To learn from the scrap master (and see some super cute quilty pics), GO READ the original blog post!  Go.  Now.

Way back when, I took all those scraps out of the awful drawer and I began to organize!  Following Lori's lead I began to iron and sort and cut.  It took a while, but I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the results.

I used Lori's helpful information in her post and then I customized it to what I felt I would really use.  I decided on the sizes I would keep and then I also decided I wanted to sort mine by color.

When I save scraps now, I save the following:

* 3.5" squares
* 2.5" squares
* 2.5" strips
* 1.5" strips
* in a glass dish all their own, assorted 1.5" squares

 When I began working on the drawer several years ago, I first sorted every usable scrap into color bins.  Then began the task of choosing a bin, ironing, sorting and cutting.

The blue bin is the before.  The pink bin is the after.

I bought six neat bins I found at Target and I chose to sort them into the following colors based on those fabric colors I own the most of and buy/use over and over again!

My six bins are:

* reds
* pinks
* blues/aquas
* greens
* oranges/yellows/purples
* whites/multi/blacks/grays/browns

These were the finished buckets.

Recently, I had a large green bin full of all my wonderful scraps that I used while making all my Farm Girl Vintage blocks in the sew along.  It, too, was a little out of control.  A big raveling, tangled mess.  Very unusable.

Yes.  That's it.

So I spent many evenings ironing and sorting by size.

 

 Once I was finished ironing and sorting, I turned on some Gilmore Girls, and started cutting!  It really was a lot of fun because as you cut and organize you get to look at all these fun fabrics you love!!

 

When I was all done cutting, I sorted them by size and color!!

So pretty!!

 And then I added them to my awesome buckets of goodness and I was done!!!!

 

Normally I don't let scraps get so out of control.  It is way easier, and not a chore at all, to cut as I go.


When I am cutting fabrics for a project, I cut up the left overs that I don't want to add back to my stash on the shelf.  I cut them into one of my useful sizes and then I file them away.

It's that easy!

Plus, I always end up feeling like I am being a good steward of all this beautiful fabric I am blessed to own.

Have fun creating your own scrappy saving system!!

Thanks Lori!

PS - Next on the agenda.........

My very, VERY out of control Bonnie and Camille scrap bins!  Oh my!

Scrap Jar Balls

Tell me, quilty friends.  Who doesn't love a project that uses up those scraps and trimmings we have laying around?  Recently, my daughter Nicole and I made these really cute Scrap Jar Balls.  I was looking for something cute and affordable to fill this fun lime green metal basket from Hobby Lobby.  This basket sits on out kitchen table and gets moved at least three times daily, so I wanted something that would also stand up to being dropped and dumped and wouldn't be hard to replace.  Fake fruit looked fake and I knew it would chip as it got dropped. 

Then I came up with this super easy idea.  They were fun and quick to make.  You can use trimmings and scraps and can even cut some strips from other larger scraps.  You can make each ball from all one fabric or combine different fabrics of the same color to make them extra scrappy!  I did a little bit of both.  So grab your scraps and let's get busy!

Supplies Needed:

Styrofoam balls from your local craft store ( I used 3" diameter)

Fabric scraps in a variety of colors

Small silver straight pins with a flat head

The best size strip for wrapping around the balls is about 3/8".  If the strips are much wider, they don't lay as flat, but if they are too thin, then they might break as you tie knots.  If you want to cut some strips from larger scraps of fabric, just cut strips about 3/8" wide.

Next, you will want to tie together all the strips you will be using for one ball.  Tie a good, strong double knot and trim the tails short.  You will need a total of about 13 to 14 feet of scrap strips to cover the ball well with no gaps.

You will need two small straight pins for each ball.  I have some of these small, thin silver straight pins.  They have a flat head so they will lay flat and be less noticeable.

Insert one end of your long fabric strip into the Styrofoam ball using one straight pin.  (Please ignore my totally awful cutting mat.) 

Now begin wrapping!!

Wrap in circles fanning out around the ball, trying to keep the fabric strips right side up and not leaving any gaps.  Every once in a while you will come upon one of your knots.  Just work over it and keep going.  (These are my sweet girl's pretty hands.)

Wrap all the way around the ball, covering it completely and adjusting for any gaps showing through.  If you didn't cut quite enough, you can always add on a little more.

At the end, use your other flat head straight pin to affix the end of the scrappy strip to the ball.

You did it!!  You are done!!!!

Now wasn't that easy and fun.

 Here's a pretty blue one!

Celeste's Personal Quilt Along

Every once in a while I have a really great idea!  Really!

Now I know this doesn't look like much, but let me explain......introducing (drum roll) Celeste's Personal Quilt Along!

I am sure we can all think of times we've learned something about ourselves and the way we operate best.  Sometimes these revelations can be life changing and sometimes they just help you get your quilts finished!

Recently I have discovered things I love about being a quilter and things I don't.  After a very exhausting season of swaps last year I felt exhausted.  I wrote and posted in my sewing room a little list of things I love to do, things I sort of like to do occaiosionally and those things I better think really hard about saying yes to.  

What I already knew is that I love making quilts most of all (surprise!) - not bags, clothes, etc.  Then I realized how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE quilt alongs/sew alongs.  They are so much fun to me and I feel like I can manage the sizable weekly or monthly chunks they come in.

So my revelation was, "What if I did this with all my WIPs (Works In Progress) that already had cut out and ready to go?"  So I decided to make the list above and have my very own personal quilt along.  Each day is dedicated to a block or two of a current quilt along online (like the Bloom Sew Along) and any quilts that I have cut and waiting to be finished!  

And so far?  After a week?  I am loving this method!  Even if a day goes by where that block doesn't get done, I can just pick up where I left off the next week.  

Really all this is a method of organized madness for making all these beautiful quilts instead of keeping them in drawers!

Maybe you too could host your own personal quilt along!  Join me!

A few progress shots.....

#daisiesthursday

#swoonfriday

#simplestarmonday

#toneitdowntuesday

#greatgrannysquaredwednesday

Bloom Sew Along Progress

I have been having such a wonderful time participating in the Bloom Sew Along from Lori Holt and Riley Blake.  Every week we have been making an applique block using Lori's super adorable Sew Simple Shapes!  It has been a real learning and growing experience for me!  I used to only do applique with raw edge shapes and I HAD to use Steam A Seam to hold it down.  And this I didn't do very often!

Using Lori's Sew Simple Shapes and the amazing tutorials on her blog, I have learned to love applique!

I have been using the wonderful Calico Days fabric by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs.  It has some of the most adorable little prints and the colors are so bright and happy - right up my alley!

You can get the free pattern over at the Riley Blake blog and then follow along on Lori's blog every Monday for her block tutorials!

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Weeks Five and Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Week Nine

At the end of every four weeks, you will have enough blocks with borders to create a row.  I have been sewing my rows together after each fourth block!  I love how it makes the quilt feel so much closer to being finished!

 

Hurry up!  It's not too late to grab your shapes and some adorable scrappy happy fabric and join in the fun!!
Have a super happy quilty day!
Celeste