"Scrap System" or "brink of insanity?"

I have an incredible mess in my sewing room at the moment.  I can barely walk in there 😏.

I start working on a project because a technique caught my interest. Then set it aside (but not put away) because another technique caught my eye. And of course that project gets set aside for a new or previously started project that has a deadline (this is the one that gets completed.)

I know it sounds bad. And this thing I do would make a lot of people insane.  But truly it could be worse... For every one technique I try there are at least 5 more that I'm not trying (yet)!!  

See! I'm showing some self restraint and self discipline!! 😂🤣

I do have a tolerance level limit and this mess is WAY past it. I was going to list excuses but they don't make the mess any less!  So. I need to get to work!

I love scrappy quilts so much that I have the hardest time throwing out even the tiniest piece of fabric.  However, collecting scraps quickly gets out of control, especially when I have quilting friends who are more than happy to give me the scrap pieces they would normally throw into the garbage! 😵 What?!?!

And maybe I shouldn't mention the scrap grab bags I sometimes purchase at quilt shops because one piece was too pretty to leave behind 😳. I mean, they're only $1 or $5! It's a steal!!

 There's plenty of sources where you can find info on organizing your fabrics!  I was inspired by scrap quilt books, and Pinterest, and blogs, and quilting friends.

  Each system I reviewed has its own personality.  None of them are quite perfect for me.  I'll have to take advice from all and tweek my own scrap system as I go.  I suspect by this time next year my system will have morphed a bit.  We'll see! But for now, this is what I have....

First in my system is deciding what's a scrap.  I would say I don't care to cut into anything bigger than a 9" square.  My general rule is if it fits on this 8 x 8 inch rotating cutting mat then it's perfect for scrappy.

And I use a small 6.5" square acrylic ruler and rotary cutter.

I also have this fantastic little ruler that I got from Cotton Treasures in Senatobia, MS. 

It measures 6.5 x 2.5 inches.  On one side of the ruler it's numbered with whole inches, the other side is marked at the half inch points. That takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it it's quite handy!! The best part of this acrylic ruler is that's it's manufactured with rough spots on the bottom side. This minimizes slippage on those tiny pieces!

I'm not sure if you can see the rough dots on the ruler, but you can see the shadows of them.

So those are the tools I use.  Oh, I also have a waste basket near because I do throw away slivers of fabric that are too tiny to accommodate seam allowances. See! I'm exercising self restraint and self discipline again! Yay me 😄.

The bigger pieces get cut to 5" squares because that's the standard size of charms. I prefer to use the lines on the acrylic ruler to measure, not the mat lines. 

 

The next size is 2.5" squares, which is the size of mini charm packs.  Using the 2.5" width ruler makes it easy to see if the fabric is big enough and the rotating mat makes trimming go so much faster!

This next piece is not big enough for a 2.5" square.  See the top right corner? There's not enough fabric for seam allowance.

So the next size is 1.5" squares.

Now I have to decide if I want to take it a step further. This is the part that may be bordering on insanity here! The size is a 1" square.

I used to think 1" pieces of fabric were ridiculous.  I never would've considered it until I laid eyes on this book:

See the star points on that cover? Those are made with 1" squares!! 

This tiny piecing isn't for everyone. I resisted for a long time. Now I'm hooked 😆. I just can't help it, look at those 2.5" Twinkling Stars!! 

These blocks use both the 1.5" and 1"  scrappy squares! Cool, huh?

Ok, back to determining if the leftover pieces are to be cut to 1 inch squares.  I only have to make sure 3 corners are in tact and I can skimp on the 4th corner.  It's the half square triangle technique where you sew on the diagonal and clip the corner.

The bigger consideration is the print. In this case I think the print is too big for tiny star points. 

I'd rather use these pieces in crumb blocks just as they are....  I think of crumb piecing as a modern take on crazy quilting. It's an involved topic on its own.... But here are some of my crumb pieced blocks...  🤔 They're conveniently 2.5" squares! 😁

Crumb piecing is very addicting.  No two blocks are alike! Now I have seventy-two 2.5" blocks. They'll be neatly stacked and stored with the 2.5" mini charm scrap squares until I decide what to do with them.

 

Ok!! All in the name of scrap piecing!

Here is the beginning of my "scrap system" and the storage boxes I use to keep it all neat.

When I outgrow these boxes, I'll probably start sorting by color too.  

Lol, is it possible to find peace and balance at the brink of insanity?  It doesn't matter, I am totally pleased with these efforts and look forward to continuing!!

Thanks for visiting! Hope to be back soon!