Like many (most?) quilters, I have a nice collection of scraps left from prior projects. And, again like most, it was completely out of control.
So a few days ago I said to myself “today is the day”! You see, my scraps were living under the three tables I have put together and use as my cutting area. They had long ago spilled over the sides of the tubs I had for them and were now inching out to cover my feet as I cut. It was time to make a commitment to cut them all into sizes I would use – 5″ squares, 4.5″ squares, 3.5″ squares, 2.5″ squares, and 2.5″ strips of no less than 18″ long. Smaller pieces went to the trash; a few to the applique box. Narrow strips less than 2.5″ or shorter than 18″ all went in my strip box I use when making rag bowls or strip blocks.
I sorted by color and/or subject. No reason other than it broke that mountain down into hills and wasn’t so overwhelming as long as I didn’t look at the floor all around me!
All of the pieces needed pressed! So, some days I would focus on just one color pile at a time – press, cut, put away. Yesterday, as I could somewhat see an end to this problem, I chose to press all that was left except for the stack of solids and the stack of Christmas fabrics. Therefore, the pressed piles are waiting for me as I type! No more scraps on the floor! And the pressed piles are much smaller than they were unpressed!
This is what I faced yesterday! And the neat piles on the table is what is pressed for cutting today. Too bad I didn’t take a photo of the mountain spewing out from under the cutting table!
Today this is what I will focus on cutting and maybe even get to some pressing those on the ironing board!
