Hi Margo,

Yes, I have that website bookmarked. Thanks!

Nancy

I was given a set of flowered strips (5 inch ) which were basically coordinated for my birthday last February. I cut equal size strips of coordinating solids or almost solids and then cut the coordinated sets (one flower one solid) caveman style lengthwise with gentle curves. After putting the strips back together I made sort of wonky squares which I cut to 12 in finished squares. I got twenty full squares from the strips but had many scraps left over. The squares are being put into a 4 x 5 square top with one inch sashing strips. Then came my dilemma It needs a border and I am trying really hard to use from my stash or scraps and not buy new fabric. I have layed out the end pieces of the strip sets that I have left plus some other scraps and strips from this and other projects and today will construct a randomly pieces strip of fabric that will be about four to five inches wide and long enough to use as the border on the quilt. Its pretty funky but funky and curves seem to fit me these days so I am happy with my idea.

Ann Home is Where we Park it (and home is running out of space so that is why the effort to not buy fabric LOL)

Hi everyone! I am looking at a "wad" of strip ends 1/4 inch in a gnarled ball on my sewing table from this weeks project and the colors are so bright and cheerful I can't get them to the trashcan.
I have found a tall glass bowl and am going to collect them in there. I just started art card quilts and these are really great to use for that... I would also say, just start using that lovely fabric of your stash and see how fun it is. I had fabric from Paducha I couldn't cut cause it came from Paducah...Well this spring I got into the stash finally and have some really great quilts coming along and it is so encouraging! I used to do the same thing with stained glass, buy a $40.00 sheet, then not want to cut it...Just Do IT...! Its great!

What a great idea, Nancy! If you are not familiar with it, you may want to check out Bonnie Hunter's website, QUILTVILLE, USA, for ideas to use up all those strips! She has lots of great scrap quilt designs to get the creative juices flowing! SEW LONG!

http://www.quiltville.com/machinequilting.shtml

One Christmas, a quilter friend gifted me and her other quilter friends each with a large ziploc bag full of 2" wide fabric strips, from her stash of scraps. The strips were all 100% cotton quilt fabrics of assorted lengths, colors, patterns, etc. Those strips have come in handy to me for all sorts of projects. In particular, I remember pulling out all of the green strips to make stems and leaves for my Baker's Dozen Tulip exchange blocks.

Recently, while tidying up my sewing room, I found numerous bags, each containing scraps leftover from a particular quilt project. So, I was inspired to sort through those scraps and separate them by size. Anything over the size of a fat quarter was cut into the largest possible rectangle, folded and stored in my stash. I cut the remaining scraps into the widest possible strips and sorted the strips into bags marked 2" wide, 2 1/2" wide, 3" wide, and over 3" wide (lengths did not matter as long as the strips were as least as wide as they were long). Smaller and odd shaped scraps, that remained after creating the strips, were placed in a bag marked "Bits and Pieces" or they were discarded if too small to be used for anything.

Yes, this took me the best part of a day, but it was certainly worth the effort. Going forward, I plan to create my scrap strips following the completion of each quilt project so that I can stay better organized.

eileenkny wrote:
Now, eileen...what kind of question is that??? Time wise, I have no idea. According to the dates on the photos I took as I worked, I only sewed on it for about 10 days, but if I remember correctly, I didn't do much of anything else for those 10 days!! :shock:
You'll notice that I left the stars off the border, and used a striped fabric instead. That saved a lot of time!
I decided I didn't want to wrestle it through my domestic machine so I'm "quilting by wallet", and TQS member "mtcreekquilter" is working on it for me.

Whoa, Margo!! Way cool.
I'm going to do the wall hanging size. How long did yours take you?
eileenkny

911kitchen wrote:
Hi Rachel! You might want to check again today. I think that she said the directions would start on April 1. There won't be a picture of the quilt, because it's a mystery!!

eileenkny wrote:
Eileen, if you will go to Judy's site and navigate: Photos, Viewer Photos, from The Creative Pattern Book, then scroll down to Shakespere in The Park you can see a picture of the one I did recently for my nephew! (It's also on my profile)
There are lots of really great quilts posted on her site!
I really enjoyed putting that one together, and will probably make another one with that design.

You ladies are awesome. Although I feel like I am Eavesdropping. Really I am running out of paper writing down all of these sites. All I can say is it is a good thing my hubby knows nothing about how to block websites and that I am the one who owns this computer. Otherwise he would have me blocked from here. I showed him Bonnies site. He thinks I've got way too much stash(HA! ). He thinks she needs to have her head examined. I am trying to organize my stash like she did, but I am more of a chaotic person. By the way does anyone know the Orange crush quilt wouldn't come up on my computer. I have tried it twice in 2 days. Is she maybe having an issue with the site or am I having an issue with the computer? It is probably me.

Margo,
I've changed my mind. I'm not going to do the Orange Crush. I found some more kits I need to make. Those Jinny Beyer kits cost way too much to let them just gather dust. Oh well, maybe next time.
I am, however, going to make a Shakespeare in the Park quilt designed by Judy Martin. And I am going to use some orange in it. I think orange just may be my new neutral
Check out her site:
http://www.judymartin.com
I love, love, love her quilts and her style.
eileenkny

Wow Margo, Bonnie not only does great work, but she has everything organized and has the time to put it all on her web site to share. I had read how she organized her scraps and only glanced at her stash page with how to fold her fabric. After your post I went back and checked that out too. I now have part of my stash refolded and am amazed at the difference it makes. All the fabric is neat and in full view. I want to finish the refolding and then I'll try to attack my scraps, a little at a time! I think I need to start making some more scrap quilts!

Thanks for the link, Sandy in Phoenix

PS When refolding my fabric, it was easy to see what fabric I had been using for applique by all the "holes" I found!

While I was wandering around on Bonnie's web site today, I ran across this page!!! Man, have I got a case of STASH ENVY!!
I don't have nearly that much fabric, and most of mine is much smaller pieces, but you've got to look at how organized her yardage is!!

http://quiltville.com/stashing.shtml

She explains a GREAT way to fold fabric, and it inspired me to spend a couple of hours this afternoon fondling my fabric and making it look much neater! I feel like I've been shopping!!

Margo, you are a wealth of information. Thank you!