March 8, 2010

Is there more than one Monday a week? It seems I was just writing last week’s blast and here it is Monday again. For those of you who are new to this format and want to catch up a bit you can go on the website to “Blah Blah Blah” and read older Blasts.

Step 3 organizing rollups:

For the next part of the scrap fabric organization you will work with the 12” pieces previously separated from the rest of your stash. Take (6) 12” selvage to selvage fabrics that are similar in color and value. Open up the fold so you have a full 40” or so and layer the “6” fabric one on top of each other right sides up. Roll up the fabrics, put aside, and do the next one. The roll ups don’t really need to be very neat. See pictures.

 

I store my rollups under my cutting table for easy access. As long as you keep them by color they’ll be ready to use whenever you need them!

After rolling up all your 12” x 40” fabrics you will easily see that maybe you don’t have enough of a selection of a certain color or value. This is the fun part. You get to go shopping with a purpose. Start buying 1/3 yards of fabric, 6 at a time, similar color and value. That is only 2 yards of fabric to add to your stash instead of those fat quarters you accumulate and never use. Spend your money on fabric that can be used for your scrap quilts.

Cutting rollups for scrap quilts: The fabric is cut parallel to the selvage (ie your cuts will be no longer than about 12”). I take a rollup of beige backgrounds, unroll a few inches and make a clean up cut on all 6 fabrics at one time. Then I’ll cut the size strip that I need to work with. Sometimes (following your pattern) the cut will be just a certain size strip, let’s say 1½”. By cutting the 6 layers, I get 6 fabrics the same size. I put away that rollup and take out another rollup of similar beige values and repeat the 1½” cut. Now I have 12 strips of backgrounds for my quilt. See how you can get lots of variety from little effort because the fabric is already organized.

To be continued next week! By the way, tell your friends about the Monday Email Blast. It doesn’t cost anything and there is so much more I can offer to you in this format. We have a lot to look forward to.

Busy week ahead! Quilt groups are already arriving on Cape Cod for next week’s retreats. Yes, now quilters come for extra days of fun with their friends. How lucky are we!