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Sunday, December 6, 2015

Can't throw away the smallest scrap...

I am making a kaleidoscope quilt for Christmas  and the method I used was from The Quilt Show. It is not simple. It was supposed to be quick and simple. It is also generating more waste than I'm comfortable with... I like a scrap but hate waste. 

I took a break from pulling out my hair  sewing, driven to eat chips by frustration (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) and looked at that waste and thought what can I do with this?? 

Remembering the 60 degree ruler, I made tiny half hexies with the leftovers, matching where I could, and will make this little table runner. Good save! 

So you arrange the halves into rows, sew them end to end creating a straight line. Then it's just a bit of matching but all straight line sewing with no inset seams. Easy.
I also made a few mismatched leftovers into coasters for tiny gifties.
Would you want one?


 

20 comments:

  1. Those look like fun scraps to play with! I love what you're doing with them.
    (I can't throw out those last little bits, either...)

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  2. Oh, yes. Good save. I hate having them pile up and spend more time with the scraps than with new fabric.

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  3. Yes, good save! i am also a user of the remains of the day of sewing and clippings and the way color changes depending on it neighbor when sewn together.

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  4. Yes, those are worth saving. I too can't decide if I should save the 1/2 inch I cut off or not. So far I save everything that's 3/4" or more. I'm making a postage stamp quilt with 1.5" pieces so it will finish at 1." Some people think I'm totally nuts. But I find it rather relaxing. And I'm trying to use all different fabrics for the 5,600 pieces that I need. That's been a challenge since hubby won't let me buy 5,600 different fabrics.

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  5. Great Sav Lee Anna! You've been having scrappy improv fun!

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  6. I'm trying hard not to save tiny, tiny scraps. Some times I am successful and sometimes not. I have given up saving the scrap triangles from 2 1/2" flip and sew squares. First I have millions of them unused. And, when I actually used them I had to recut and I never had the color I wanted. Lesson learned. Just how many little scraps will I actually use? Your coasters are darling though.

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  7. Perfect project for the season! I also hate waste, so I keep accumulating small and tiny scraps in the hope to find a good project for them. Thanks for sharing!!

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  8. Great use of those scraps, I think we quiltmakers tend to keep all our scraps you just never know what may come up, and like Tu-Na I am making a postage stamp quilt so all the little bits come in handy.

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  9. I love this, I was wondering about doing this with my little snippets from sooo many Christmas's ago, thanks for the inspiration!

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  10. I love the tiny coasters - and I would hang them on my tree too!

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  11. I'd have gladly switched places with you these past couple of weekends-I've been stuck in IKEA assembly-talk about pulling out your hair! I think your project turned out far more beautifully than mine. :)

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  12. if it gets really bad add french onion dip to the chips menu :)

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  13. if it gets really bad add french onion dip to the chips menu :)

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  14. Saw you on Quilt Story's linky, wow, those are tiny!

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  15. When I see projects so lovely like your hexagons, I have to rethink my decision not to keep every scrap! I just can't due to storage restraints but I admire what you do with yours!

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  16. I have a very hard time throwing away fabric : ) Your hexies are lovely

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  17. I hate waste too. I always try to find a way to use those little bits. Your runner will be beautiful, and the little coasters are beautiful.

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  18. I usually end up tossing the small scraps and always feel guilty for doing so. I think they are perfect for making little coasters (which I love!) or scrappy pincushions. It would be better for me to make these items as soon as I generate the scraps, if not, they will never get used. Good for you for finding a way to use your scraps! I think the little table runner will be adorable and matching coasters is a great idea. :) Thanks for linking to MCM!!

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  19. I hate waste too! I try to use up as much as I can.

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  20. This looks like fun and I have so much fabric that I don't mind waste when stash busting, for example when I use my GO! Cutter there is always a lot of waste and I don't mind. But I wouldn't feel the same way if I was using a new fabric range. I really love how you worked it out and it looks fabulous!

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