We have just FIVE days to go. The finish line is in sight. I know we can do it.
I hope you have your climbing gear because today we are climbing Mt Scrapmore. Today’s the day we grab all of your scraps from all over your sewing room, your basement and your garage and any other place that you have been stashing them and see just how big Mt Scrapmore has become.
Now scraps happen. They are produced with every project we make. However, even if you love scrappy blocks and quilts, you just might have more than you can deal with.
Because with scraps it’s not just how much capacity that you want your scraps to occupy in your sewing room. It’s also about how fast they are leaving your space through scrap blocks and other projects.
So today's challenge is about establishing that space, setting yourself some rules for the future and decluttering all the excess.
First, think about many projects that you make a year. How many of them do you want to make from scraps? If you only make 2 or 3 of scrap projects a year, why waste your valuable space storing enough for 10.
First, do you even like to use scraps? If you don’t, there are plenty of people that do. You can sell or donate what you don't want. But you do need to find those quilters that want them so that the scraps don't linger too long in your space.
Where are you storing your scraps? This space needs to be easily accessible so the scraps can flow in and out. If your scraps cannot be easily stored and consumed they will quickly spill over into other areas.
And how many types of scraps are you making the effort of storing? In addition to scrap fabric, we have scrap batting, interfacings and fusible webbings. Is your space large enough to store every type? I realized that I don’t need to keep more than a handful of fusible webbing and interfacing. I can let the little bits go.
So today's challenge is about establishing that capacity, setting yourself some rules for the future and decluttering all the excess.
This drawer is where I dump all my scraps as I find them. And once a month or as needs be I take between 30-60 minutes and I process as much as I can. And I have never ever been close to processing half the pile. I just do as much as I feel like doing. And I have explained my system several times. So If you want to know more, check out this video.
I put my long strips into this drawer and solids go underneath. And I have another drawer over here where I keep the 5” strips, 2.5” strips, and underneath I keep my scrappy blocks until I turn them into quilts. And I have a container here where I keep 10” blocks. So I have three drawers in total and one container. I am happy with this system though It’s taken me several years to find my flow. But if anything changes in my style of quilting, or my fabrics, I am prepared to change it.
And one last thing. I am a scrappy quilter. And I have made a lot of videos with tips, tricks and strategies for processing and consuming your scraps. And after making around 20+ scrap quilts last year, I am pretty sick of looking and working with the same fabrics over and over again. #scrapfatigue is real. So last month I went through this drawer and pulled out all the small pieces for my crumb strip blocks and the long narrow strips for my QAYG blocks. So all that’s left here are bigger pieces. Today, I am going to put on my timer and the moment I feel my energy lagging, I am going to bag everything left in this drawer and donate it to the TMQG’s garage sale at the end of the month. So this year I can start filing it with new scraps.
Today’s challenge is not about organizing your fabric scraps into a thousand projects. It’s about setting boundaries for the coming year, so that you have a balance between scraps being produced with the scraps being consumed.
Remember, just because you can make postcards from scraps, does mean that you will, nor that you will use 6 boxes full of them. And new scraps are made with every project so you’ll always be making more.
See you tomorrow for day 18, when we do a deeper dive into our batting scraps.