Scrappy Week – Day 7: Making The Cut

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I finally found a combination of purple fabrics that I like. Didn’t like so much the blocks I made yesterday so tried a different arrangement.

These I like. The difference? The cut.

I can arrange in lots of ways.

Mix them with the other purple ones I made Sunday and I can do this.

Here is a photo of all of the purple ones. 16 new ones for a total of 48 purple.

Felt really good to see the purple scrap pile get smaller and smaller. This is what I have left.

This week will be Scrappy Week 2. There just wasn’t any way possible to make it through all of my scraps in one week. I still have blue, green, brown, beige, orange and whatever other colors I missed. I will post an update a few times, maybe three, unless what I have to show you just can’t wait. I also will start on a couple of projects using these scrap blocks. Thanks for rooting for me!!

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Color Wheel for Week 1.

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Total scrap blocks made: 158

• wine/burgundy 30
• gold 20
• yellow 8
• red 26
• black/wine 10
• black 4
• black/white 4
• red/black/white 8
• purple 22
• purple/turquoise 10
• purple (Sunday) 16

Scrappy Week – Day 6: “Him” Day

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Usually my days are “ME” days, doing whatever I wish. But hubby’s birthday celebration continued throughout the day. Just back from his birthday dinner. And now he is headed out with some friends for a couple hours so I have my ME time back.

Hardly anything to show you that I made today. Just a few things. I made four all PURPLE blocks.

Next I made four PURPLE and TURQUOISE blocks.

And I changed up a bit. Instead of sewing just strips and strings, I made two blocks using my smaller scraps. One freeform (stick it where it fits best) and one block with nine 2″ squares.

I have a couple ideas for the purple and turquoise blocks. Still working through the layout.

It’s going to be BRIGHT!! I like bright.

I need three more of the 9 patch blocks to fill in the gaps.

I am thinking I will need Scrappy Week 2 to get through all the colors in my Scrap Bin. Really dreading BROWN. You know how I love brown. Gonna be huge!!

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Yesterday’s Color Wheel.

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Total scrap blocks made as of today: 136

• wine/burgundy 30
• gold 20
• yellow 8
• red 26
• black/wine 10
• black 4
• black/white 4
• red/black/white 8
• purple 18
• purple (today) 4
• purple/turquoise 4

Scrappy Week – Day 5: All About Purple

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I am kind of late today. Too much birthday celebration!! Hubby will be 69 tomorrow. And every year I tease him that he is not two years older than me. But THREE YEARS OLDER THAN ME!! For about 25 days.

Anyhoo… got a late start today. Didn’t get as many scrap blocks made as intended. First off, I decided to work on PURPLE. I showed you my bag of purple scraps a few days ago. I knew it would be a bear to tackle. And it was!!

It took over an hour just to get them all organized, sorted into piles and ironed. All that before sewing one stitch. Tired before I began.

But progress was made. Sixteen blocks finished today.

I will continue with purple tomorrow. No where near making a dent in them.

These are my favorites so far. I borrowed colors from other scrap bags.

Why don’t you join me and go collect up your scraps. We will have a Block Party!!

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Yesterday’s Color Wheel.

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Total scrap blocks made as of today: 126

• wine/burgundy 30
• gold 20
• yellow 8
• red 26
• black/wine 10
• black 4
• black/white 4
• red/black/white 8
• purple 16

Scrappy Week – Day 4: Fade To Black (And Red)

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Are you ready for an update? This will be a quick post. Off to celebrate hubby’s birthday.

Yesterday we left off with me deciding to go ahead and make a few scrap blocks in just black. That was HARD!! Solid black. Only had one fabric. And only a few mixed with gray. Mostly I buy black with something else. Like white. So… this is what I came up with.

Only made four. Not my cup of tea. Probably won’t make anymore like these.

Next, I switched to BLACK and WHITE. Made four. They look OK. But it took about an hour sewing the strips together. I think I like working with little scraps better. May make about four more.

BLACK, RED and White. Only had time to make eight. Will make more.

And I made more of the one I showed you yesterday. The black and wine one. I REALLY LOVE these. Especially the chili hot peppers. Only had a small bit of it. Was in the eBay scraps. I think I saw it at JoAnn’s. May have to use one of my coupons.

My little bag of eBay scraps is paying off. Found these in there. May look OK with the yellow scraps. Gonna try it.

Yesterday’s Color Wheel.

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Total scrap blocks made as of today: 110

• wine/burgundy 30
• gold 20
• yellow 8
• red 26
• black/wine 10
• black 4
• black/white 4
• red/black/white 8

Scrappy Week – Day 3: Seeing Red

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Before Seeing Red, I saw BLACK.

Oh my, how depressing!! It needs a “color pop.” I couldn’t even imagine spending several hours making blocks of just black. Or even just black and white. The Camera Knows!!

Moved on to RED.

Much better. Like that butter commercial with that lady from Sex In The City and the French guy, Jacques. “We Like!!”

I have to admit I cheated. To spice up things, I cut a strip of 5″ from several red fabrics in my stash.

So far, these are the red blocks I made today. 25 of them.

Not loving the heart fabric so much. Valentine’s Day is miles away. But I had it. So I used it.

My Favorite Red Block.

While playing with color placement, I experimented with adding a black scrap. And then made this one. AND LOVED IT!!

Hey, that is all it needed. Something to settle your eyes on. So now, I am fast and furiously lining up strips of black, white and red. More tomorrow on them.

I think I will go ahead and make up one in shades of just black. And one in black and white. Just to see if my camera really does KNOW BEST!!

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Yesterday’s Color Wheel

Total blocks made: 85

Red 25
Black 2
Wine/Burgundy 30
Gold 20
Yellow 8

Scrappy Week – Day 2: Gold and Yellow

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But before I show you the gold and yellow blocks, time for an update on the wine and burgundy ones. I made five more for a total of 30. I also made an odd ball one (not counting it). I like it but it will certainly stand out by a mile so I won’t include it. But I do like it!!

Here’s a new line up of the WINE blocks. 25 from yesterday and the new five.

Here’s the odd ball one. I didn’t notice as I was making it. It’s an angel inside a heart.

Made these today. 20 blocks in shades of GOLD. I got bored working with the same fabrics, didn’t have much, so I will swing back to this color if I find something later that goes well with the leftover scraps.

I like them. Reminds me of the desert. This is my favorite gold one.

Next, I moved to YELLOW. Slim pickings. I guess you can tell from my scraps which colors I prefer to work with. Hardly any yellow.

I scraped together eight blocks by adding these prints from my stash. I cut a 10″ square from each.

And after all that, YUCK!! And I don’t have a favorite. I may take these apart and add a more eye catchy print. For now, it is what it is.

Well….. there you have it. 58 blocks made in two days. 4 1/2″ square each.

30 Wine/Burgundy
20 Gold
8 Yellow

I think I will work on black next. My polka dots!! Yum. I can feel the excitement already.

It’s Going To Be A Scrappy Week

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More new fabric is coming…

I have gone crazy buying new fabric on-line. Got some really great deals. What am I going to do with all of it? Well, eventually I plan to spread my wings and take the time to experiment with quilt blocks I haven’t tried before. I say eventually since I don’t want to just cut into them until I have a clear picture on the designs.

So… for now, until those ideas become clearer, I thought I would try to reduce my scraps and have a Scrappy Week.

This is what I have accumulated since the first of this year. A huge plastic bin of nothing but scraps. I like to go through the bags before I begin a new project. Sometimes I find just what I am looking for to mix and match the new fabric. It doesn’t look organized but it is. Some are sorted by color. Some bags have leftovers from completed projects. I weeded out the itsy bitsy pieces that would require magnifier glasses to sew. Tossed. In. The. Trash. Felt good letting them go.

Since my last few projects have used burgundy and wine, I started with that color. I am also using scraps purchased from eBay.

I am making 4 1/2″ square blocks. Some of the scraps were already wonky. And I purposely cut a few crooked for variety.

I love my revolving little cutting mat.

It makes getting the perfect 4 1/2″ square so much easier. Don’t have to lift and reposition. Just rotate. And I am using my Klutz glove (I had stopped using it) since I am cutting so close to my fingers. Can’t sew without fingers!!

So far, I have 25 wine/burgundy blocks completed.

These two are my favorites.

Next color? Probably purple and lavender. Have lots of them. The bag is calling out. Empty me!!

It will be fun deciding what to do with the blocks after I make my way around the color wheel.

How do you manage your scraps? What do you do with them?

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BTW, I finished my 2nd boxed mug rug set. It is just slightly different. I like the fabric box on this one better than the first. The handle stands up and doesn’t fall over. I guess it’s true. Practice makes perfect!!

Forgot To Show You My Finished Halloween Quilt

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I finished sewing on the binding two weeks ago…

But forgot to show you photos. And then today, I took a few more.

Is your house decorated for Halloween?

Boxed Mug Rug Gift Set

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The idea for this fabric box came from this site.

http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/december2010/SMSHappyHostessBox3.pdf

Of course, I changed it up a bit. Made it larger and rectangular instead of square. Also loaded up on Pellon to make it sturdier. I ironed on interfacing on top and bottom and also sewed in a piece of really heavy Pellon on the bottom.

And added a removable carrying handle. I LOVE the SnapSetter. So easy to use. A few pounds with the hammer and the snaps attach quickly and smoothly. It is one of my favorite gadgets.

The mug rugs, four of them, fit inside the box.

I made them with 2″ squares. Quilting was simple diagonal lines.

I am just about finished with a second set. Just need to tack the sides down to the fabric box and add the handle.

They were easy to make. Just time consuming. A lot of pressing. And my ironing board is in another room. Lots of walking.

I am going to make several more sets. Getting things together for my Christmas craft shows. Will make perfect gifts.

Gutermann’s Thread: Moving On Up

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First I switched to all cotton thread. But stayed with Coats and Clark.

Now I am trying Gutermann’s. It is a bit pricey but I want to see what all the fuss is about. Supposedly it has less lint when sewing. That means less dust and debris collecting in the bobbin compartment. Right now I am cleaning it out every time I load a new spool or when I finish a quilting project. Whichever comes first.

I only bought a few. Need to first see how I like them. Will let you know.

What brand of thread do you use?

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This is what I am working on now. More on it later…..