Scrappy Quilt: Finished!

I first posted about this quilt last year when I put the top together. It made a HUGE dent in my scrap bin, which I was thankful for. 

I actually finished this quilt late last year, but am just now getting around to writing about it. It was gifted to a sweet girl for her 2nd birthday.

The back of the quilt is a large yellow gingham that my Granny had stashed. It was perfect for the back of this quilt, and added some vintage softness.

The binding was my favorite...black and white stripe. This really is the most perfect binding fabric in the whole world. It's from Hobby Lobby, and if they quit selling it, I'm in trouble.

The quilt was quilted with straight lines outlining the vertical seams, and every other horizontal seam. It has great texture without being too overdone.

The quilt is pretty large, between a twin and full size. I hope it keeps this sweet girl warm for a long time!

A Scrappy Year

This year I vowed to use up some of my scraps. And boy...did I use some SCRAPS!!! 

I didn't realize how out of control my scrap bins were. That's right....bins. Plural. I had 4 cubes of scraps, from quarter yards to tiny little strips that I swore would  be perfect for a scrap project. 

I have really put those scraps to use, making everything from clothing, to kitchen accessories, quilts, bags and more. 

Here is a look back at this year's scrap-tacular projects:

Scrappy Kitchen Accessories

Flying Geese Table Runner 

The Rainbow Quilt

Scrappy Pincushion

Scrappy Rag Rug 

Oven Mitt

Sewing Machine Cover 

Tumbler Doll Quilt 

I've also made LOTS of clothing this year using appliques as embellishment, which has used a lot of my smaller scraps. As the kids get older and start school, I know there will be a lot more appliques in my future. Goldilocks love anything with her "mom-ogram" on it, so I indulge her every chance I can. 

It has been very freeing to use up sooo many scraps this year to make things for my home and for others. I'm hoping to get back to buying some more fabrics so I can have a new stash of pretty things to make stuff with. Now that I've cleaned out so much room in my scrap bins, I now have room for more! 

Scrap Organization

This year has been the year of the scraps!! 

But in order to do anything awesome with scraps, you have to be able to SEE your scraps.

This was my former organization system. Yikes. 

It looked great on the bookshelf, because you couldn't actually see inside the bins. You saw three nicely placed bins in a row, looking neat.

LIES

Nothing was folded. Pieces were all weird shapes and sizes. Colors were mixed. It was a nightmare.

Something had to be done.

Sigh.....Ahhhhhh. Beautiful.

I dumped ALL of my large bins in my living room one night. I unfolded unwadded  each piece to look at it. Weird stringy pieces were cut off, tiny pieces were thrown out. Each large piece got refolded and placed neatly back into the large bins. The smaller pieces (fat quarter sizes and such) were then neatly folded very small, and placed in plastic bins.

I sorted them by color for function, and prettiness.

These scraps are absolutely perfect for very small projects, quilt blocks, and appliques.

Remember my Dollar Store Organization post from last year? These plastic shoeboxes were a dollar at our dollar store. They have lids and are stackable, perfect for fabric storage.

Don't let your scraps go to waste, and don't let them take over your craft room. Take back control!!

Tumbler Doll Quilt

When a sweet little Goldilocks asks for a blanket for her "friends", of course you dig right in to your fabric and start sewing!

I pulled out all of her favorite pinks and decided to try out making a Tumbler block! I made it the scientific way... measuring it out on the side of a cereal box, then cutting it out as a template. You'd be surprised how many of these fancy little "templates" I have in a drawer.

I love how well the blocks lined up.

I wanted a different quilting look, so I did some wavy lines all over in one direction.

She loves to grab it and show me all of the fabrics, then tell me what outfit they are from. Most of these fabrics were used for dresses or tops for her at one point.

Her "friends" love it. She rotates it between them so they can all stay nice and warm.

Everyone wins.

Sewing Machine Cover

It's another scrapbusting project!! All of these projects I'm making for myself are turning out the same colors...blue, gray, black, and green. I guess those are my favorites! I'm saving the pinks for Goldilocks.

 

I've moved my sewing machine to a new location in our house, and wanted it to look less "crafty" where I put it, so it needed a cover!

 

To use up as many scraps as I could, I did another patchwork project. These were some of my favorite prints from my scrap bin. I made a large rectangle of the patchwork, then added sides to make it fit over my machine.

 

I'm trying to use up bigger scraps too, so I used this funky linen for the sides. I probably should have added some interfacing to the sides to help it stand up straight, but it's doing it's job anyways.

 

Some light quilting of the squares added some texture and held it to the heavy batting on the inside. Nice and soft for my sewing machine.

 

Everything else in my house is covered in a blanket...why not my machine?

Mini-Scrapbusting

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have never owned a piece of sewing equipment that most would find essential.

 

I didn't own a pincushion.

 

Crazy...I know!!

 

So during my scrapbusting mission, I decided to make a little one and see if I liked it.

 

I grabbed 2 of my favorite prints out of my scrap bin and cut little 1 1/2" squares, then made a tiny patchwork top. A little stuffing and a few beans for weight and it was ready to go!

 

I am now IN LOVE with my pincushion. It's so nice not to reach into a little box of pins to pull out ONE. I didn't realize how much time I was wasting with my little pin "box".

(Not to mention how many times I've spilled the whole thing on the floor)

 

These are accessible, and most of all...it's cute sitting on my sewing table.

 

It didn't quite make a dent in my scrap bin, but it was needed and I love it. So it's okay.

 

Now I need some cuter pins.

More Scrapbusting for the Kitchen

My scrapbusting project list is shrinking!

 

My scrap pile is slowly being eaten away by these fun little projects.

 

After my first set of oven mitts and potholders, I got a little jealous that someone else would get to love them. So I made my own.

 

I never really use potholders, so I made a sweet little oven mitt instead. Lots of blues, blacks, and teals...my favorite!

 

The back side is one of my favorite prints from my scrap bin. It's neutral so I've used it in tons of projects already.

 

I pieced 2 1/2" squares, which finished at a tiny 2" patchwork. I wanted something interesting for the quilting, so I dialed up my wavy line on my sewing machine, and put some "waves" on my mitt. I absolutely love it.

 

 

The binding is my favorite black and white stripe, and the interior is some fun black and white linen. I don't even remember what I bought that linen for, but it works well.

 

One more project of the scrapbusting list, and one cute little kitchen accessory hanging in my kitchen.