Monday, January 4, 2021

50 Days of Scraps

To the best of my knowledge, Cassandra/The (not so) Dramatic Life is the master of 100 day projects, with at least 4 to her credit. So when she invited a bunch of us to join her latest one as a countdown to QuiltCon a couple of months ago, I was intrigued, but wasn't sure I was up for it. Fast forward to last week, when she posted that it was now just 50 days until QuiltCon, and I impulsively jumped on board. I basically glanced around my studio, and within moments was posting I'd join in by doing my own 50 days of scraps. And so it began.

At the time, I was responding to Melanie/@mellmeyer's question, "Do you even have older UFOs that you totally squished in the back of the closet?" Fact was, I did not, but I DID have a handful of discarded blocks from the Candy Land quilt I made several years ago. And I was debating what to do with them, knowing that I should deal with them now or never. 

I posed some options on Instagtam, and boy did I get some opinions. 

There were lots of clever ideas, though I really didn't want to spend a whole lot more time on them. What I ended up doing was sewing the blocks into four-patches, trimming them wonky, and then sewing all 36 blocks together as the 'back' of something yet to come. 


That decision alone was oh-so liberating, and left me free to pursue a 'front' that I found much more engaging than the tumblers. 

So stay tuned for the rest of the story, as they say. And know that my scraps are still dumped in a pile on my studio floor, and I'm committing at least a few minutes a day to them. Hopefully I can keep it up!

Check out #quiltingthecountdown and #aqt50daysofscraps to see more.

8 comments:

  1. I know I love your "back" more than you might, haha. so a two sided quilt it is in my mind. can't wait to see what else you come up with with the scraps

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  2. I am glad you found a way to use them that fits you. xo Melanie

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  3. Love what you did with these block to use them up.

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  4. Great four patch tumblers, pieced on the fly!
    And more excitement to come, this should sharpen your improv skills max!

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  5. I was just thinking about the 100 day project and wondering when it starts for 2021...not sure if I will do it again, I just organized my UFO's- both hand and machine, and feel like this is the year of finishes. Decisions decisions...

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  6. I love this just how it is. Really fun use of the scraps.
    Hope you have fun working through your 50 Day challenge.

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  7. I have too many WIPS (probably 6) for my liking. Even though none are very old I want them cleared. With the NY holiday, I started with the one closest to completion and wrapped it up this weekend. Another one is basted and ready to quilt next weekend. Another one is to the sashing stage. Wow! It feels great. I'm sure you're thrilled to have a back ready for a future project. Piecing backings can be a pain.

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  8. Scraps... they're either a quiltmaker's delight or bane! Delightful to use up in a quilt, but a bane because they never seem to go away. I am (re)discovering this myself, as I am working on a Central Florida MQG scrap challenge. It's especially tough to make scraps look modern, in my opinion. But as always, you have already done that well. Love what you've turned these scraps into!

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