Scrap Report Two + More on Making a Pieced Quilt Back

Like I mentioned when I checked in with Scrap Report One back in April, I kind of felt like a failure at this year's 100 Day Project, but I am excited to say that I feel like I've made up for it a bit in the last few weeks. I believe that the 100 Day Project officially ended on May 30, so here's my final report on how I've used scraps in the second half.

The potholders I made for my Making Scrappy Potholders tutorial were intentionally made from scraps - both front and back, though I did have to pull from stash to make a binding I liked.

Though much of the fabric used in Vessel was newly-purchased, I did pull yellow scraps from the scrap basket to include in both the background on the front, and on the back. 

And where I really outdid myself and finished my 100 Days of Scraps with a bang has been with the scrappy quilt project I'm currently working on. It's not quite done, but the front and back definitely qualify to be included in this scrap report.

Though I used one yard of Kona Haze from stash for the background, the rest of the front (above) is totally from scrap. I felt like a single background fabric would give some unity to the multi-colored design. Where on the back (below), anything went, and every single bit came from the scrap basket. First I made a panel of all the left over bits from the front. Then, without looking, I grabbed a handful of scraps from the scrap basket, pressed them, and sewed them together. And I did it again. There were a few stragglers from each set that made up a fourth panel. 

Honestly, that was so fun that I did it again, then went looking for larger pieces to start combining the panels together. 

Working on a design wall is perfect for constructing a quilt back this way. Note that my quilt top is still up there, so I figured out dimensions for the back as I went. Basically, I added larger scraps to my scrappy slabs one by one, pinned them up, then moved on to the next. In general, I added wider fabrics to the outside edges, knowing that after quilting, some trimming would happen. But for interest-sake, I did let some smaller scraps reach out to the edge.

I thought it might be fun - helpful even? - to see the shapes of the final pieced slabs that made up the quilt back, with the lines shown above. And yes, I did add one more vertical trip down in the right-hand bottom corner, so that's evened up a bit. This backing intentionally is much scrappier than the one I made in my Making a Pieced Quilt Back tutorial, but the process is pretty similar. But with this one, I reached my goal of pulling every little bit of fabric from the scrap basket. It remains to be seen if I can get binding from the scrap basket as well, but fingers are crossed!

Scrap Report One

Honestly, I pretty much feel like a failure at this year's 100 Day Project, where at the start, I declared my own 100 Days of Scraps. It all started on February 22, so we're roughly two-thirds of the way in, and though I've done very little in documenting my scrap usage, I have been sewing with them here and there.

I did finish the scrappy quilt I began on day one of the 100 days - Strings. And the front is truly 100% from the scrap basket. The back and binding is a mix of scrap and stash, but I still feel really good about the scrap usage in this one.

The pyramid pincushions I made for my retreat buddies were also 100% from scrap. The cute pattern is from Mira @bluebellhillcrafts.

Backgrounds of my Leaf Study bee blocks may have been from stash, but the leaves themselves were scraps, which just added to the fun.

And much of the fabric used in those Pixie Baskets was from scrap. I don't think I ever showed that these ended up on our Easter table as little party favors, filled with candy. Gotta say I loved the response from the family, especially the "do we get to take these home?" Yes, indeed. Oh, and these cute baskets are from a tutorial by Heidi @fabricmutt.

Imp wasn't quite from the scrap basket, but I did choose small pieces from my pink stash. If a piece is foldable, I often keep it with my yardage, for times such as this. So while some pieces may have been close to a quarter yard, most were much less, and all that I pulled got used up in either the front, back, or binding.

Though I originally intended to use more Essex Homespun scraps in my Pantone project, Billows, they really weren't a usable size. But they are the darkest spots you see below, so I did use a handful of them. I also used up that gold gingham, which I'd gotten from a scrap stash bundle from FabricBubb, which I counted as scrap since they were in random small-ish sizes.

Lastly, all the Maple Street Pouches, a pattern by Svetlana @sotakhandmade, were made from a mix of scrap and stash. I could have just kept on making these, I enjoyed them so much.

So, definitely not the 100 Days of Scraps I anticipated. And truth is, there are still several weeks left. So I'll try to at least keep squeezing them in as I can. 

The End of the 100 Day Project

Well, it's time to wrap up The 100 Day Project! Using my scraps has been my primary focus. And although I still have plenty left, I'm happy with how many have been used. Midway through the 100 days, I posted a report, where the project count at that time was 1 mini quilt, 2 quilts, 7 potholders or oven mitts, and 3 bee blocks.

For the last half of the 100 days, I've also been able to create 2 giving blocks for Seattle MQG....

Another mini quilt, Afterthought, with scraps from my Pantone challenge quilt, Verve....

Another batch of quilted bookmarks to share in our Little Free Library (12 in total)....

AND a quilt I've been working on off and on since early April, made with scrappy blocks, Hourglass.

Wow. That felt like a lot all through the 100 days. Though I'm debating what scrappy project I want to start next, while still moving on ahead to other non-scrappy projects. Hoping I can keep up at least a little more use of the scraps during the summer months. We'll see!

Hourglass

Begun on April 4 of this year as part of my 100 Days of Scraps, the very scrappy hourglass quilt is complete, and what perfect timing, as the 100 Day Project ends today! Approximately 58" x 60", 100% of the quilt front and binding are literally, from the scrap basket, and about 2/3 of the back, as I included some bits of solid fabric there to break things up a bit. 

I got the idea of the scrappy hourglass blocks from Leah @colorfulartgirl. I loved her version, and immediately thought something similar would be a great spring scrap project, and I wasn't wrong. In fact, I got carried away and still have nearly 30 blocks set aside for another quilt or whatever.

Anyway, I made my hourglass blocks in a variety of sizes, and generally added more rounds than Leah. I just enjoyed making each block, and let them become whatever they seemed to want to be. When it came time to puzzle the blocks together, I added mostly solid scraps as filler. It all was a little tricky, but not too bad. I love the scattered look.

The quilt back was pieced with three of my extra blocks, other printed scraps and stash finds, as well as a few solid fabrics. Gotta say, it grew on me as I sat and bound the quilt.

For quilting, I did a 2" grid using Aurifil 50wt 2843 [palm leaf], a very light green that I also used for much of the piecing. I like how it's pretty subtle on a quilt that contains so many varied colors.

My binding choice may not have been the most inspired, but I had the perfect lengths of this Denyse Schmidt @dsquilts Flea Market Fancy print in the scrap basket, that I couldn't resist. And why not for this very scrappy quilt? It was that or piecing a bunch of scraps together, which didn't seem as fun at this point. Plus I love that little flower dot print.

Admittedly, at times, this felt like the quilt that would never end, and the crazy scrappiness is definitely an acquired taste. But oh, I used up a lot of scraps in it, and that feels really, really good. It's a sweet lap-sized quilt, which feels pretty perfect.

Midway Through The 100 Day Project

Yes, I'm a little late reporting in at the half-way point of The 100 Day Project, but considering I've missed a handful of days, it's about half-way for me. So here's a quick round-up of projects I've used scraps in!

• Adjunct - a mini (18" x 22") quilt made from the scraps The BOM quilt

• A bunch of potholders and oven mitts - all gifted

• Whisper - a 30" x 40" quilt made from my neutral scraps (backing pulled from stash)

• Blocks for my Bee Sewcial Albersesque prompt

• Brown Crush - a 41" square quilt made primarily from scraps (Kona Crush background and several fabrics for the backing from stash)

• scrappy hourglass blocks - a work in progress, at this point entirely pieced from the scrap basket; currently have 32 blocks pieced

So that feels like quite a bit! I've kind of been jumping around, project-wise, but that's working for me. The scrap basket is still very full, but let's see what else I can come up with in the next 50 days!

Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts linky party!

Bombazine and More

With my own 100 Day Project being all about using scraps, I settled in to make several gifts, namely Bombazine oven mitts and potholders.

A friend had gifted me with her generous selection of embroidery thread which she could no longer use, and obviously a hand-made thank you gift was necessary. I'd been wanting to try the Bombazine Mitt from Bombazine for a while, and that with a coordinating potholder seemed perfect.

The mitt came first, pieced with various scraps, enhanced with a bit of hand-stitching using some of the floss I'd been gifted, and finished with a leather 'hanger.'

Then came the mitt, 8" square-ish, with the two rounded edges I'd seen Hannah @verdigrissewing do (and copied) last year.

Then mom, who had been a recipient of the great potholder giveaway last spring, randomly asked for another set - scrappy like the first, but larger. Per her request, the new set was made 10" square, equally handy as potholders or trivets. 

Though the fronts of all these projects were straight from the scrap basket, the backs were sometimes from stash - still trying to use the smaller pieces that linger there.

Then I decided my brother might enjoy a Bombazine Mitt to use with the scrappy potholders he'd already gotten. A simple uneven grid was a fun way to quilt his mitt.

And last of this bunch, was a pair of potholders for my daughter, Rachel @snippetsofsweetness.... just because. I made them 8" like the originals, happy to have found at least a few scraps to include that I knew were her old favorites.

So I felt like a change of pace after all those, and you'll be surprised (I think) to see what I started pulling from the scrap basket next....

Adjunct

So I was cleaning up after my recent quilt finish, and really didn't want to add the remaining scraps to the already overflowing scrap basket. Besides, they'd come from there to create The Bom, so why go back, right? 

The obvious thing was to sit down and start sewing them together. So I did, and then I sorted the random blocks by size and began piecing those together. Can't say I had high hopes for the result, but pure fabric play was the name of the game. And it felt good.

The design evolved, plain and simple. I was committed to just working with the leftovers and see where they took me. And at one point, I really thought I was done, even though the piece was just 15" x 18". But as my friend Lousie @imfeelincrafty said when she saw the photo, "I see more scraps! 😉" And she wasn't wrong.

So I continued on for a bit. With just a handful of small cream and berry scraps left, it truly felt done.

For the backing, I pulled a fat-quarter from stash, and even though it was about the size of the quilt top, I made it work. 

I quilted an odd little grid with three Aurifil 50wt colors - 2535 [Magenta], 2810 [Turquoise], and 4030 [Plum]. Deciding when and where to quilt with them added to the enjoyment.

When it came to binding, I very nearly used a pretty perfect stripe from stash, but I talked myself out of it. I did reach back into the scrap basket though, to find pieces that would work and be fun, since my remaining project scraps weren't enough. Perfect? Maybe not, but I like them well enough, and they definitely add to the spirit of the piece.

At 18" x 22", who knows how this little quilt will be used, but it's my first scrap finish for my 100 Day Project (aka 100 Days of Scraps), and I already have a few small piles of scraps for the next couple of projects. That's win enough for me.