The Circle Will Be Unbroken.

I was intending on writing this post a few weeks ago. You know, before my mystery boxes of scraps and fabric was even a thought. So I have some before pictures to share. But prior to this year, all of my fabric fit in the purple tote on the bottom. Ok, that's not completely true. Most of my fabric fit into the purple tote. But it was stuffed to the brim and searching through it involved making a large mess on the floor. And then having to figure out how to fit it all back in so the lid would close. But if I'm being honest with myself, there were also bags of fabric that I had set aside for projects that I don't remember what they were. I just liked how they went together. I imagine they were like that because I couldn't fit them in my purple tote.

I didn't start out wanting a large stash. I still don't, not really. That's why I had my "all fabric must fit in one tote" rule. But then my mom sent me a stuffed box of fabric for Christmas that she pulled out of her fabric storage, and I do have more than her, it's been a while since I saw how big her tote was. But some of her fabrics were given to her by other people cleaning out their fabric. It's a circle, we buy fabric, we don't use it, and we give it to someone else. And that someone else is usually grateful for it and finds a use for it. Sometimes fabric has to go through a few people before it finds where it belongs. 

So I went through my stash and did pass along a few fabrics, though there wasn't much that I knew I would never use. But I broke down and realized that I finally needed to get a second tote so that I could see what I had. But in trying to organize it by color, and folded so that I could see all of what I had, it wouldn't fit nicely. I would have yellow in a basket stacked on top of other yellows and purple was divided between both totes and it wasn't working. So I sighed in defeat and bought the third tote. And you know what? Since doing that in January, I have actually pulled fabric out of the totes and used it. And it didn't take that long either! And putting fabric away is just as easy. I even emptied out all the bags that I had set aside because I don't remember what they were for and I'm sure either the project will come back to me or I'll find another use for it. 

But those totes just have the large pieces of fabric, so basically anything over a quarter yard. The rest I consider scraps and has it's own storage system. Which from the beginning, my scraps did not have to fit into the tote. And at first, they all just fit in the bin on the bottom right. Until they didn't. And I realized that while I loved scrappy quilts, I never actually used my scraps. Instead I would cut strips off of larger pieces of fabric and the extras went into the bin to die. So I started researching scrap management systems and came across the Quiltville site. Which is probably where my love of her quilts and patterns began. 

But then I did the scary thing. I started pressing and cutting my scraps. And I definitely felt the anxiety at first of "but what if I want to use this for something else?" but I argued with myself by saying I wasn't using it before, what difference will it make if I cut it up and still don't use it. And you know what happened? I do use my scraps now. I still cut into larger pieces of fabric, but when making a scrappy quilt, I definitely start with the scraps. 

Which, as my large fabric pieces accumulated, so did my scraps. And I started with plastic shoe boxes from the dollar store, but I think I will slowly upgrade those into the larger boxes. Not solely because I need more space, but because the lids don't stay on very well and it's a little nerve wracking when they get bumped. Because I have knocked it over and had to put everything back in the boxes. 

But I've also come to the conclusion that there are sizes that I prefer. Bricks? Don't really use them. I'm going to need to find a pattern to use them up, because I've stopped cutting them since I don't use them. 3" squares? Yeah, they don't play nicely with anything. I might just need to sew them all together randomly and make a patchwork quilt to donate. But strips? Those I use all the time. 

Which brings me to why I started talking about scraps and fabric storage. The two beautiful cardboard boxes that arrived at my door on Tuesday just after I got to work. A wonderful quilter was getting rid of some of her scraps and asked if anyone was interested. She was moving soon and needed to downsize what she had. Of course I was interested! And after a little back and forth of her asking what kinds of fabrics I liked and me saying I can use everything, she said she would start throwing some scraps in a box. Then she asked if I would be willing to pay for shipping because she got a little carried away and went through her stash in general. 

I knew from our conversation that I would be receiving quite a bit of fabric based on the sizes and weight of the boxes, but she also said she was including a kit, with backing, because she didn't think she would ever get around to finishing it. As you can imagine, work felt excruciatingly slow on Tuesday. 

And I might have stayed up a little too late on Tuesday as I began pulling fabric out of the boxes. Honestly, there was a small pile of fabric that I would consider scraps, but quite a bit that I ended up mixing into my large bins of fabric. And there wasn't just one kit, but three kits that she included. One of which wasn't even started! Oh, my fingers are itching to play. But I do need to finish some of my projects first. Just a little extra motivation to keep moving with them.

Some of the fabric will be more of a challenge and take me outside my comfort zone because the prints are large. But that's OK, sometimes we need to challenge ourselves or we need a quick quilt to make. There were a lot of oranges and reds/pinks which is actually great because I have next to no orange fabric. And you know what else? I don't need to buy any more totes to store the fabric!

But I may need to buy one to store all the kits and orphan blocks as well as my started projects. Because this box has all the orphan blocks/kits in it and I can't close the box. 

I'll be honest, I don't know which project I'll want to start first. While this is all technically scraps, it's all from the same fabric line. And there are a few squares with white triangles sewn to the corners. While I probably should mix this into my scraps, I'm thinking I want to see if I can make a small toddler quilt with them first. My first thought was something with butterflies and flowers. And it's been so cloudy lately that I can't seem to get a good picture, but the fabrics are all so bright and happy.

I would say there is probably about a little less than half of a jelly roll here with a few HSTs and four patches. Maybe I need to make another patriotic wall hanging? I like the one I have, but a second one to switch it up halfway through the summer would be nice. 

I'm not sure what I'll do with these, there are six blocks of each colorway and the pattern, The Gretchen Quilt, with it, but I might turn them into two baby donation quilts and use some of the extra fabric that was sent with them. They might not be colors I would put together, but I'm sure they are for someone. 

This one I am really excited to try. Pattern is The Mod Quilt, and I remember seeing a post or two from people testing the pattern and I liked it then. I'll need to purchase the ruler to make the blocks, but there are worse things to need to buy. Like rotary blades. No one likes buying them, but we really do need them. There is plenty of fabric to go with the eleven blocks she made. I've yet to try curved piecing, but for this striking quilt, I'm willing to give it a try!

Then there are the actual kits. This one is Paperwhites by Shelley Cavana and it hasn't even been started! On one hand, I would love to make it as is, but on the other hand, quilts with all solids aren't something I gravitate towards. And that big cut of grey yardage could be used on the back of something else. I'll probably let this one sit for a bit while I decide it's fate. 

The next proper kit is Winged Ruby Rue by Monique Jacobs. This one says Christmas to me for some reason, even though the fabrics aren't Christmasy at all and I can see me adding some red work embroidery to the big snowballed blocks. This one had backing with it too! I'm going to need to ask for batting for my birthday this year.

And this one might be my absolute favorite of everything that arrived. She started the block of the month pattern and completed the first four months and started cutting month five and stopped there. I have all the patterns and all the fabric for the top. I'll need to buy a batik for the backing and binding, but this pattern is gorgeous. And huge! It finishes at 107" square which has me debating if I leave off a border because I only have a queen sized bed. And while it means I wouldn't need to worry about anyone stealing the blankets, it will be quite long. Maybe I'll leave off the outer top and bottom border so it's not quite as obnoxious on my bed? Either way, I'm going to have a lot of fun making this one. 

But now I have more scraps that need to be cut and sorted into bins, the large pieces have already been mixed in to my totes, and if I'm being honest with myself, the scraps will probably sit for a few weeks at the minimum because I'm tired of cutting up scraps and want to sew something already! I'm off to play with some fabric now.

Happy Quilting!