Feelin' Scrappy!

Last year I bought a magazine because of the scrappy "plus" quilt on its cover. There is something appealing about scrap quilts, and I have plenty of bits and pieces to use up.

The magazine sat in a pile of project ideas intended for "when I have time".
(Ha! I know...silly me)

Joining the Library Project Quilt Along kicked me into gear on this one.
(See my other picks for the LPQA here)



One column down...twenty-five to go!
Once I discovered the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge, I knew I had to use violet scraps for this quilt!


To make life easier, my scraps are sorted by colour. (If you know me you're thinking, "Of course they are...Of CouRSe".)

Where do all these scraps come from, anyway???
I've always loved the orange/purple/green triad (I used it in my "Sunflowers" wall quilt, here), so dug in and started cutting. I hoped there would be enough fabric in those colours to make a generous lap quilt.

My luck held and only one dark, purpley blue had to be added when I needed more "darks".

Half way there!
Sort of.

Many of my scraps are excess backing fabrics cut away after quilting.

Some are fat quarters with too many nibbles out of them to be considered yardage any more.

Some are "uglies" (I must have) purchased (while drunk), or received in swaps, that wouldn't see the light of day if they didn't make it into a scrap quilt!

Scared of messing up the layout if I tried anything fancy, I've been sewing one column at a time. After a few columns I noticed a giant "hairball" growing in my garbage can.

That's a lot of thread!
I wised up and started using a scrap to start and finish each seam. This saves a ton of thread, and makes the whole process a little quicker. No more snipping tails into the garbage with every. single. seam.

Smart alternative.
Better late than never!
The squares are cut at 2 1/2 inches. The finished quilt will be approximately 52 x 68 inches.

Hooking up with Sew Fresh Quilts, for Let's Bee Social, Freshly Pieced, for WIP Wednesday, and My Quilt Infatuation, for Needle and Thread Thursday.

Try, Learn, Grow!

Carole

Comments are welcome. Thanks so much for looking around!

Comments

  1. Valspierssews13 February 2014 at 02:03

    Great scrap quilt. I love the violets and purples. It looks like a bog job though.
    valspierssews

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    1. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame13 February 2014 at 22:10

      Thanks Val, it is a bit of a snooze to sew all the squares together, but every time I finish a column I like the result so much that it spurs me on to the next!

      Delete
  2. Valspierssews13 February 2014 at 02:05

    Sorry about the 'bog job'. I meant big job :D

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  3. Lorna McMahon13 February 2014 at 03:42

    This is great to see your progress on this beautiful plus quilt. I use the little scrap to start and end while stitching, too! Seeing the rows coming together is such a delight! I really appreciated your visit and lovely compliments you left on my blog, Carole. Did you know you are a no reply commenter? Here is a great way to fix that, if you are interested. http://www.venustrappedinmars.com/2013/06/google-ultimate-no-reply-blogger.html

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    1. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame13 February 2014 at 22:14

      Thanks Lorna, I'll try and figure out the "no reply" thing. I'm glad you came over to let me know. You are most welcome for the compliments - they were well deserved.

      Delete
  4. Shannon13 February 2014 at 07:35

    Great quilt! I also use a leader/ender. It IS a wonderful idea. It sure is nice to use up those scraps, good job.

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  5. Ladyquiltsalot13 February 2014 at 08:48

    Starting to look great Carole.
    To answer you question, my face a day is still going, some days they are awesome, so days not so much but I think I may be finding my own style. My knitting and my sketch book always go on holidays with me. Whether they get touched or not is another story!
    Where did you find the WIP blog button?

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    1. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame15 February 2014 at 21:47

      Thanks, Margaret. I grabbed the image and added the link myself because I couldn't find a button, and then later Brandt changed it to html.

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  6. Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O)13 February 2014 at 11:27

    Totally with you on the leader-ender idea saving so much time and thread. If I cut the machine thread it seems to pull itself out of the needle when I start up again and that's so incredibly frustrating. I keep a small pile of scraps right on the machine so there's always one to use when I reach the end of the sewing row.

    I love your quilt. Scrappy is by far my favorite of all the styles of creating. I don't buy lines of fabric only what I find visually appealing. Maybe someday I'll settle enough to use a single line for a piece but that time is not now.

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    1. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame15 February 2014 at 21:51

      Thanks, Lynda. Sometimes it's nice to have everything coordinated, but I enjoy mixing things up, too. No rules!

      Delete
  7. Jasmine13 February 2014 at 15:07

    I love all of your purples in this quilt. I also use a scrap like that to start and stop. All. The. Time. I would go nuts with leaders and enders, because I usually do one project at a time.

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    1. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame15 February 2014 at 21:55

      Thanks! I usually have several projects that I rotate through, but in this case my design wall is blocking my fabric cupboard so I can't do anything else until I get this top together. I guess that's one way to focus!

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  8. Shauna14 February 2014 at 09:36

    love love love love those colors, I'm a purple girl and those oranges and greens really make the purple pop, great job

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    1. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame15 February 2014 at 21:57

      Sometimes I wonder if others see the same things I see in a quilt, so it's great to have feedback. Thanks for your lovely comment!

      Delete
  9. dq14 February 2014 at 20:42

    I'm a scrap happy lover too! Fun quilt!

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  10. Lisa in Port Hope15 February 2014 at 17:48

    How wonderful to make a gorgeous huge quilt from scraps!

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    1. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame15 February 2014 at 22:01

      Thanks! It's been a lot of sewing, but I love the result.

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  11. Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation16 February 2014 at 20:25

    this is a gorgeous plus quilt, and a great use for those scraps that we all seem to have too much of!

    Thank you so much for sharing this at Needle and Thread Thursday!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  12. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame19 February 2014 at 01:07

    Thank you, Kelly. Your kind words have made my day!

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  13. Elita@Busy Needle Quilting19 February 2014 at 03:08

    That is coming along so well! I'm a new follower so looking forward to seeing how it turns out. My scraps are also sorted by colour. I'm beginning to make a file on leader/ender scrap type quilt patterns to use at my retreat in October. I love the Plus quilts & hope I'll get around to one someday too. Great job!

    http://www.busyneedle.ch

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    1. Carole @ Fresh off the Frame24 February 2014 at 19:16

      Thank you, Elita!
      I Googled "leader/ender quilt" and of course Quiltville popped up immediately. You may already have explored this, but in case you haven't, here is the link to Bonnie's post describing her process: http://quiltville.com/leadersenders.shtml

      Delete

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