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| The string bag in June |
That string bag was calling to me. I was thinking about goal number three on my July
list which was to sew strings from the 6 1/2 inch and 4 1/2 inch string bags. I was curious as to what I would find in Martha's scrap bag.
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| The pile of fabrics to sort |
To start, I pulled about five inches from the bag of scraps to the sorting table. Any aqua fabrics when into the Rainbow Scrap Challenge strings. There were a few of those.
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| Partial blocks, block parts, chunks of fabric |
The pile contained partial blocks, blocks, squares, rectangles, triangles, crumb triangles, strips and strings! There were even a few pieces of similar fabric that might have been cut for a border for a small wall hanging. I started a bag for triangles and another for floral fabric squares. The black fabrics went into my Scrap Challenge project bin. The chunks went into my chunk drawers.
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| Strings, strips, squares and a couple heart blocks |
I sorted strips, squares and strings. I put the strips and squares into my scrap saving system. The strings went into my 6 1/2, 4 1/2, 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 inch bags.
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| Progress in July--reduced by almost half |
Progress at the end of the sorting session was great. Maybe after one more sorting session, I will empty the bag! While I applaud Chantal (
At the Corner of Scrap and Quilts) for her ability to make blocks immediately from the scraps, I contented myself to stitch the strings. My plan was to stitch four strips of strings in all the sizes but the 2 1/2 inch size. I'll save that stitching for when my youngest granddaughter is visiting.
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6 1/2 inch strings
I started piecing the 6 1/2 inch strips to the paper foundation. I pieced four strips for a total of 88 inches. Of course, I had strings left to save for another sew day! The photo below contains all the 5 1/2 inch strips I have pieced so far!
I pieced the 4 1/2 inch strips next. I have another 88 inches of fabric!
I moved on to the 3 1/2 inch strips. Yep. . .another 88 inches of fabric!
I sew from the largest to the smallest because sometimes, there are bits left that will work in a smaller unit. Sometimes, I've miscalculated the correct size strip. This way, I make better use of my strip sewing time! The string bags are manageable so that means that they are ready to receive more strings as I make them.
I believe I'm close to having made enough "fabric" for string borders for a project!
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11 comments:
I'm so impressed, both with your sorting and your stitching! I transferred my strings into another container on Friday and noticed how poorly I had sorted them. I have them loosely into 3 bins - red/yellow/pink, blues/greens, and lights. They need to be sorted very badly because when I sew string blocks, there is a huge mess and I just jam everything back in when I'm done!
Hope you had a great 4th!
As I was reading your post I kept thinking that would make fantastic borders! We were thinking alike.
Thanks, Terry for the shout-out. (I'm too much of an ADHD person to take the time to sort out that bag, lol.) But you did a great job at reducing the size of your bag. Do you stay stitch the sides of the string rectangles so they don't unravel ? Also, I think you meant to say the photo shows the progress done in June. Looking forward to seeing what else will come out of that bag. Enjoy! ;^)
Sorting out scrap bags can be exhilarating and overwhelming at the same time, so way to go, Terry! I love what you're doing with the different widths of strings. It's like a string block and border savings account! What kind of foundation are you sewing these on?
Your organized and stitched strings look so clean and appealing! Great job!!
You have a great process for sorting and storing strings, Terry. I love that you have ready-made string borders. That will help move a project along. Like Diann, I'd like to know what you use for foundation when sewing such long strips?
Great string strips you've finished:))) Sorting takes so much time--I tend to sort everything by dumping it all out on my dining table and doing it exclusively for however long it takes--usually at least a week!!! But then when I work from the color coded baggies everything somehow (I wonder how??hahaha) gets all messed up again...and so it goes..
.Congrats on getting a good start. I will be joining you in sorting--my bags --actually more rainbow than color coded now-- are out on the table awaiting me...[my darling DH has the patience of a saint for all the bits and threads that end up all over the house!! ]
Hugs, Julierose
I like your storage system. And those pieces of fabric will compliment any project! How fun!
Wow you are making good use of the strings. A string pieced border would be delightful. I do need to pick out a bag of strings and start a project myself. Have a blessed day. Hugs.
Wow - that is impressive!! and the strings look sso great!
It's wonderful that you have so many strings! I'm envious because strips and strings are the fewest shapes among my scraps. You've done well to create so many strip-pieced lengths. What a great quilt top they'll sew into! Our Central Florida MQG program on Saturday was about ways - methods, designs, and patterns - appropriate for making modern quilts with scraps. I came away feeling overwhelmed by all the great options. Now I'm in the mood to sew scraps myself! I think I'll start with half-square triangles. Keep enjoying using your scraps so fabulously!
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