Scrap quilts

Several people have asked me whether I've decided what I'm going to make next with my scraps. That's a tough one. There are so many, many scrap quilts I want to make. I need to get back to my string quilt before it becomes a true UFO, and my string tote is overflowing. My drawers of strips are overflowing also, so I want to start working with them. And I want to try making some Mile-A-Minute blocks. And that's just a start. Since scrap quilts are my favorites I've been collecting books of scrap quilts since I first started quilting. These books are some of my favorites to take to bed with me for quilty reading in the evening (Maybe that's why I have trouble going to sleep - I keep quilting in my head!). A couple of my favorite books are Quick and Easy Scrap Quilts by Leisure Arts and American Country Scrap Quilts by Fons and Porter. (I've linked the titles to copies of the books for sale on www.half.com.) I've been drooling over quilts in these books for years. Tonight I scanned some of the quilts I like the best - all are on my "must make someday" list. I thought you might enjoy seeing them . The scraps I'm cutting are perfect for any of these quilts. The piecing is straight forward and simple, and all blocks can be drafted easily on graph paper or in a quilting software program. They are also easily resized. The hardest thing is choosing which one to do first! I'm leaning towards "Flock of Geese Medallion". I guess I'm not yet tired of working with half square triangle squares!

From the top of the post down they are "Churn Dash", "Flock of Geese Medallion", "Four Patch Star", "Kansas Troubles", "Nine Patch", "Scrappy Stars", and Jewel Box.

That's enough to keep me busy for a few years, don't you think?

Some of you have also asked me about the sizes and shapes I'm cutting all my scraps. I'll summarize that for you here. I've decided on these because they fit all the patterns I want to do. Squares 5", 4.5", 3.5", 2.5" and 2". Bricks 3.5"x 6.5", 2.5"x 4.5", 2"x 3.5", and 1.5"x 2.5". Strips 1.5" wide, 2" wide, 2.5" wide and 3.5" wide. Half square triangle squares 1.5", 2.5", 3.5" and 4.5". I also cut half square triangles from oddly shaped scraps (appliquérs have a lot of those) that will match squares of the following sizes: 2.5", 3.5" and 4.5". I have separate totes or drawers for most all of these. I also have a tote for strings and another tote for "crumbs'. I can't stand throwing away anything that's about 1" square or larger. I know many people don't save such small scraps, and that's fine for them. This is just what works for me.

It's getting very late, and my alarm will ring early tomorrow. Seems like pictures I scan always take way longer to upload than camera pictures. My scanner must be set to scan large. Not sure how to change that - I don't think we ever got a book with it as it was the floor model.

All the quilt pictures will enlarge quite a bit if you click on them. I just tried it, and noticed that I scanned almost all of them upside down. Oh well, with these quilts it really doesn't make any difference!