Hello and happy Friday…and happy February! I’ve just returned home from a wonderful three days at a retreat in Cedar City, Utah where I was able to give a trunk show about my quilting journey and teach two classes. I had such a good time meeting with so many quilters, catching up with friends, and making new friends. Quilters are the best! Today I’m sharing the Sew Your Stash 2019 | 5 post with more tips for getting things sewn.
Sew Your Stash 2019 | 5
First of all, thank you so much for all of the great comments on last week’s post. It seemed like a lot of readers really liked the “Double Quilting” idea. It really is one of my favorite ways to use stash fabrics! This week I’m going to focus on some good ideas for making scrap quilts. It was fun to see how many of the quilters in my classes this week were making quilts from their stash. They were combining new and older fabric collections and making some beautiful quilts!
1. Start with a Pre-Cut and Add Fabrics from Your Stash.
Several students in my classes this week started with fat quarters, layer cakes or charm squares and then added other fabrics into the mix for their projects. Some of them combined a variety of collections from one designer, while others mixed collections by a few designers. Either way, the result was a scrappy look–and a good use of stash fabrics on hand!
2. Start with a Color or Holiday to Use a Variety of Stash Fabrics.
Another idea is to plan a quilt or project around a certain color scheme, pulling fabrics from your stash (and supplementing as needed with new ones) to get a great mix. This can be a great way to evaluate your fabrics on hand and see if there are any color ways you have an abundance of (or a scarcity of). You could also plan a holiday quilt if you have a large collection of holiday fabrics just sitting around.
3. Spend a Little Time Preparing Scraps for Sewing
Simple patchwork is one of the most simple ways to use up stash fabrics. But it’s much easier to sew them if you spend a little time each week doing some cutting. For a simple holiday quilt, spend some time cutting fabrics into same-size squares. Or, cut 2 ½″ strips from all of your left-overs from one designer or a group of collections that coordinate. If you have bins or containers of strips or squares, you’ll be much more likely to use those pieces in simple quilts.
A Few More Ideas
- Don’t forget about background fabrics. Here is a post with some ideas on those fabrics.
- Also, keep left-over pieces of a background fabric you use often together in a box or bin (see mine here).
- Find joy in the journey…all of these things don’t have to happen in a day or a week, month or year. Count those little bits of progress as success. For more on enjoying the journey, you might enjoy this post on “Why I Quilt.”
- You can find all of the other Sew Your Stash posts in this series here.
Finally…I’m still looking for quilting tip submissions (with a photo if you have one) for our February Minis and More post. (I’ll be posting that next week since I’ve been out of town). Just email with anything you’d like to include by February 2, 2019.
I hope you enjoyed the Sew Your Stash 2019 | 5 post. Thanks so much for stopping by…happy quilting!
gailss1 says
Another great post and another lesson learned. Guess I forgot the info you posted about stripping the left-over background pieces we use a lot so we could save time …..had several smaller width of fabric pieces stuffed in drawer and pulled out and just cut into strips. Now I am organized ;)))
Thanks Sherri
Ann says
Just love getting your blog daily. Only bummer is that I need to sleep at night and have busy days or I’d love to be at my machine 24/7. Don’t know how you get it all done. Can I just be a fly on the wall and watch you create and sew for a week. You’re color choices, blocks, and accuracy inspire me.
Brenda says
I’ve taken your advice on organizing my sewing room…..Which led to the wardrobe that holds ALL my fabric. I think there’s going to be a lot of stash sewing this year! Thank you for all the ideas!
Melissa Reynolds says
Love these posts!! A friend just gave me a huge bin of fabric scraps (as if I needed anymore!) I washed all of them and just finished sorting and ironing the whole thing. What fun! Put my Accuquilt on my ironing board and cut all kinds of usable pieces. I found the cutest frog print so raided my stash for complementary fabrics and finishes a 40” crib quilt last night. Yahoo!
Hildy says
I love your ‘Sew your Stash’ posts! I recently ‘refound’ a beautiful FQ in my stash (totally forgot I had it … please tell me I’m not the only one) and now it aside to find the right pattern and perhaps some more fabrics for it.
Elizabeth E. says
Fun to get a closer look at your new fabric line–hope it does well and gives people the creative tools they need to make their own quilts. Glad you had such a great time at your retreat, and that Sunshine Quilt is just terrific! Happy Valentine’s Day Month, to you, Sherri!
Sandy K says
Hi Sherri, my question is about cutting squares larger then called for to make 1/2 square triangles. You add an inch to what is called for, in doing this if I am going by the pattern should I be buying more fabric then they call for?
Deb F says
I love the low volume prints,, and this is the only think my stash is lacking, but seem to have trouble finding them. Suggestions?
Susan & Carrie says
Hi Sherri, I just got home to California from the Cedar City Retreat. Your Trunk Show and Be My Neighbor class were great. Thanks for sharing your talent and wonderful ideas with us.
sherri McConnell says
Oh, thank you so much! I so enjoyed getting to sew with you both! Thank you!