Tuesday 10 May 2016

Scraptastic Tuesday and My Scrap Vortex Quilt

Like many ( all ?) quilters I have a scrap problem. I'm one of those people who hoards even the tiniest scraps. The problem got so bad, that eventually I had to buy some storage bins for the scraps.

 
 
I  managed to sort them out into different colours, and even ironed some of the scraps, but that was as far as it went. I also have a drawer next to my cutting board where I put the scraps from my current sewing, in theory to be sorted at a later date ( usually when the drawer is so full that I can't stuff any more in ).
 


I have read about other people's organisation of scraps and am in awe. I start out with good intentions but rapidly become bored and abandon it half done.

Anyway, I felt it was about time to do something with at least some of the scraps.  I chose to make a quilt using Amanda Jean's scrap vortex method . This has the advantage that you choose scraps of the same size and build them up into slabs without making any more scraps ( a definite advantage).

 
I soon got very bored with it though which is why I've made a relatively small quilt. It is very time consuming, largely due to the fact that I mainly used what Amanda Jean calls snippets ( pieces of fabric less than 4 inches). Some of the pieces are only 1/2 inch square when sewn, which is a lot of seams.
 
 
I'm very pleased with the way it has turned out, it's truly scrappy but very bright and 'happy'. I backed it also with scraps and made the binding with the scraps from the backing.
 
 
 
The best bit for me was the quilting. I had so much fun and enjoyed every moment .I decided to improve my skills in graffiti quilting and just went for it. 
 
 
Sadly the photos aren't doing it any justice and some motifs worked better than others. I used a fabulous golden coloured Glide thread which sparkles in certain light. It was probably silly to do this on such a busy quilt but for me it was worth it.
 
Quilt Stats
Size: 52 x 62 inches
Front : made entirely from scraps
Back : Scraps of Riley Blake lime dots on white and Lu Summers Summersville Spring Garden Lime Juice.
Binding: Same as back
Wadding : Fabric Freedom 100%  cotton
Quilted with Glide in Military Gold on top, Wonderfil  Decobob in white on bottom
 
Unfortunately, this was a spontaneous make and it's not listed in my FAL Q2 list. I've decided I'm going to continue and try my hand at a few more scrap quilts if only to clear out those boxes. Though of course they just keep on filling up.
 
I'm going to donate this quilt to Siblings Together and link up with Scraptastic Tuesday.
 
 
 
 

Scraptastic Tuesday