March 2020 Strips Report

Probably most of you reading here know that I’ve been cutting up long neglected bags of scraps into strips. I normally cut them into 1.5”, 2”, and 2.5” strips.

If I am making another quilt and need more strips of a different size or odd shaped pieces, well, then I go through my scraps that are not yet cut and cut them into what I need. However, at the time, I simply have too many uncut bags of scraps to just “leave them until I need them”! I guess what I’m trying to say is - what works for me may not at all work for you. I do find this method helpful to my productivity later.

The last year I did this was 2017, I believe. Then I started my Upcycled Blues project. Now I’m doing it again - with simply “gobs” of scraps to trim down into these pieces— which then are more usable and less overwhelming for me to use.

During March I did go through the room where these scraps are primarily stored and more or less “organized what I need to cut up”. That helped. I found about 6 large (as in 30 gallon size) bags of fabric pieces to cut up. Plus, several smaller bags (grocery store size plastic bags) of unsorted and just “thrown together” pieces to go through.

As much as it is a lot to see what I have, it is better to know than not to know. At least now I can tackle my “mess”.

Why should I be surprised anyway?

When I make charity quilts 120 at a time, just the cut offs from the backings create a couple of these large bags full! I think I should be amazed I don’t have more!

Actually looking at these bags encourages me a little bit. Just a little. Maybe I can finish before the end of the year. I tend to plod along on a project, and then when I can kind of “smell the finish”, I drop everything else and just finish it. I may end up doing that - but I’m certainly not at the “smell the finish” part. So, for now, I’ll just plod along.

Here are a few pictures of some cutting from this past week. If I can get by without ironing my fabric first, I do. But lately, I’ve been dealing with some particularly wrinkled fabric, so I’ve been needing to iron it first, before trimming.

First I place the strips on the mat. This side is in cm

I smooth it out as much as possible and place the ruler on it.

I place several pieces on top of each other if they are at all the same size.

I place the ruler on top of them to smooth them out. Press down and decide which number to cut on. Then I start cutting from the right and move left. This keeps the fabric compressed with the ruler as I cut.

Finished cuts. There are 2 - 2” cuts here, plus some strings and then some tiny pieces which will be kindling.

Here you can see the leftovers. To the right of the spot are my 3 buckets. My bags for kindling and donation are on the left which you can’t see.

Again. Another layout. I did this an hour at a time. This seems to be a happy medium. I can stay pretty focused for an hour without issues.

I think this group of kindling is actually pretty. If I were a person who actually “makes fabric” as I’ve seen on You Tube, I’d have plenty to work with. However, I do not do it. If you live here in Poland and want some of these pieces, let me know. I can save them for you and send them to you eventually when the pandemic is over and we can go out and about easily.

Kindling pieces. I know…I know. I could put it in an old pillowcase for cat or dog beds. But around here they don’t rewash them, so I’ll let someone else make or donate something throw-away. Not interested. Been there. Done that.

As I trim into strips, I am still putting the leftover very small pieces into kindling or designated for my friend who gives to her friend who works with the hospital for mentally ill people. Those are just collecting as I haven’t gotten rid of them.

I’ve got 2+ nice size bags of these small pieces for her. They really are only good for use for something like a photo collage pictures or something along that line.

For the most part these pieces are smaller than 1.5” but bigger than kindling—mostly what I would have previously saved for crumbs or strings. I might also throw some fabric in there that I just don’t want anymore -for any reason - don’t like how it feels, am sick of it - too thick —some of my early upcycleds weren’t the best for quilting—didn’t really know what I was doing at the time—

I will just keep collecting for her until such as a time as my friend can come and get them. We are under a pretty strict quarantine order til Easter for now.

For my friend who saves and gives to her friend who does crafts at the psychiatric hospital not too far from Warsaw.

We are still making fires here at home, so the smallest slivers that become kindling make their way to the wood stove and are used. As such, there isn’t a nice photo of a large stack of bags of kindling that I’ve created. We’re “moving it on out” as the saying goes.

But, that’s okay.

While I was a little late getting started this month after overdoing it last month - 2 hours a day for a week was just too much. I was kind of burned out and didn’t do any for the first two weeks of March.

At that point, I decided that if I didn’t get going on them, I’d have the same problem as I had in February and I didn’t want that, so I began chopping scraps once again.

I tried to cut for an hour a day since March 15—because while I say this is the “year of cutting scraps”, I’d really prefer if it to not take all year.

And as much as some of you think I have elves who come into my house at night to help me, it isn’t true. I don’t. If I don’t deal with these scraps…well, it all just sits there.

1.5” strips

This is what I did this month:

I got this many 1.5” strips - 6.39 lbs.

I uncovered my laundry baskets this month (March) as well - while more or less sorting the things that need to be cut. That felt really good!

2” strips

My 2” strips were 15.76 lbs!

2.5” strips

The 2.5” strips were 15.65 lbs.

From left - 1.5”, 2”, and 2.5” strips cut up from scraps in March, 2020.

I was a bit afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to fit March’s 2” and 2.5” strips into the “bags year to date”. But I managed. But this is what it looked like BEFORE I put them in.

There is plenty of room in the 1.5” strips bag - so far only 14.65 lbs. in that one. But the 2” and 2.5” strips bags - I wondered if I could get the overflowing laundry baskets in them. I did. I will have to start new bags for April, though!

So my totals are like this for the year! I’ve made a MS Word table which will do the adding for me. I don’t know Excel well enough to make an actual spreadsheet.

My finished 2020 bags of strips look like this. I’m actually surprised how much I’ve cut already this year.

In the past I’ve had people who suggested that I roll each color to keep them organized. It would definitely help with keeping them from getting wrinkled.It would also mean you could get them a lot more dense and fit more in less space. The biggest problem I see with it from the point of usage is that I couldn’t see what I had easily. (That is assuming I had elves who would roll them for me while I sleep.) It would definitely “look pretty cool though” to have these things rolled up nicely instead of all thrown into bags.

Volunteers anyone? I’d probably give you some scraps in payment! LOL

I did uncover my Sizzix so I can begin to use it if I can. It will really only work with bigger pieces - not small 2 or 3” pieces, so we’ll see how useful it is with what I’m doing.

I’d like to cut some apple core pieces, though and make up a scrap quilt with those.

I really like using these clear bags as I can see much more easily what’s in them. I get them locally at my “findings” wholesale place - the same place where I get the batting by the 50 meter roll.

I will do my best to be better about the cutting in April. Things have calmed down to a constant state of epidemic here in Poland, We’ll see where it all goes. We are getting used to be cooped up, I suppose.

I no longer check the numbers of how many are sick every hour or so. I do it only 2-3 times a day now.

In the meantime, since I cannot control any part of all the madness going on around me, I’m going to try to control this bit of “madness” in my own house.

What this does — it completely refreshes my 2” strips bags and gives me even more 2.5” strips. I really have a lot of those since I’ve not made that many quilts using them.

One lesson I’ve learned from this is that I need to ALWAYS label the bags when I put things in them in big groups. Otherwise, at a glance I can’t always see what I have and I may mix sizes or uncut and already trimmed up stuff, thus doubling my work. Not good. I’m going to start writing on my bags more than I have. Lesson learned. I hope.

There are already lots of “Jelly Roll quilt” (nod to Moda) patterns out there, however. Some super nice ones even. I may come up with some, though. We’ll see. It is more likely that I would use them in conjunction with my 2” and 1.5” strips and come up with something that uses all three or two different sizes. We’ll see.

I’ve got so many things going on in my head right now that I just have to stop and focus on what I’m doing or I get nothing done!

Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store!

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