March 2023 Strips Cutting Report

I did manage to get some of my strips cut! I didn’t get going on this just after we landed back from the USA - simply because I didn’t have anything located from that room yet to trim. Then, I started going through everything in my sewing room and found plenty to work with! Yes, I did.

I did not finish it all up. Sadly. But maybe in April.

I guess you can say, “Hope springs eternal!” I know now that I’m closer than I was. But as I finish quilts, I’m always producing more. The only reason I’m bothered by it - is because I’m not spending equivalent time in using it up - and that has got to change. I must spend (I want to) more time sewing with these strips!

Anyway - here they are.

1.5” - 1.65 lbs.

 

2” - 2.42 lbs.

 

2.5” - 5.5 lbs.













Here is the overall 3 buckets/tubs I managed to partially fill up. This was only about 5 hours of cutting, so I was actually pleased to be able to do this much. I did have to spend more time pressing some of my very wrinkly strips, however. I didn’t count that time in this 5 hours - that was only actual cutting/trimming.

So my totals for this year - in spite of my travel to the USA - are here.

And this leaves my totals since I actually started keeping track to be this:

Wow…we are creeping ever closer to half a ton of strips! That is CRAZY! Isn’t it?

I mean…really? Seriously?

I am flabbergasted when I just now realized that. Let’s see - to be exact, total number of lbs. of strips I’ve cut is this - 846 lbs. I know fabric is heavy - I’ve just never really thought about it before.

Anyway - my totals this year so far are modest. In this particular sphere, there is no way I am trying to ‘beat any certain number’ as I have no idea what will happen each year. I should know better by now, anyway - life throws too many variables. All I can do is try to do TODAY what I know I can do. Sometimes more gets done, and sometimes less.

But if this month’s 2.5” strips - equals 5+ lbs. - that is roughly equivalent to 5 - 2.5” strips rolls or as we commonly call them, Jelly Rolls, (thanks Moda for allowing me to use the term without coming after me for some sort of infringement), well, financially that would be about $150 at $30 a roll - which would be cheap. As I’ve done before, I’ve reduced the value because these are scraps - so even at $10/roll, that’s just over $50 for my scraps. Most of us aren’t tossing a $50 bill in the trash.

That’s why I don’t just toss my scraps. However, to actually USE them - that’s a different matter and I need to do that - and I’m hoping to now. If you remember, Granny Square Folk, was one of the most recent ones that I made using 2.5” strips pulled from my bags of already cut up strips - using strong pastel colors.

So, here’s to another month of at least attempting to trim down scraps into usable to me pieces. There may get to be some day when I just bundle them all up and offer them on my freecycle group or ask my friend if she wants them. So far I’m not there yet.

Have a great day wherever you are reading this!

Thanks so much for coming along with me on this journey!

Becky Petersen4 Comments