Cutting Scraps

This seems like a practical solution to thinning down the pieces of fabric. It always makes me think about how honest I am with what I have in these bins. When fabric is just tossed in, unfolded, it looks like so much. Then the next stage is to fold all the pieces and colorize them. This too, looks like a lot of stash.

Yet, when I take the time to cut off the cut-into ends of the pieces and get these usable squares, then it really cuts down how much space it takes and shows me that I am making progress by shopping from my closet. Of course the wastebasket holds the smaller slivers. I made enough of those pet beds to last awhile and so am sending these bits to the landfill. I have to be honest to say that I want to find better solutions for the scraps, but this is as good as it gets for me.

I bought one yard 'cloud in the sky' fabric for both of my BOM projects and will cut carefully. At first I was looking for 2 different fabrics and realized that there would be more scraps in my stash if I did and just backed away from getting too much. Honesty comes in so many guises. It is a benefit to life as well as a burden. It takes time to plan, think, and remember values. I understand that sometimes it is easier to just buy something already done and not go through all the steps it takes to make something.

My new book is futuristic. The community in it struggles with having enough simple resources to survive. Some of them were raised with chemically made food wafers and cannot tolerate the taste of real food, preferring the chemicals and salty flavor. As the other side of the community urges them into eating natural, both sides stand firm in their conviction that their way is the right way. I think we do this in our here and now, in our families, among our friends and with strangers. Our good values divide us too often.