Cutting Scraps

Once a quilt is pieced and ready to sandwich for basting, it is time to cut scraps into usable squares or strips. Its another one of my practices to stay organized. 

First of all, I just have one room for my studio & use the closet to store bins. Then, its all about retrieving pre-cuts to use them for backs or in some cases, creating a top. It is fun for me to see change that comes from adding new squares. I try to keep it simple on the back and just do random layouts.

I love how this top turned out. The gray I bought is the same color value as the other ones and makes a great third border. Of course photos never do the quilt justice. It is always more attractive in person. This quilt measures 73" square now & will take almost 5 yards for the back & 2/3 of a yard for binding.

It took me some time to get back into the passion of this fabric art after almost 5 weeks of not quilting. I am trying to do the work with Essential Tremors.  Being steady-handed is a huge challenge, so I AM working at a slower pace. Slowing down is meant to be less stressful. However, it is hard for me. 

I used smaller, narrow shavings to fill two cat blankets. Cats seem to like sitting on their own fleece blankets, so it becomes a nice gift. Usually shavings go in the trash, so this is one way to quilt green. These fleece pillows can be washed, & tossed after comforting little kitties.

This new method of pacing myself means doing more dedicated quilting. My to-do list is always at the side bar on this blog, with months, to help remind me of projects. I am still behind on the BOM's and hope to tackle them next. From now on, when I finish a quilt, I will offer it as is, rather than to make another and stress myself out.