One of the less glamorous aspects of quilting is accounting. I usually keep my accounting to a minimum, except for the microspool project where I am attempting to have a charm quilt with no duplicates. Half of the microspools are light in value and half are darker. To make a 60 inch square quilt I need 1600 total microspools. And after taking out duplicates, I have almost 900 light value ones and over 1,000 darker microspools. This means it is time to put it together.
These are the duplicates.
I also put together all the strip sets I need to make the clown kaleidoscope quilt. The next step is to cut the strip sets and background fabric into triangles.
Last but not least I cut pairs of 2.5 inch strips to make more Kaffe Fassett Shard blocks. And to accomplish this, I apparently needed to have about every piece of Kaffe fabric or similar laid out on the floor in front of the design wall.
So with the microspools no longer at the sewing machine and no more need for clown strips or Kaffe mountains, I set out to clean up the sewing room. First, I found the sewing machine table. I also found a micro kitten project and a couple others I had started. Next, I started to clear off the cutting table...with the hope that once clear I could layer a few quilts. And last but not least, Buddy sorely wanted his play area in front of the design wall back so he could chase his laser mouse and feathers and mice.
And yes, I managed to put every piece of fabric away until I had a lapse...
I may have noticed that there was a quilter's estate sale over the weekend. (In this case, a moving/downsizing estate sale.) But to give you a sense of the scope, there was a room of fabric where one bookcase, floor to ceiling, was neutrals. Other bookcases were loaded with fat quarters etc. But as it turns out I have absolutely no need or room for more fabric. So I did not go...on Saturday.
Resistance was weaker on Sunday. I thought it would be good to get out...only to find lots of people lined up 45 minutes before opening, with limited parking in a hilly area with no sidewalks. (Most of the people were there for vintage collectibles.) In a moment of clear thinking, I said, "oh no..." and drove off. But I am a weak individual and within five blocks I had turned around.
And I was in the house for about a total of fifteen minutes...the first five minutes was realizing that the estate sale photos only showed about a quarter of the fabric stash, the next five minutes I stood like a deer in headlights and then I saw the scrap tub...I grabbed it, paid for it, and ran. (Plus the tub has wheels for faster flight.)
And it turns out that the bin is bottomless and refills no matter how much I take out. Buddy has lost his play area and I am cutting more microspools. A lot of the fabrics in the bin are reproduction-type, small print, single color...well suited for microspools. Also, it is fabric I have never seen before (or different color ways). So no more progress on quilts for me...I'm just doing endless laps in my infinite pool of fabric scraps.
9 comments:
Hahahaha! We are definitely Sisters of the Scraps!! Playing/swimming in/sorting scraps gives hours of delight and keeps us off the streets. Question: why are you making more microspools if you already have enough? But I think I know the answer. The same reason I continue to make zipper blocks after I’ve made two zip quilts and a dozen zip quilt kits: because we can and because we love them. I trust Molly and Buddy to keep you in line….
What is it about scraps, lots of them, that gets all the mental juices going? Looks like you found a goldmine of them. I love little scrap blocks, but boy, does it take tons of time to make a good size quilt. Sounds like a great cleanup and adventure.
So the microspool quilt is going to be king size after all?
That's one sweet haul of scraps you got there! (Scraps on wheels should be a thing everywhere...)
Scrap diving is such fun!! I love coming upon a piece that I either had forgotten about, thought was all used up, or just "Where did this come from?".;))ENJOY
Hugs, Julierose
Oh my, I can't imagine that amount of fabric was a stash! Sounds like the quilters was a terrific "collector!" Those spools are going to make a wonderful quilt and it sounds like the project is going to either be bigger or perhaps it will be two projects!
This weekend is the sale of goodies from an long long time stitching buddy. I thought they'd already done this but was wrong. When her eyesight was fading she had us all in to get what we would like, but still. One last trip down memory lane for me.
LOL!!! I love quilter estate sales. One sale I was at, the estate sale company had a price - $5 for what you could fit in a plastic grocery sack. Turns out, with careful folding, I could fit 20-25 yards of fabric into one sack, for a cost of less than 25 cents a yard. I got 10 sacks for $50 of over 200 yards of quilt shop quality fabric, in colors and styles I loved. Granted, many were 10 years old, but so what? I loved it then, I love it now!
I love the colors and fabrics of your spools in the first photo. Luscious!
Lucky you to have a quilter's estate sale near you and to find the scraps!
"My infinity pool of fabric scraps"! I think you just described my whole setting room! Thank you, I really enjoy your posts!
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