Scrap busting

Around two weeks ago I stumbled upon a sewing challenge on social media and thought why not. Up until now I have always been too scared to join in with sew along projects, as I never felt that my work was good enough or that I had enough experience. However with this challenge as it was using scraps of fabric cut into 2 inch wide strips or 1 inch wide strips, I felt that I wouldn't be under any pressure to be an expert quilter. 

I was in a bit of a panic though as I had joined two weeks after the challenge had started and members of the group were already sewing their strips together or had finished sewing them. I joined late on a Friday night, as I had been unable to sleep I had been on social media, when a video from Sugar Bowl Crafts  popped up. I watched it and thought that looks fun and it was promising a quilt made in record time. 

For the uninitiated a sew along is a just a fun thing to do, completely voluntary and you either are sewing part of a project that will be sent off and joined up with everyone else's or a project for you to complete at home. Some sew alongs require you to buy kits or set fabrics, others you get to choose your own. I liked this one as it is using scraps and I have been on a bit of a fabric buying ban because I am drowning in fabrics. Some I have bought and others I have been given. I always keep my scraps as I hate the thought of spending money on fabric and then not getting the maximum use out of it. I have scraps stored in 3 different locations and it was starting to feel overwhelming so the idea of a scrap-busting quilt really appealed to me.

I recently made a quilt for Mr Myasthenia Kid, using some charm squares ( these are 5 inch squares of fabric you buy pre-cut). He has wanted a quilt for ages and I kept promising him I would make one. But I never seemed to find the time. Since getting the embroidery machine and the dogs passing away at the start of the year, sewing had taken a back seat. I had lost my sewjo, I had done quite a bit of machine embroidery but actual sewing not much. As I was making Jay's quilt the love for sewing came back, I was planning on starting the Anna Maria Horner quilt kit I bought last year but have been terrified to start it in case I messed it up. Plus it is a huge quilt almost king sized and my largest quilt that I have made hasn't even been half that size. So this sew along was also a chance to put together a large quilt - my largest yet. So it was a win win on all fronts.

Jay's quilt.

The quilting on this quilt took over 4 hours and I lost two needles in the process. I am so pleased with it though as nothing was bought to make it. It was all made with items I already had in the house.

The sew along quilt's design was random strips of 2inch wide fabric joined together (or you can do one inch wide). My first job was to go through my scraps and pull out the fabrics I wanted to use and sort them into colours. Each piece of fabric tells a story as I can remember where it came from and what project it was used on. I had 4 charm squares left from Jay's quilt above, fabric left over from the lap quilt I made my mum for her birthday last year. Point to any of my fabric strips and I can tell you if it was gifted, came in a subscription box or if I bought it. I love that about this quilt it makes it highly sentimental and it is like my sewing journey in one quilt. 

I thought the sorting and prepping of the fabric would be a quick process. I hate this bit of any project, I loathe cutting stuff out. I am the worlds slowest and you can guarantee I will mess it up due to my poor maths skills (why thanks Dyscalculia ). I have a creative grids stripology ruler which has been a godsend. It has cutting channels on it every inch and half inch, so you can cut across the entire width of the fabric and know that the width will be correct.....as long as you chose the correct cutting channel. Eventually after several sessions over a few days I was in a position to start sewing the fabric into long strips.

I sorted the fabrics into colour groups. Group 1. Red / pink / orange, Group 2. Blues / purples, Group 3. Yellow/ cream / white, Group 4. Green,
Group 5. Grey / black / purple grey. Within those groups I put all the same fabric together and put them into piles (pinning them) that way when I sewed the fabric strips together to make my large strips I could choose fabric from a pile ensuring I didn't have to worry about sewing the same fabric together next to each other. It did sort of remove the randomness, rather than taking a chance and sticking my hand into the bag and pulling out a strip to sew.

I also at the same time cut one inch strips, from the same scraps and sorted them the same way.

Once the different fabrics were sewn together ( as above), the metres ( and it was metres) of fabric were then cut into 10 inch strips. For the 1 inch strips once they have been joined together you cut them into 5 inch strips.  The next part is to then sew 6 ten inch strips together to make your 10 inch block. Here are the 60 blocks that I have sewn, just so you get an idea.

I find it amazing how different the blocks look from a distance and all together.

Here are the first 23 blocks that I laid out on the kitchen floor.

I had to get hubby to stand on a chair to take the photo for me. Over the next few days as and when I had the energy I would put together the remaining fabric strips and turn them into blocks. Until yesterday when I finally completed all the 10 inch blocks I intended to make.

I had to do the layout in two settings as there was no more floor space!
Here are the remaining blocks, being "lab" tested 😄😄😄

I love the layout that I have in the photos so I am contemplating sewing the blocks together like this after they have been trimmed to 9.5 inch blocks.

I am now starting on my one inch fabric strips, joining them together. So far I have done the greys/ blacks/ purples and I have also completed the blues. I have three more huge bags of one inch strips to join together before I then cut them into 5 inch strips and turn them into blocks the same way the 2 inch strips were. I intend to use the 5 inch blocks as a border around the quilt - which is different to the sew along border but I like being different. I have no idea how huge this quilt will turn out but hubby is already making noises about it being on the 3 seater leather sofa as it combines all the fabrics that we have in the lounge along with many more!

I have really enjoyed working on this but my old injury / problem has come back. My nerve has become trapped in my neck again and is leaving my hand and forearm (left side) with pins and needles / numbness. It is just as well that I haven't spent any money on the quilt as I have had to book in with my private physio again which costs £45 for 30 minutes. She is ace but on a limited budget it's a lot of money to find in one go. So I am having to set a timer when I work and do 15 minutes, have a break and then do 15 minutes. I will be seeing her a week Tuesday.

It isn't just sewing that is triggering the trapped nerve but any movement at all that involves my arm. Even using the chromebook or taking a drink is enough to have the cold pins and needles feeling start. It is highly irritating as it means I am severely limited in the amount of time I can spend doing the stuff I love. I am hoping the physio can get the blasted thing untrapped and me more comfortable again.

I will be sure to update you all with my scrap busting quilt progress.