Summer of Scraps - Controlled Scrappy

Part 1 - Organizing Your Scraps

Part 2 - is all about the Controlled Scrappy Quilt. It is one with just a few colors and has some sense of order or symmetry made with a background fabric.

First quilt up in the Controlled Scrappy category is this beautiful quilt I just finished. The pattern is Floor Plan by Kristi Daum. I chose this one because the background give it great structure and I new it would look good in just 3 colors. It uses 2.5" squares and strips so I knew I would have enough scraps to get it finished.

58" x 74"

Bonus for this quilt - The whole top is pieced with scraps from by bin of Kona Snow. I was able to use most of the larger pieces and strips that were needing to be cut.  Now I just have to cut the rest of the snow into 2.5" squares.

Here are a few more controlled scrappy quilts I have made in the past. They each have a background fabric or borders that give them some sense of order. And they each have 3 or 4 colors of fabrics. 

Mini Charm Chocolates - Free pattern (2.5" squares)

Scrappy Patchwork (5" squares)

Black and Yellow Scraps (2.5" and 4.5" squares)

Scrappy 16 Patch (2.5" squares)

My Lucky Square (2.5" squares)

You can head on over to my scrappy pinterest board for even more great inspiration. What kind of scrappy quilt are you making this summer? 

Linking with My Quilt Infatuation

Summer of Scraps Part 1 - Organization

Summer has officially started here in the south and it's hot! I have been thinking a lot about my scraps and the fact that even though I have made 2 scrappy quilts this year already, it just isn't making a dent in my bins. So I thought I would do a scrappy summer of making quilts. It will be fun and it will use what I have! Less money out the door is a good thing.  (I'm not going to count quilt backs, but I will make every effort to either use my large pieces or piece a back together.)

I plan on sharing what I'm making along with some ideas for using up different kinds of scraps. Some ideas floating in my head include using rainbow scraps, one color themed scraps, just a few colors scraps, scrappy backgrounds, strings, ugly fabrics, and solid scraps. We'll see how it goes! I have a couple scrappy quilts started and several more planned out, plus I will be sharing ones I've made in the past. I hope to inspire you to dig into your scraps and use them up this summer!

I thought I would start this series with how I cut and organize my scraps. I keep all my scrappy prints in these art bins from Joanns. I have 10 of them stored under my ironing board, and I just love them. I keep 3 sizes because that is what I like to use. You could do more if you were so inclined. All of my scraps are organized by color. I cut 5" and 2.5" strips first. Anything smaller than that goes in the string bin.

I have 2 bins of 2.5" squares. This one is probably my most used. I like to find quilt patterns that use these little squares and pair it with a background (or not) and make some order out of it. I just recently made the scrap snap quilt completely out of rainbow scraps.

(red, orange, yellow, and green)

 (pink, purple, and blues)

(brown, gray, black, white, and any multicolored fabric)

I have 3 bins of 2.5" strips. To be put in this bin the strips must be at least 13" long. If there is less than 3 or 4 inches of fabric left when I'm cutting fabric for a quilt, I will just cut the scrap to 2.5" strip and put it in these bins. It's very handy to have a 2.5" strip when making a jelly roll quilt pattern and you just need a couple more strips. 

(red, orange and green)

 (pink, purple, multi, and yellow)

(all shades of blue) 

(black, gray, brown, and beige)

The last size I keep is 5" squares. These are so handy because you can use them as is or you can cut them into 4 - 2.5" squares. They can also be trimmed into 2- 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles without wasting too much fabric. I bet you can guess by the 5" square what my favorite and most used color is!

Next week I will be sharing a quit I'm making with red, orange, and aqua scraps if time allows. I'm hoping to get a couple quilts done every month, but sometimes my plans are bigger than what my time allows! This one is going together quickly though. Plus I plan on sharing some great quilts I found on Pinterest to get you inspired. The "controlled" scrappy quilt is one that only has a few colors and has some background that brings order to the quilt. 

You are more than welcome to join me this summer and get your scraps under control and make some beautiful quilts at the same time! If you're on Instagram I'm using #summerofscraps. You can also tag me at #theflemingsnine with your scrappy quilts. I'd love to see them! 

Rainbow Gems Pattern

52" x 62"

This is Rainbow Gems and it's a gem of a pattern! The colored gems are made from 5 colors in two shades each. They are separated by a smaller gem in two shades of gray. The pattern comes in 4 sizes Throw to King and each size has a specific color layout so that there is minimal fabric waste. They are all pretty similar as I was trying to keep an equal amount of each color in the quilts.

I was so ready to make this bright and cheerful quilt after the long spring we have had. If you are ready to make one too, head on over to my shop and get the pattern for yourself. All the kona cotton colors that I used are listed in the pattern description along with the fabric requirements. If you make one I hope you tag me on Instagram or leave me a message. I'd love to see it!

Linking with My Quilt Infatuation