I May Have A Scrap Problem - Some Quilty Inspiration!!

Hi, all!

How are your own personal scrap issues coming along?  I have barely made a dent in my overflowing pile of scraps, but I do feel more encouraged by what I've done.  I'm finding it's fun and I have so. many. ideas. rolling around in my head that I want to do!  It seems like everywhere I look, I see another great thing to do with my scraps....  So I thought I'd share some of what I've found with you this week.  Maybe it will inspire you too!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

I love love love this scrappy flying geese quilt - the ones I've made in the past use a 6.5" rectangle and 3.5" squares for the corners, which might be large for some folks' scrap baskets, but you could reduce the size (4.5" rectangle and 2.5" squares) and achieve the same effect.  This quilt was made by Dorthe, who blogs over at LaLaLa Patchwork - her site is in German, but there's lots of gorgeous eye candy there!

And Staci, over at The Confused Quilter, is making this absolutely gorgeous version of Elizabeth Hartmann's Sparkle Punch quilt.  Wouldn't it look fabulous scrappy?  I am so inspired....

This beautiful Scrappy Chains quilt caught my eye - I can see this in a smaller block size, too, and I love the fact that it doesn't have a consistently colored chain.  Truly scrappy!  There is a video tutorial available for this quilt - click here to see it!

And look at this beauty!  What a great way to use up a rainbow of strips.  It could be as small as a baby quilt, or go all the way up to king-size!  It's also a great alternative to a traditional string block, if you want to do something a little "out of the box".

And isn't this cute?  It's the pattern I'm using currently for a couple of commission quilts, but it could easily turn into a scrap quilt - because don't we all have quite a few 2.5" strips left over from other projects?  A sweet and simple alternative to a traditional jelly roll quilt too, for that jelly roll you've got sitting around that you bought because the fabric is just.so.pretty!

This is a great rail fence quilt, which looks like it uses bricks and random squares.  I haven't had a chance to graph this one out yet, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's 2.5" x 4.5" bricks and 2.5" squares in the darker zigs, and 2.5" squares in the light zags.

Isn't this amazing?  A great way to use up leftover strips of binding, I think!  I save mine for scrappy quilts, but there are always times when the bin starts to overflow - and this would be a very different way to use those pieces!

And here's another strippy block quilt, with a little twist - tiny block strips!  I can see two ways to make this - one would be to use up all those tiny pieces of fabric you just can't bear to throw away, the other would be to make strip sets and cross-cut them to create those strips of tiny blocks.  Either way, you're using up scraps!

And is this not just the cutest quilt?  I love the use of different prints in the same colors for these woven strips - simple, but it adds so much depth and interest to the quilt.  2.5" squares in colors and 4.5" white squares would make this quilt quickly!

If you don't have time or energy to make a whole quilt, how about these adorable pincushions made by the queen of tiny scraps, AmandaJean of Crazy Mom Quilts?  I love seeing her cheerful bowls full of pincushions, and her blog is a great resource for easy quilt ideas and beautiful scrap creations!

Emily Bailey of Em's Scrap Bag has been sharing a lot of gorgeous scrap quilts on Facebook these days - and this is one of my favorites!  Notice that the horizontal strings are repeats of one of the fabrics in the coin strips - it gives this quilt a great geometric effect.  And the cross-hatch quilting is amazing!

And speaking of Emily, have you signed up to participate in the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge 2016 yet?  Emily collects quilts for Quilty Hugs For Happy Chemo, and that's just one of the charities we are spotlighting this year.  There's also Covered in Love, spearheaded by Kat Drinkwater, who collects quilts for terminally ill patients in Tyler, Texas.  And for our Canadian quilters (and anyone else who wants to send a quilt to the frozen North) there's the Yukon Women's Transition Home, which serves women and children escaping from abusive home situations.  The Challenge runs until the end of May, so you've got plenty of time to dig through your scraps and make a beautiful quilt to wrap someone in love.  I hope you'll consider joining in if you haven't already! You can sign up by clicking the link in this paragraph for the Challenge and scrolling down to the entry form, or just fill in the entry form in the top right sidebar!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Are you feeling inspired now?  I am!  Can't wait to get back to my scrap bin and see what comes out of it next!  Let's go scrap!!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - remember next week is our first linky party to show off our scrappy progress - I hope you'll all link up and share!  No matter how much or how little, progress is progress, and a little encouragement goes a long way!  And for those of you who just wish you had scraps to play with, I'll have something especially for you!!