I have to confess that Wednesday snuck up on me this week - I was so proud of having an honest-to-God scrappy sewing success, I completely forgot to make my Gypsy Wife blocks this week! Of course, working on Emmy's annual quilt was distracting me too, but I'm usually better at remembering than this. Oh well - I'll try to get them done before Friday, and that will give me something to post about then!
In the meantime, I really did have a scrappy sewing success this week! I quilted a vintage quilt top for a friend, and decided to finish it off with a scrappy binding. I may have mentioned before that I store my binding leftovers in a plastic shoebox, after measuring each one, rolling it up and pinning it with a post-it note with the length on it. Everything is placed in nice neat rows in the shoebox, and it is very easy to pull enough for a binding by adding up the lengths on each one until I have enough.
This system really works for me - I went from having an unusable pile of bindings all tangled up together to having easily accessible and useful items. But this time when I looked at the box, it was really full - even after I pulled enough to find that vintage quilt! So I decided to pull out all the solids and make a jelly roll style quilt.
To make this quilt, I added squares of the chinese red, a color that didn't appear anywhere in my pile of solid binding scraps. I gathered my binding strips and cut any that were more than 30" long or so into multiple pieces, just to get a wide variety. I had a lot of black, so I placed it every third strip. Then I started sewing the strips together, with a red square between each one. And I pressed - between every step - and trimmed threads as I went. (I find that these quilts are remarkably good at having threads peek out from the seams!)
Now I have a question for you - should I add a border to this? I have enough black to add a 5" border all around which will bring it to about 58"x70", or leave it as is? I'm undecided. I have enough of the deep red left to bind the quilt, and I think that will tie the red blocks in nicely.
FYI, I used this technique in the past to diminish my solid binding leftovers - here's how that one turned out...
It always amazes me how "artful" these quilts look, even though they are completely random. And it really makes a dent in the binding stash!
So that's my scrappy victory for the week! Have you been working through your scraps this week? I'd love to hear what you've been doing!
Hugs!
Sarah
PS Do you realize that Christmas is two months from today?? EEK!!!
Yes, use the border. Even make a thin-ish 1st border the the red then a larger border. Are you giving it away? How many lap blankets do they already have? Could they use a bedside quilt? Most of my friend & family want a bed size. So that is my opinion. Are you keeping it? Same questions. (robinsbusiness@hotmail.com)
ReplyDeleteNo border :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's a very nice quilt! I'll have to try it also.
ReplyDeleteA red border with a black binding would be nice.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very nice quilt. I'll have to try it also.
A red border with a black binding would finish your quilt off nicely.
How on earth are you so prolific in your quilting???
Yes, if you red, use it for the border. Nice job with working magic with the leftover strips.
ReplyDeleteI like it as is....and if you haven't tried "facing" a quilt, this might be a good one to try it on, I think it would look great!
ReplyDeleteI like it as is, and might consider using the red for the binding. However, a border might look good, but I'd have to audition the red and black so my eye could see if using them as a border distracts from the design of the quilt. Hope that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't add a border unless you must need to make it bigger.
ReplyDeleteI really like your binding storage system, and those quilts are lovely.
ReplyDeleteI would go with the border and red binding, that sounds striking! Love the results of your binding destash.
ReplyDeleteIf you are happy with the size of the quilt being 48 x 60, I'd leave it as is. I love the way it 'flows off the page'so to speak. Thanks for the tip on measuring and labeling your binding scraps.
ReplyDeleteI found a stash of 8.5" strip blocks I'd been working on as I moved from CA 2.5 years ago... started out to make some new adds to that stash. Enjoying the ease of those blocks between paper pieced butterflies.
ReplyDeleteLove your binding quilts, especially the one with red squares. (Good advice on the organization, too. Thanks)
Hugs
I like it as is, but would also play with auditioning a border....I would try putting a red square at each corner of the border to tie the squares together throughout the quilt. Maybe black, grey, or one of the blues for the lengths of the border.
ReplyDeleteNice job!!
Very pretty scrap quilts. I love the one without a border, as many modern style quilts do not have borders. Yet, a black border would look good plus make the quilt larger. Decisions... :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, love your scrappy quilt. I don't think that it needs a border :-)
ReplyDeleteThat’s a great looking quilt! I love the way it looks without a Border. But I think it would be a much better size with the border so I would say, yes, add the border. Black border with red binding would look great, I think. What’s the back going to be?
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! The only problem I would have in using my binding scraps is that most of mine are cut on the bias.
ReplyDeleteI like your way of keeping your strips organized.
I love your idea to use those saved binding pieces...I'll have to try it! I like the quilt without a border, unless you'd like it larger. Beautiful job!
ReplyDeleteSo many opinions to choose from! It feels quite modern to me so I would put a narrow border on one short side and a wide one on one long side.
ReplyDeleteWith or without a border, it is an adorable quilt! Isn't it fun to get an idea and run with it-even if there are other things on the list to do? Good for you!
ReplyDeleteI'd add the black border. Then it will look like a framed piece of art (and it will fit a twin bed)
ReplyDeleteI don't think it needs a border and would look great with a red binding. Love your storage idea for the binding. Do you always make your binding strips the same size, and if so, what size do you like to use?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to use up those old bindings! Do you attach a note to each binding scrap in your box of how long it is?
ReplyDeleteI think a border would make it nice (besides adding onto the size)
ReplyDeleteSuch a great squirrel that grabbed you! I've always added my binding ends to my strips stash, but they don't go down that fast, even with an RSC strings project this year...Might have to use your idea! Thank you for linking up with my DrEAMi! linky.
ReplyDeleteI’m winding down, getting ready to migrate south for the winter, and thought I’d take care of my overflowing summer scraps baskets by making zippered pouches for gifts. 17 zippered pouches later and I didn’t make much of a dent in my scrap baskets. Oh, well! Next summer, I’ll have to choose a bigger project like your beautiful scrapbusters! Well done!
ReplyDelete