Oh, it has been a scrappy week at my place! I've been keeping up with my daily scraps - they are all neatly cut and in a box - and we even did some major cleaning and sorting at church! I wish I had taken a "before" pic of the pile of scraps we are sorting right here...
...but it filled up the empty spot on this floor - I'm guessing about 64 cubic feet of scraps! The photo above is just at the beginning of the scrap sorting - we well and truly covered about 14 feet of table top with huge stacks of scraps sorted by color, and this is what we uncovered...
One of our ladies even said, "There are BOOKS back there?!?!?!" It's probably been more than a year since we have had that spot cleared!
But today I want to talk about strings. We've all got them - those strips of scraps that are too good to throw away, but if you are like me, your strings may be starting to run you out of house and home!
Just to keep it real, this is my actual string hamper, taken about fifteen minutes before I started writing this post. Pitiful, isn't it? But I have found a great cause that may give me some inspiration to use up some of it, and maybe you'll join me!
My friend Kat over at Kat and Cat Quilts runs Covered in Love, a charity that gives comfort quilts patients who pass away in the hospital. Placing a quilt on the bed warms up the room, and is taken home by the family as a memento and transitional object. She is holding a block drive right now for... you guessed it...
String Blocks!!! The drive is going on until the end of February, and she's got a tutorial for these particular blocks (they are foundation pieced) right here. You know the great thing about foundation pieced blocks? You can use up that absolutely hideous yardage you bought because it was just too good a deal to pass by - but when you got home and came to your senses you said, "What was I thinking???"
And your donations will help Kat create lots more beautiful quilts to spread warmth and comfort!
So how about it? Will you join me and make a block or two (or more!) for Kat's block drive? Let's see if we can make a dent in our string collections while helping others!
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And remember, it's almost the end of the month - next week it will be February, and time to share how we did on January's goal and see what February has in store!
Have you got your scrap monster on the run yet?
Hugs!
Sarah
Mailed mine out yesterday.
ReplyDeleteMailed mine out on Mon-did 6 and may make more since it goes thru Feb
ReplyDeleteThanks for the plug!
ReplyDeleteKat I have a big stack of string blocks made & the completed quilts I'd like to donate but I've been sick so haven't had the chance to get with you. I'll let you know when I'm up & about again. Becky
DeleteWorking on my string blocks for Kat. Got 16 done so far.
ReplyDeleteI've been working on string blocks for Kat too. The pile of strings are going down, but they create new tinier scraps. When I went to my charity quilting group today, one of the women told us she saw your post about string blocks. Thanks to you, the group will be making the blocks our February project. Your blog really reaches people in a positive way. I'm sure you've inspired lots more quilters to make strings for Kat.
ReplyDeleteI mailed off my package, but just found another box that was hidden (and I have no idea where it came from) so I am working on another package to send.
ReplyDeleteAnother source that uses string blocks year round is HeartStrings. Check them out on Yahoo groups.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so glad you mentioned Kat's string block drive! It's such a great way to help these grieving families. And you're so right about where to find fabric for the foundations...
ReplyDeleteKat just emailed to say that the package I sent arrived safely. Love to help with Covered in Love!
ReplyDelete