Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Where did this scrap come from?

I pulled scraps recently to start testing a new design.  I chose a blue and white color scheme because my blue scrap bins are overflowing and I hoped to make a dent in the blue collection (Spoiler:  This quilt did not make noticeable inroads into the blue scraps.)

A tiny portion of the blue scrap stash

These are most of the bits I chose, and pulling them did lower the level in the blue bin, but then I didn't use up every fabric so the level in the bin went back up again after I had cut everything I needed and put the rest back

Back when I made Quilter's Scrapboook in 2013, with scraps from my first 13 years of quiting, I could remember which fabric each scrap came from. Guess what? I can't remember most of those anymore. It was finish #25, 109 quilts and 12 years ago.  I now have a lot of scraps I can't identify, but I did pretty well with this stack of blues.  There are some I can't quite place.  The bright blue with tiny stars, under fabric #3 above, is driving me nuts.  I feel I should know that one but can't place it at all!

Just for grins and giggles, here's where the ones I identified came from:

  1. Snowflake tote bag 2016
  2. Simply Snow 2019
  3. Hoarfrost 2016
  4. Backing from Clear Skies 2013
  5. Window valance 2004
  6. Blue frosty versions of Geese Across the Table 2019 and Hovering 2022
  7. Twist 2008
  8. Rush and Side Trails 2023
  9. Jelly Bean Stars 2012
  10. Which Way North 2015
  11. Focus Squared (I think!) 2021
  12. Sprinkled (the blue one) 2020
  13. Forty-Eight (AKA Seeing Stars) 2014
Here's the scrap I'm most excited about:


I didn't think about it much as I cut up the last of it for this quilt, but as I sewed I let my mind wander.  When I picked up this square, the thought that this just might be the backing from my very first quilt popped into my brain and wouldn't let go.

Can it be?  I've browsed through all my quilt pictures.  (It's not like I had anthing else to do.  Ahem. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)  I can't think of what else it might be from, but it could have been the backing of that first quilt.  I texted my brother, who owns it now, but he's not a fabric guy, so he couldn't say for sure.  The quilt is at his cabin, and he was not at the cabin, so I am still awaiting confirmation. 

All that to say I might have just used up the last bit of my very first fabric scrap, over 25 years later.

If you're curious about my first quilt, pop over to  Leanne's Devoted Quilter blog, where she interviewed me for her "My First Quilt" series.  You can read about why I made it, how I made it, and how I almost kept it.  Here's a peek:


I'd love to hear about your oldest scraps, or really any of your scraps.  Do you find it hard to use up the last piece of something?  Do you remember what project you bought the fabric for? Do you like to think about where you used the fabric in the past, or are you focused on the project at hand?  Let me know in the comments!

Happy quilting,
Joanne


7 comments:

  1. I have a piece of fabric I bought just for binding as it is printed so it looks like it is on the bias ( it is pastel stripes ,think Easter ) I will be very sad when it is gone.

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  2. You’ve made a lot of quilts so no surprise that you have lots of lovely scraps to play with. Your first quilt looks great. Is it still around after all these years?

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  3. You are way better than me on keeping track of your fabrics, both time wise and knowing the designer. I've now been quilting for 47 years and just buy what I like, sometimes with a quilt in mind or because I can't help myself. I've enjoyed making a couple of your designs, but am trying to use scraps and stash more these days.......getting on in years.😁 Always look forward to your posts. Take care & hugs from Oz.

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  4. Hi Joanne, I love looking at my scraps and remembering when I used them. There was a time, about 10 years ago, when I got fabric that I adored! When I see them in my stash, it's difficult to use them all up! In the last few years, fellow quilters know that I use scraps so I'm now getting a lot of scraps that I didn't use originally. That's always a lot of fun!

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  5. I love my scrappy quilts because I can recall most of the quilts the fabric originally came from. I have a few little pieces from 1990 that *still* refuse to be put into a quilt. They'll get there eventually (it's stuck around because it's ugly, not because I love it LOL). I've had a few fabrics that I've mourned using the last piece simply because I won't be able to put it any more quilts (some colors are just that good!).

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  6. What a fun photo of you with your first quilt. I made my first quilt when I was 12 (55 years ago!!), using blocks I had tube painted (think TriChem, Artex) in 4-H. I still have the quilt, but no scraps--it was just white for the blocks and yellow for the sashing, backing and binding.
    I used to hang on to favorite scraps, but now I like to use them up in quilts I can keep and love.
    Like others among us, I get scraps from a lot of people--sometimes most of a stash from a deceased quilter, so I no longer have a clue where a lot of my fabric originated. I'm just trying to use up more of it before I am too feeble to quilt. :)

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  7. I love remembering where the scraps come from. Hope you are right about this being from quilt #1.

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