Scrap Therapy

The economic news of late has been both grim and right in my face. We had another week of layoffs at work, with lots of great people loosing their jobs. While I have had to deal with it from 8-5, once I am home, in the sewing room, I have been indulging in scrap therapy.

For me, scrap therapy takes all thoughts away. I plunge into my scraps and revel in the colors, feeling the softness. Now I am a saver, and do not like to just randomly toss any fabric out! As I am developing a quilt (or pillow, purse or table runner) I toss my scraps into my cute hatbox as I rotary cut:

Once the bin is too full for the top to close, I start sorting by scrap size and cutting into an appropriate piecing size ( I like 2.5" strips and 5" squares).

I love scrappy quilts. Each of the fabrics used seems like a little mystery. Where did this come from? What type of quilt was it used for? I also love using up every last piece with the least possible waste. And using my scraps to piece a top feels like getting a quilt for free! After all, I bought the original fabrics (or raided my Mom's stash) for a specific project. That project is complete and with its new owner. The scrappy project (from leftovers) didn't cost a thing!

Here is what I made this week:


I got the pattern/directions here.
I was searching for ideas for charm squares, and found this. Since I do not have a local quilt shop, I decided to use my scraps. It is 57" x 55". I am going to look through stash to see if I have patterns I can piece for the backing. That way, the only cost incurred for this quilt (other than my time, which is very therapeutic!) is the batting. Not sure where this one will end up, but making it has certainly given me peace in this frightening world.