Friday, March 25, 2022

Easy Ways I Help Myself Quilting / Beauties Pageant 167

 

One of my favorite people in the world is Future Michelle. My future self has a lot going on, though, so I try to set her up for success. Here are two ways I do that without spending a cent ...

Writing Notes About Projects

I like to have about a half-dozen projects going at a time. Having a few projects at various stages of the quilt-making process keeps things interesting for me and ensures that when I feel like cutting fabric or mindlessly chain-piecing or finishing a binding by hand, there’s something on my to-do list that can fill that urge. There’s a certain inefficiency with working like that, though. I often set aside a quilt in process, thinking I’ll pick it up again in a week or two, and not get back to it for months. It’s a great way to forget where I’m headed with a particular project!

So when I am about to change gears, I help Future Michelle out by jotting a few notes about where things stand so she can more easily pick up where I have left off. I have a sketchbook where I doodle new design ideas, do quilty math, and so on. This notebook seems like a good, logical place to write such notes, but it’s not. Instead, I write these notes to my future self on Post-its and pin them directly to the project. What can I say? Future Michelle is easily confused, and proximity matters!

Taking Care of Scraps Now

Another small thing I do for Future Michelle relates to the scrap scene here at From Bolt to Beauty world headquarters.

Let me start by saying that back in 2020, I participated in a big declutter event hosted by FeelGood Fibers. I went through all of my scraps and created order. Larger chunks got separated by color and placed in a drawer. Smaller or weirdly shaped bits were cut into 2- and 2.5-inch squares for future projects.

It was a ton of work, and I made some not-so-smart decisions, like cutting at my dining room table while resting my knee on a chair instead of setting up something more ergonomic at the kitchen island. When all was said and done (the process took weeks!), I had achieved my goal and messed up my right knee and sprained my left wrist.

The best thing I could do for Future Michelle, I decided, was to tend to the scrap situation here and there instead of all at once. Now, when I finish a project, I make decisions about the scraps right away, organizing the larger pieces, cutting the smaller ones, destashing what I no longer love, and recycling the unusable stuff.

Check out the photographic proof, above. I have somewhere in the neighborhood of a bazillion 2- and 2.5-inch squares. I delve into this treasure trove as needed and have a big square-busting project planned for (maybe?) 2023.

Tending to scraps promptly takes discipline, but it beats feeling overwhelmed down the road. I wouldn’t do this for just anybody—Future Michelle is worth it!

What are some easy ways you make the quilt-making process easier on yourself? Share your tips in the comments!

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10 comments:

  1. I love this, Michelle! I'm in the same club--I have a bazillion 2 1/2", 5" and 10" squares cut from leftover bits. I like to include 50 or 60 squares with a sewing kit in shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

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  2. I always write notes to myself about projects, usually every time I stop. I also make copies of cutting directions and put them in various places-- by the machine, in the box, at the cutting table. It helps! Dealing with scraps, though, I've got to get better at that. Have a good weekend!

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  3. I love the post it notes you leave yourself, that is super smart. I keep my space tidy because if I came in to see a big mess it would seriously de-motivate me. I'm certainly allowed to do what I need to as I'm working, but at the end of the day things get a tidy up.

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  4. Hi,
    I make notes too, I pin the note to the block, colors, size and what it's for. I also have a little notebook I keep all the info in. That's a lot of squares. I've thought about doing that, but I get side tracked and forget about it. Have a great day!

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  5. I am horrible about leaving notes on projects. Even if I do, I always end up asking myself..."What did I mean by that?" But I will say my scraps are all organized!

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  6. Great ideas. I need to get into both habits, especially dealing with the fabric scraps in the moment.

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  7. Hi Michelle, I've also learned the hard way to write myself notes about ongoing projects - and if I can, I put everything in a project box, including the notes. I'm not so good at my scraps but then I don't make that many traditional quilts, so I don't necessarily need 2" squares. I do, however, have a bin for strips. That is a really useful bin to have, and probably the one that I dip in the most. My other scraps are in baskets by theme or colour. So far it's worked well. Thanks for sharing your tips and hosting the linking party.

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  8. Two great ideas!! A time saving and no brainer trick is to leave your next seam to sew right under your sewing machine foot. Where did I leave off - what's my next step - it's all set and ready to sew.

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  9. I admire your organizational skills - making notes to yourself, and keeping your scraps under control. Personally, I'm always so focused on making quilts for deadlines (challenges) that I rarely take the time to handle scraps other than to sort them by color. Since I like making improv blocks and quilts (though I'm not very good at it), I want pieces in odd shapes for sewing later. Now if I pieced all my quilts from patterns, I might feel differently. Nonetheless, you've offered great suggestions. And, I'm thrilled that for the first time this year, I have a finish to share in your linky! Yay! It was three weeks ago, but I did it! :-)

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  10. It depends on the project, but I might a bit of info on my FAL list, sometimes mock-ups or EQ8 planning on the compupter or scribbled info in my notebook or a paper in the project box. My computer files for quilts are folders for each project like my box and that helps a lot. I do not have that many scraps because I only put fairly small pieces in my scrap boxes, but I have not real plan for those. But sometimes they get used up for a scrap vortex project. And I recently started cutting 2.5" squares from my blue box for an idea I have ;) xo

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