Wish Upon a Quilt Blog

I’m very excited about the new Sew Sweet Shoppe Scrap program that Cathy has published. This is a brand new scrap program that was introduced at the fall Quilt Market. I love scrap quilts. Scrap quilts just sort of found me. I couldn’t afford to buy all the fabric I wanted but I was usually happy with just a fat quarter of it, especially if I didn’t have a specific project in mind for it.  So a typical scenario at the quilt shop would be I went to buy fabric for a  specific project and I’d fall in love with a new fabric that didn’t fit that project at all. So I’d grab a fat quarter and sneak it home. It was the fat quarters sitting off to the side that would inspire the next projects. (And encourage me to finish the one that was in progress.) The thing was that when I started planning the next project I’d realize that a fat quarter wouldn’t do.   I needed more. Sound familiar? I became a fan of scrap quilts because they allowed me to use the fabrics I loved with out the agony or worry over how much to get. I don’t have to worry if I’ll have enough for a project because I can just use it as an excuse to go get more lovely fabric.  And there are so many lovely fabrics calling to me – scrap quilts are definitely the solution.

But it’s not just the need to use up fat quarter and half yard cuts that make scrap quilts appealing. I often get to reuse fabrics left over from other projects like my brother’s wedding quilt, a friends baby quilt, a baby quilt for my own children, a purse, or tote project. Those scraps have sweet memories and are still a joy to handle and use.  Scrap quilts can also be a journal of sorts of all the quilts I’ve made and given away.

Scrap quilts often have a deep richness of pattern and design because it’s the piecers use of value and color that is noticed not the fabric designers art. All of those pretty pieces of fabric come together to make a beautiful new whole. Whenever I find myself thinking a piece of fabric is too pretty to cut I just remind myself the joy it will bring me when I find it again in my scrap bin.

I also have a sweet tooth and love bakeries and baking. The sweet shop theme of the program just tickles me pink. (Which happens to be the colorway of the first quilt.)  The first session of the Sew Sweet Shoppe is Thursday, Feb 12 at 6pm. The second session will be Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8:30am. Both sessions will be the same. There will be a $15 charge to reserve a slot, and you will receive a free quilt pattern, a demonstration of the how to construct the quilt presented, a yummy treat and recipe to take home! I will also give tips on how to adjust the pattern to accommodate jelly roll strips, charm squares, and/or layer cakes.

If you would like to exchange scraps please bring precut strips of 3 1/2 inch width or 2 1/2 inch width, 5 inch charm squares, or fat quarters. We will trade like for like. Looking forward to seeing you on the 12th! What will your scrap quilt look like?

Tags: fat quarters, quilt, quilting, scrap quilts, Sew Sweet Shoppe

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Demonstration, Fabric, Projects, Sew Sweet Shoppe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.