Wednesday, March 25, 2009

How small is too small.....


Mary at Quilt Hollow posted the other day about using leftover triangles, adding another fabric and creating a whole other quilt from it. Now I have to admit that I am not one to save a lot of scraps. I like to clean and purge.....probably because no one else in my family does but that's for another day.... until Mary explained to me that I was throwing dollar bills in the trash! So I am going to rethink my plan as I cut "leftovers" off.

But I think these may be too small to keep. What do you think, Mary?


These are the 480 dog ears I trimmed off my Double Delight squares in Step One. It took me 2-1/2 hours to sew 120 triangles to my 120 squares, press and trim the dog ears on National Quilting Day last Saturday. In my defense, my triangles were made from a plaid brushed cotton. If you have ever sewn with it, you know the biased edge is VERY stretchy. I had to line up the triangle and then flip it over so the biased piece was on the bottom. It doesn't seem to stretch so much that way. Only two more sides to go!!!

Blessings, Cathi

5 comments:

Janene said...

Cathi~That is a lot of triangles!!
I know nothing about fabric or quilting...so what you described was foreign to me. But I am looking forward to seeing what you do with these!

The Calico Cat said...

Without anything there to show the size of give a scale, those (especially since they are homespun) are small enough to use for stuffing! (You were ready to hear toss in the trash can, weren't you!)

Anonymous said...

I agree with Calico Cat....I can't see the scale...ooooooo those do look teeny tiny and did you say stretchy? Hmmmmm..... I've seen Bonnie's scrap bag of the teeny tiny and she still seems to use them in paper piecing etc. If they are too small and raveling...I say let's support the birds with their nesting materials. From the looks of the pile you did do some serious power sewing and cutting!

Teresa said...

That looks like trash to me. I do have a big box of HST though - all different sizes that are leftovers from flying geese blocks, snow ball blocks, etc where I have sewn two triangles together. Someday I plan to make a pinwheel quilt with all different size blocks - someday. Until then, I just keep cramming them into the box.

Mary @ Neat and Tidy said...

I'm all for saving a dollar here and there and not being wasteful. That said, there is also a time to think about simplifying your life. I'd say hang onto the scraps until you can find a project for them. After a while, get rid of them if you don't find that project. Once in a while I wish I had hung onto something for the "some day" project; but more often than not, I'm glad I have an orderly sewing room.