On our annual quilting retreat last week, I decided to make the table topper mystery quilt.  I should know better.  I really like to put a project on my design wall as it progress, sometimes making changes to the fabric I’ve chosen.

At the retreat, I used a focus fabric that was directional – mistake.  When I started to put the project together it was a mess.  So I stopped what I was doing, came home and re-cut using a new focus fabric.  Everything is strip pieced so it goes together quite easily.

I liked the result so much that I ended up making two! I think that the second table topper will be one of my pieces in the craft boutique at our guild’s quilt show next year.

Lesson learned.

There's always time to quilt!

We’ve all heard of it, but it wasn’t until I took the Scrap Therapy class from Joan Ford that I realized just how easy organizing a scrap stash could be. We all collect fabric scraps of various colors and patterns, fully intending to use the pieces when just a small amount of fabric is needed for an applique flower or leaf.  Maybe we will only need a few pieces to complete a piecing project.  But as Joan said, “We normally go to our favorite fabric shop and pick up a fat quarter”, rather than ‘wade’ through the pile of scraps we’ve collected.

I’ve always sorted scraps by color. But my zip lock bags are just becoming a mess of wrinkled fabric.

Whenever I pull out a bag and dump out the contents, I have to stuff the pieces I won’t be using back into the bag – and it’s just a tangled mess.

To remedy this Joan has developed Scrap Therapy. Any piece of fabric that is a 1/4 yard or larger goes back into her stash.  The rest of the scraps are cut into three square sizes that make sense.  She also gave us tips on rulers, cutting, and storing our cut squares.

We’ve all seen the beautiful quilts that Joan creates with these size combinations.  I’m looking forward to taking one of her classes later this year so I can put all this organization to good use.

I think however, that I’ll still continue to sort my leftover fabric by color, but also intend to cut the leftover fabric into squares which can be so easily stored in plastic shoe boxes. It’ll be so easy to see what I have on hand with this method.

We’ll be taking our camper up to the Adirondacks this week.  This is one of the projects I’ll take along – I really am looking forward to getting started.

Thanks Joan – this certainly is therapy.  I not only came away with some very useful and much needed information  but I had fun too.  Joan is not only a great instructor – she has some funny stories to share – and makes you feel at ease as soon as you meet her.

There’s always time to quilt.