Scrap collecting...

What do you do with your scraps? Not the ones you can put into another quilt, but the ones that are too small or funny-shaped to do anything with?

What about those long, thin pieces of batting you trim off your finished quilts? Do you save those?

I do. I can't help myself.

Not because I'm a hoarder (though I'm sure there are elements of that involved here) -- it's just that I totally believe they'll come in handy for something someday. I also don't like the idea of this kind of stuff going into landfill, where it's going to take years to decompose. So it fills up my closet (and designated "scrap can") instead.

Until today, when Archie got a new throne:

Or a temporary one, anyway. This pillow made from one of many scarf samples and stuffed with fabric and batting trimmings is headed to the local animal shelter. I think Archie's OK with not keeping it...

...because he's really much happier in the scarf box, anyway!

According to my calendar...

It's National Quilting Day!

Pillow talk...

I have recently come into possession of a great many scarf samples. Just what I needed -- more textiles in my house and more ideas buzzing around my already addled brain!

They range from cashmere to wool/cashmere blends to a few silks and knits, but they're mostly "cashmink," an ungodly soft synthetic that feels like butter against skin. These are high-end winter scarves for men and women that would probably end up at Nieman-Marcus, Saks or Nordstrom, five or six color ways in each pattern. I've started making pillows from the wider 14" ones because they're an easy flip-and-sew, and the fringe end adds a cute touch.

I've stitched most of the knits together to make full scarves to donate, and I'm finishing the raw end of the less attractive patterns to take to the Anti-Cruelty Society to comfort homeless kitties. I'm not sure stitching them together would result in the most attractive quilt, and I could probably make pillows until I'm blue in the face....but I need more ideas, folks! Keep in mind they're not stretchy, in a very wide range of colors and patterns, and mostly 12" x 36" in size.

What would you do with these?

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Attempt #1...

My initial sketch was much larger than what I ended up cutting. I envisioned 2" finished squares, but rather than slice all that fabric up and find out I didn't like what was happening, I went with 3" strips and edited significantly just to see how the design would work out.

I think it needs to be wider, but otherwise, I'm liking the sort-of-random placement of the blues. I'll add solids to fill in the gaps and finish it up.

This one will probably end up as a charity quilt -- Lent, after all, is fast approaching, though I don't think I'm going to attempt six quilts again this year -- and I'll try another that's closer to the original idea.

Quite a few folks seemed surprised that I use PowerPoint to sketch out my projects. I've been working with that software pretty much since it came out in the late 80's, so using it to draw up quilt designs comes pretty easily to me. I have used EQ, which definitely has its advantages (calculating fabric requirements, for one) but I'm just more comfortable with PowerPoint.  If anybody has any specific questions about using it, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll be happy to help.