Wednesday, May 05, 2010

I felt the need to deal with my scraps last weekend; for the last two years I've been throwing little snippets and strings into a seagrass basket, and it was full.

So I sorted it out into little scraps, and longish strips, and large scraps, and then started sewing them together.

It;s lovely mindless work, no decisions to make; if two pieces are roughly the same length just feed them through the machine.  I had a lovely time, enjoying the simplicity of sewing, not even caring if it was a proper quarter inch seam.  I love crumb piecing because there are no rules to obey, you just do what the pieces dictate.

I only finished three blocks, but I sewed nearly all the small scraps together into larger pieces.

Next time I work on this project I'll concentrate on using the strips and large scraps to build the blocks large enough to trim to a constant 10.5" square.  None of the blocks will resemble each other, but that's the way a crumb quilt should be.

Last time I did this I ended up with this top; it's still not quilted, but it's on the list and waiting it's turn.  I like it a lot; it has something in it of just about every quilt I made in the last 10 years, and I love looking at it.  It's not something I'll get tired of in a hurry.
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9 comments:

  1. Karen9:27 PM

    I find it interesting how you put your crumbs together in some of the blocks. Your design sense still shows through.

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  2. Laura10:41 PM

    Love your scraps and your crumb blocks! I recently completed a string quilt top using only strips cut from my fat quarter stash and it was like a trip down memory lane remembering where I got all of the fabrics. So, I understand where you are coming from regarding your crumb quilts.

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  3. antique quilter1:28 AM

    love, love, love your blocks! oh my I should try this someday too!
    bet it is so much fun to just sew and not think about the design either, little mini quilts each block are!
    Kathie

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  4. Lynley12:09 PM

    You have managed to express something I have loved but not put my finger on before ... this is definitely why I enjoy piecing the scraps together! No decisions, no self-doubt, and the result is always quite charming.

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  5. Meggie6:24 PM

    How utterly charming and natural! I love the top you have yet to complete, and also, the new blocks.

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  6. Kerri11:43 PM

    Thanks for sharing the crumb blocks. I love how they turned out. Such neat work.

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  7. Amanda2:08 AM

    I love crumb blocks too - it is a bit like making a fabric jigsaw. I have been making my crumb blocks 9" and find that a bit too big - it gets harder to finish them off to that size.

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  8. Rose Marie9:52 PM

    I have a bin that is overflowing and know that it is time to make another crazy quilt. I like your idea of throwing in some orphan blocks to give it a different look.

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  9. Sue SA3:43 PM

    Wow in ten years of quilting I have never heard of crumb blocks, string piecing yes, but crumbs no.
    What a great idea, certainly makes me feel very grateful that I have kept all those scraps - with the original view to using them in applique - but I think a crumb quilt is going on the to do list!

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