Is it time for another scrap challenge?
I have all these leftover scraps
from my #100Days100Blocks quilt.
And since I need a quilt back,
I am going to sew as much as possible together
to make a big scrappy #afterquilt.
And since I'm heading out of town, the time is ticking.
So, stick with me, and I'll show you if I do it.
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts.
I give you tips, tricks, and strategies
to help you make the quilt that you want to make.
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I am on a mission to finish several quilts
that are taking up a big chunk of space in my sewing room.
And last month, I decided that my #100Days100Blocks quilt
from 2021 was next on the list.
My first layout I loved,
but it didn't really work out well for me with sashing.
So, it took some time to let it swim around in my head,
trying to puzzle it out,
but eventually, a new layout did emerge.
And though it was a very mentally challenging week
trying to get all the blocks to play nicely together,
I am pleased at how it turned out, and the top is done.
Now, back in November,
I proactively purchased some yardage
to make the back out of.
Even back then, I knew that the top
was going to be a challenge,
and that I would probably want a nice, easy finish,
but as I laid out the backing fabric
over my quilt for sizing, I found out
that because I added sashing
and I changed the layout it was now too small.
So, now, it's time to make an afterquilt.
But since I'm heading off to the Netherlands this week,
I don't have much time.
(upbeat music)
I am intending to longarm this quilt.
So, I need a back that is 8" wider
and 8" taller than my quilt back.
My top measures 77"by 90",
which means that my back
needs to be at least 85" by 98".
I like to lay the quilt top out on my king size bed
as it is the largest flat surface in my home.
And it's at a height that's not too hard on my back,
but mostly it's just easy to see
without doing a lot of math and measuring,
what do I need to do?
Or what do I need to make?
(upbeat music)
The next step is seeing what I have.
This backing fabric is too short in both directions.
If I cut it in half, I still need to cover
at least 10" in height lengthwise
and at least 20" in the width.
So, what do I have that can fill those gaps?
This is what I have left over from making the quilt top.
I have yardage.
I have partial fat quarters,
a bunch of 2 1/2" strips
from when I made my sashing,
and a lot of miscellaneous scraps.
First, I square off my larger fabric pieces,
so that they are nice, neat, and easy to use.
My policy is always to work
from the smallest pieces to the largest,
because it's so much harder
to incorporate those small pieces into projects.
So, I take the time to organise my scraps by size.
This is not a small step.
I usually do this the night before
as I often get caught up in the fabric,
in the colours, and all the decisions that I need to make.
Is it a square? Is it a rectangle?
Should I save it?
All those decisions can be exhausting.
So, this is what I have.
So, I've got all my scraps together.
I have these big pieces here. When I was worried last night
if I would have enough fabric, I obviously have a lot.
These are just big rectangles that I trimmed up.
I've got some 2 1/2" strips here.
I've just got some strips.
Last night, I was being a little bit silly
and I did some fussy cutting of some of the motifs.
So, I've made some 4" squares here.
These are just crumbs, a couple of premade blocks.
And over on my ironing table, I have some leftover HSTs.
Now, I need to take a break,
walk away, and come back with fresh eyes.
Unfortunately, I'm not feeling too creative at the moment.
With everything I have to do before I leave on Friday,
my brain is just full of to-do lists,
which is really not good for creativity.
So, to help me get into the zone,
I am making some crumb strips with adding machine tape.
I have a tonne of crumbs to use up.
Just sorting them takes me about 30 minutes.
I decide on five strips, 22 inches wide,
or that's half the width of fabric.
And after I make a tonne of tiny blocks,
I sew them onto the paper.
Then, I trim the strips up.
I'm going to leave the papers on
until I sew them into the back.
Next, I try to combine the obvious blocks.
If I had some leftover blocks or some partially made blocks,
I would start with those,
but I don't have any this time.
But I do have these leftover HSTs,
which I sew them together in various patterns.
Then, build them up ala courthouse step style.
I also have some lovely motifs left over.
This owl that Tula Pink designs
is one of my favourite of all times.
Pressing is a very important part of making an after quilt.
It doesn't matter whether your blocks are orderly or improv,
your seams are straight or wonky,
your blocks need to lie flat to prevent creases and puckers.
So, be sure not to neglect this stage.
Now that I've made a tonne of blocks,
it's time to tidy up.
And I put all my scraps in order again by size.
(upbeat music)
Now, I have some blocks made,
I need to think about the layout of the after quilt
from the original purple fabric
that I purchased for the back,
I want as much of the selvages as possible
to be on the top and the bottom of the afterquilt
to help keep the back square
when I load it onto the longarm.
I also do not want my scrap blocks
on the side of the afterquilt
as they will be trimmed off after quilting.
So, based on these parameters, this is what I'm going to do.
I have already cut my back piece in half.
Then, I will cut a half into three,
a narrow gap for my adding machine strips
and a big gap for my blocks.
And then, I will do the opposite placement
for the other piece.
Across the middle, I will remove the selvages
and make a belly bend out of any remaining blocks.
And I do a quick lie down of the blocks
that I've made to see what goes best where.
(upbeat music)
I make my cuts on the backing fabric.
Now, I am just eyeballing these cuts, not measuring.
I sew two adding machine strips together.
And then, I sew them into the back.
(upbeat music)
Now, for the bigger gaps.
To save myself in measuring everything out,
what I'm doing is...this is the width of fabric,
and I have measured, this is 22 inches.
And what I'll do just so I have a visual,
I can just mark it with a pin
or just use some masking tape.
So, I'm incorporating my label.
These are all these big,
beautiful blocks that I made yesterday.
I'm just going to do more strip piecing
to build up the blocks, so that it all fits.
(upbeat music)
Now, one thing I should mention is the top.
This is where the selvage is.
This is where the top of the quilt is going to be.
So, where my
blocks meet the top
or edges of the quilt, I don't want any blocks.
I want it to have a solid piece,
because it's just going to get trimmed off.
It's just the extra that I need,
so I can pin it and let me have it lie nice and flat.
I think maybe I'll put about three inches,
three inches up along this top strip.
(upbeat music)
Now, I mentioned before
that it's important for the blocks to lie flat.
Now, as I sew them together, it's especially important.
So, I'm making sure to trim the edges square.
(upbeat music)
And it fits perfectly.
And I repeat for the space on the bottom.
(upbeat music)
(upbeat music continues)
Now, all that's left is the belly band in the middle.
And hooray, my scrap pile is getting smaller.
For my belly band,
I need all the blocks to be the same height.
For a few blocks, I might need to add a strip
to the top or the bottom, sometimes both.
And I will sew a strip in between the blocks as well.
And I put a solid piece at both ends of the strip.
Then, I sew it to the top piece
and then I sew it to the bottom piece.
(upbeat music)
And the back is done.
I load it onto the long arm
and I am so pleased with how flat it is.
I've chosen a pantagraph with a dense pattern,
because there are a lot of small pieces
both on the top and on the back.
I don't want to admit how late it was
when I actually finished.
And I am so glad
that I have my binding premade and the label done.
(upbeat music)
There are so many memories in this quilt.
When I started, we were just beginning
to drag ourselves out of quarantine.
I remember pulling the fabric for this quilt.
I had a totally different colour palette in mind,
but I stumbled on this combination,
and it filled me with so much delight
that I abandoned my first idea and took a left turn.
During the 100 days, I was so inspired
by all the blocks that were posted online.
And of course, the fun of joining Gnome Angel online
for our monthly Q and As,
sharing what other quilters were doing
and how they were challenging themselves.
I think that there's a piece of them all
on this quilt, and I will cherish it always.
Now, I did not use all of my scraps in this quilt,
but I showed you
how I processed all those scraps in my last video.
And this quilt also inspired other videos.
And if you want to see them all,
I'll leave a link to that playlist here.
I will also leave a link to some tips and tricks
for better results in your next project.
Take care, and I'll see you next time.
(bright music)