Scrap Quilt

Isn't it fun???? This is whats known as a scrap-buster quilt and I love it. There are a lot of different scrapbusters out there, like this gorgeously color organized quilt, or this fabulously neat quilt. But, after finishing my last quilt for my good friends new baby girl (see quilt here) which took me upwards of 50 hours...I wish I was exaggerating...I needed something crazy to work on. Something that not only didn't need to be perfect, but wasn't even supposed to be perfect. I took one look at all my scraps and wham! It hit me, the perfect quilt. I thought I had an original idea on my hands until I stumbled across a similar version the other day. Oh, well. Nothing new under the sun and all that :)

I love this quilt. The thing I love the most is that I can look at a different scrap and remember exactly what I did with that material. You see, I rarely make things for myself. Once I start a project I need motivation to keep going and usually my motivation is that its a gift for someone else, or something for one of my kids. I love making things for others, it's truly one of my greatest joys to spend hours (and sometimes tens of hours) on a crafty present for a friend. Each scrap on this quilt reminds me of that feeling. Which, is why it's so perfect for the person I'm giving it to.

This quilt is for a friends daughter. I've been meaning to do it for quite some time now (since she was born). This friend means a lot to me. She is selfless, giving of her time and energy to others even when she has very little of it. She is a wonderful listener, always compassionate, full of great advice and never judgemental. She is a great hostess; she fills her home with food, love and warmth and pretty much has an open door policy (but don't tell her I told you). And mostly, she is a wonderful mother. She gives her best to her children and it shows. I miss her. Her daughter is not going to know me like I thought she would. This quilt is a little bit of me to show her that I love her even though she's just a little girl and even though I won't be in her everyday life.

WOW, I'm uber emotional tonight.
Anyways, I finished it today and my friend has no idea its coming and I'm so EXCITED! Almost like Christmas! I'm going to take you step by step on how to make this really versatile quilt.

Some things you'll need:
-A walking foot--you don't NEED this per se...I didn't use one cause Mr F just put my crafting on a $30 per month budget and that's how much the dang foot would have cost me. It would have been considerably easier and probably would look better had I used one.
-A large pile of scraps in all different shapes and colors. My scraps range in size from 1/2''x1/2" to 4x5", really any size will do
-Cotton quilt batting 44x44
-two 44x44(most bolts are 44" wide) solid colored pieces of fabric for the top and back. It can look nice to have a solid front with a print backing but I had solids so that's what I went with
-Thread that coordinates with your backing fabric
-Quilt Basting Spray
-lots of straight pins
-Binding click here for an easy binding tutorial

I'm using a solid pink for the background. I think this would look really good with a solid white too, or maybe a dark grey. I chose pink because 1.) Mr. F's grandma brought me 6 yards of baby pink Egyptian cotton back FROM EGYPT(!!!)...I know, pretty cool right?? and I don't know what else to do with that much pink and 2.) it's for a little girl, so it works :)

First you want to make a "quilt sandwich". Go to a flat surface that will fit your quilt. I used the kitchen floor a lot when I was first starting out, but a large table will work too, anywhere really. It's just easier to keep the wrinkles out on the kitchen floor.

^^This is my "quilt sandwich" You take the first piece of 44x44 and lay it flat and smooth out any wrinkles.

Second, you take a can of this phenomenal stuff called quilt basting spray (found at JoAnns) and starting in the center of the fabric, follow the directions on the can and spray your quilt. Then, a little at a time, beginning in the center, lay down the quilt batting, smoothing out any wrinkles as you work towards the edges. Then do the same thing with the second piece of 44x44 fabric on top of the batting, make sure there are NO wrinkles! This is your chance to make it perfect, cause once you start sewing, its too late. If you want to get crazy, you can skip the basting spray and pin everything together with safety pins, like a real quilter, but things tend to shift once you start sewing and you're more likely to have problems later unless you're a seasoned quilter.

Next, grab all of scraps and start laying them down on the quilt. I created a border first, placing the scraps in different directions and then moving towards the center like a puzzle. I did need to trim them every now and again, particularly once I had filled a lot of the space, in order to make them fit properly. Once you like the layout, place a pin or three in each scrap. Safety pins would be ideal, but, I like to be difficult (sigh) so I used straight pins.

Now you're ready to start sewing. Starting in the center of your quilt, sew a 1/4" seam allowance around each block. Make sure to do a back stitch at the beginning and end. This is where that walking foot would've come in handy. I had to pivot with the needle down at every corner and shove all the bulk of my quilt through the tiny arm space of my machine. Not ideal because things kept shifting since I used straight pins and I had to realign the blocks every time I started sewing. It took forever. But, isn't it nice of me to be working the kinks out for you in advance? It'll be much easier when you do it now.

If you are like me, and you want to do it right now in spite of the fact that you don't have all of the proper supplies (like a walking foot), make sure that you are keeping the fabric very straight. Without a walking foot the machine is pushing and pulling the fabric through for you and that can cause the fabric to shift in ways that will cause it to buckle when you're sewing the last side of each block. If your machine has a function that allows you to put the feed dogs down, do it. It'll save you a lot of grief. Now, just keep sewing the blocks on until you're done.

Side note: If you're thinking to yourself, "how on earth does she have time to quilt with 2 kids?" This is what my kids were doing while I was sewing...destroying my craft room!!! SweetPea pulled every hair bow and every piece of fabric out of  the closet and spread it around the room. Look at the look of innocence on her face! Ha!

Chunks rolled around on the floor while I tried to make sure I didn't drop any pins. Whatever keeps them happy so I can sew!

Next, grab a ruler and your rotary blade and square it up. This just means to trim off all the excess sides and make sure it's a perfect square. Make sure your corners are nice and square so that once the binding is on it still looks crisp.

There are 2 ways to do binding. You can either sew down the front, and blind stitch the back, or you can sew on both sides. I decided to sew it because I despise hand stitching and since this is for a baby, I thought it would hold up through all the washings better than my a hand stitch would. This is a great binding tutorial. I'm not going to do my own because I do it the same way and this one is very thorough.

Once your binding is done, wash and dry it (to get that soft, crinkly, quiltiness and you're done!