Cutting Question
#22
I am a scrappy girl and I have thrown my lot in with Bonnie Hunter. She tells you how to cut your scraps to their most useful size. I have huge bins of 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2" strips. I buy many 1 yd cuts, I cut these 3 sizes and then leave the rest for other sizes or blocks I might need. It has helped me in so many ways. I always have a head start on my quilts. I love making hst, so I do a lot of them in different sizes to have on hand. I recently finished a Ocean Waves scrappy made with 4,000+ 2" hst and I have enough to do another I think. Also just finished a split nine patch quilt and I have lots of 2 1/2" hst.
#23
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 9,299
I am fairly structured, too, but am slowly breaking out of the mold. To help you out, I can suggest two kinds of scrappies to start with because you really can't go wrong.
One is a 16 patch and the second is a string quilt. Youtube has all kinds of videos. Just make sure you have some light fabrics to provide contrast, or your quilt will look busy or dull .
For a string quilt, you don't have to abandon your structured nature (no sense fighting it, just think "expanding your horizons") . Just pick a focus fabric you like and pull colors from that. Of course most string quilts have a common color (often white) that goes down the middle of the block as the first piece. When they're all put together, that white provides a design element .
But you probably know this already. Consider yourself among friends who share your tendency to be structured and yet want to be a bit more loosey-goosey .
One is a 16 patch and the second is a string quilt. Youtube has all kinds of videos. Just make sure you have some light fabrics to provide contrast, or your quilt will look busy or dull .
For a string quilt, you don't have to abandon your structured nature (no sense fighting it, just think "expanding your horizons") . Just pick a focus fabric you like and pull colors from that. Of course most string quilts have a common color (often white) that goes down the middle of the block as the first piece. When they're all put together, that white provides a design element .
But you probably know this already. Consider yourself among friends who share your tendency to be structured and yet want to be a bit more loosey-goosey .
#24
Originally Posted by [email protected]
Good Morning Everyone, Still newbie and still learning, so many questions pop into my head all the time. I was wondering, when you sit down to make a log cabin quilt, or any 9 patch etc, do you cut many strips before you start and then choose them, or do you just choose the fabrics as you go and cut them as you go? I might be confusing everyone, but let's say I have a nice piece of fabric, should I cut it all into strips to use or some strips and then maybe some squares for another quilt? Do I cut what I need and then just put it away? I am a very structured person and I want to get away from that and make more unplanned scrappy type quilts so they are more colorful and mixed up. I just can't seem to get away from my structured ways of planning a quilt on graph paper and then just using the same fabrics repeatedly in it. I don't have large amounts of fabrics, just what others have kindly shared with me, so I was hoping someone could instruct me better on cutting them??? I sure hope I haven't confused everyone? Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can give me. I am becoming so addicted to the fabrics and quilts I see on here. Have a great day. Rachel
I'd cut strips the width I needed, then cut the exact length as I went along. But I'd have worked out a layout by color before ever starting. I don't do well with random.
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02-05-2011 09:42 AM