http://www.themodernquiltguild.com/

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

MAKING DO

One of my blogger friends used this button recently to talk about not buying more fabric until she had used up some of her stash.  She challenged all of us to join in the Making Do! project.  I took the button and decided to use it whenever I wanted to pull from my stash, or to use some leftover blocks, or to make a project completely without going shopping. 

Since I started quilting I have saved lots of pieces of fabric and thread and, of course, batting.  I keep these things stacked up in my closet in the studio with the intention of using them for future projects.  Sometimes it happens, but mostly they just stay in the stack.

Recently I decided to sort out the batting.  Occasionally I take some of my larger quilts to a Longarm Quilter who asks her customers to purchase packaged batting to bring with the quilt.  This usually means that it is a batting that is quite a bit larger than the finished size of the quilt. There is always batting to be trimmed off later.
When I use this particular LAQ I try to always choose the same brand and type of batting with the idea that I would be piecing batting together for smaller projects.



The first thing I did was measure all the stray pieces of batting and I labeled them with the size written on a piece of paper.  A friend of mine who uses this same LAQ also gave me some of her leftovers.


When I completed the top of my last project called "Believe the Dream" I measured it and decided to make a pieced batting.


All of the batting was the same 100% cotton but some of it was white and some of it was cream.  That did not matter in my case since the quilt was scrappy. 


I simply butted them together and used a zigzag stitch to join them.  I have seen many ways to do this including layering the two pieces and cutting a serpentine line.  Since I knew I was going to use a dense quilting pattern on this project, I opted to simply stitch with a zigzag.  It holds it together well enough that there is no separation during quilting.

When the project was completed you could not tell the difference in the pieced batting and a similar project that would have been a solid piece of batting.

This particular project was a Making Do! project from start to finish.  I used up leftover blocks from another project; I used up a bolt of fabric that had been in my stash for a long time to make the backing; and, of course, I used the pieced batting.

WOW! what a great feeling.


And the quilt ain't bad either!!
                                     -sandi

15 comments:

  1. I love this quilt, and what a quilt it is from just 'making do' and a stashbuster too, the only thing missing is Lil Bit! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the tip. I have had that motto for quite a while now because my stash was overwhelming me.
    Your quilt is beautiful, as always :)
    Renea

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love all your ideas and tips. And the way you placed the blocks on this quilt turned out really new and modern and fun. I like the light and dark patterns. Thanks Sandi for encouraging us and always "teaching". Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sandi it is lovely! You might want to check out some of my dog beds where I use some scrap batting to make my Dorothy some beds that are washable. I know Little Bit would love them too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Making doggy beds from batting sounds like a very good idea. I made a few with fabric scraps and found that they did not launder well. They seemed too lumpy afterward. Thanks for your comment, Quilty Lady!!

      Delete
  5. What a great "Making Do" story! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Julia. Your Green Quilts have inspired me to do more of this!

      Delete
  6. I also piece my leftover batting and have great results, I used the same zig zag method. Its crazy to me that people would throw away these leftovers, some of them are such huge pieces!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment, Julianne. I use my smaller pieces to make mug rugs and placemats.

      Delete
  7. Lovely quilt!!! I too played along with the Making Do challenge, it was great to use up some of what I have on hand. I hope to continue to work on more making do projects

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe that will be our mantra for 2013: "Making Do Is What I Do". LOL

      Delete
  8. I decided this past year to do the same ~ ~ make as many quilts as possible without a trip to the store ( or online!) It's been fun and quite challenging at times. I'm down to VERY few multi-yard pieces and now have mostly one-yard pieces and leftovers. The challenge might have become a bit more interesting. I think it's great to "Make Do" Thanks for sharing your ideas ~ ~ ~ Oh, and leftover batting small pieces make wonderful swiffer dust rags, or just plain dust rags -- (a tip from my longarm friend). and Melissa says "Awesome Quilt, Sandi!"

    ReplyDelete