A Scrappy Point of View

So when I was writing this post, it kind of led me down an unexpected thought path and as promised, here is my rant.  It's not really a rant like Lewis Black-style.  Just some observations and where I find myself in it all.

So I have worked in a quilt shop for coming up on 9 years, I follow umpteen blogs, and I am part of another umpteen Facebook quilting groups.  And I have found that there are three main schools of thought on scrappy quilts and scrap quilting in general:

1. People who love scrap quilts/quilting - they love the challenges scrap quilting presents, that no two quilts will ever look the same, love the widely varied scrappy look, and they feel good about using up every little usable bit. 
2. People who like scrap quilts/quilting, but only in certain contexts - they like to use scraps, but maybe only for certain patterns, or maybe they only use scraps for applique pieces or in places where it's not evidently scrappy, but they too like knowing that they have used every little bit they can, but only where appropriate and where it makes sense.   
3. People who hate scrap quilts/quilting - they like colors to match and "make sense."  They might think scrappy quilts and using scraps makes quilts look amateurish, sloppy, or uncoordinated.   

Hey.  To each their own.  There are no Quilt Police.  No one is going to rappel from the ceiling to rip your quilt out of your hands if it is scrappy, or not.  But it should be clear at this point which teams I play for...I am a scrap lover all the way. 

 Scrap heap o'doom piled "neatly" under my cutting table.  

 Large, folded up scraps for...stuff.

 Pre-cut scraps so I don't have to cut later.  I love me some squares y'all. 

Yeah.  Scraps are my bag, baby.  That's not to say I don't love yardage too.  I also have that addiction.

 Part of my organized shelf.  Only part. The floor is a mess soooo

More disorganized shelf.  But only part. Because it's a mess.  But also, it's insulation.  IT'S AN INVESTMENT, OKAY.

Now, I can't speak for all scrap lovers, I can only speak for myself.  Why do I love scrap quilts and scrap quilting?  The challenge really gets my creative gears spinning.  I love strategizing placement and usage with the knowledge that I can't just cut another piece off my yardage.  Quilting is already like a puzzle, but this adds another problem solving element that I just find really enjoyable.  I love the challenge of making a quilt solely our of leftover blocks from other projects, and making it work.  It never gets boring, because there is always something new to consider and it forces you to look at things in a different way; it becomes less about pattern and more about color and value.  I love how the chaos comes together to make something beautiful.  But if you really want to get down to the nitty gritty, scrap quilting means you are getting the absolute greatest value out of your fabrics.  Imagine if you tossed a 2.5" strip off of every yard you bought just because it was surplus off of a project?  Or if you had a few 3.5" or 5" squares left that just got pitched?  Those are very usable sizes, and they add up.  If you wanna get real about it, making a scrap quit means you have reinvested very possible cent of what you bought that yard for.

But the best part is it is UP TO YOU how "scrappy" it looks.  It could be a free for all with all the colors. You could do it like I did in my blog background.  Or you could do it only for an element of the quilt, like I did for the background in this quilt.  Or, you could just use scraps to make up your appliques - no one would ever know where those pieces came from...for all they know, it was yardage all the way!  Scrappy doesn't have to be synonymous with a lack of cohesion.  A scrappy quilt can be harmonious and flow just as well as a quilt built with matching yardage.  That is the challenge right there that I love. 

If you have never done a scrap quilt, that is my challenge to you.  Try it.  Dive as deep as you want.  Make it chaos, make it calm, it's yours.  Sometimes it's fun to just play.  Who knows, maybe you'll fall for scrap quilting too :-)