Sunday, March 18, 2012

Scrappy log cabins

My scrap basket has been bothering me, because it's been getting a bit full (not totally full, but enough) - at the start of the weekend, it looked like this.  OK, that's only about half full, but it only gets worse...

So, I decided to tackle it, in conjunction with a shoebox full of small, colour coordinated scraps (which are leftover from the last time I completely emptied the scrap basket)


and my box of scrap strips


which was looking a lot better since I made all those 12" strippy blocks, but which still had plenty of shorter strips in it. 

I decided to make scrappy log cabins, because it's a practical way to use most sizes of square and rectangle and because I like making log cabins. 

I also decided, while I was at it, to cut some of my smaller scraps into 2" squares. This is really the fault of a blogging friend, with whom I swapped some 2" squares - we each sent 100.  This may sound like a lot, but as those of you who have worked with 2" squares know, it doesn't go far. So I knew I'd need some more...


...though perhaps not 1600 more, which is how many I have now (actually, 1700, counting the ones from Indigo Blue) - each of those piles is 100, 2" squares. 

So, at the end of the weekend, I have the 16 log cabin blocks shown above (they are 8.5", to finish at 8" and are not sewn into a top yet - I'm just accumulating blocks for now), plus about 2 dozen more in various stages of creation, but not yet with enough rounds to reach the 8" mark,


a shoebox full of log cabin starters (2- round and 3-round blocks) and a lid full of small log and some centres, 


a strip bin which has fewer strips in it (you can see the bottom of the bin, in the top right hand corner of the photo), and...


an empty scrap basket. 

I will finish off some more log cabins, as long as I have strips to make logs from, but I'm sure I will have more starter pieces than I need to go with the number of logs I have - that's fine, though, I will just hang on to them to use with more scraps, as those accumulate - which I'm sure they will!  I have a basket of slightly larger scraps I can go through as well, if I feel the urge...

7 comments:

Needled Mom said...

Oh yeah and you have such wonderful results from emptying it!

Sew Create It - Jane said...

1700 2" scraps ..wow... I can't imagine cutting that many let alone sewing them together!

Those log cabins are brill and will make a fabulous quilt.

black bear cabin said...

impressive! i should start doing that with my scrap basket...right now its just a wad of fabrics shoved in a bag, but id really like to use them in something! thanks for the inspiration, as always :)

Cindy Is Crafty said...

I love the log cabins. Just something about the lines.

sewkalico said...

Love your log cabins!

carole brungar said...

Hi Kate, Wow, I'm impressed with your empty scrap basket, and with what you've done with them :)
My scraps are stacking up too and I have started thinking about what I'm going to make. x

Lynne said...

Funnily enough, I am making scrappy log cabin blocks and the centres are the HST scraps you sent me last year! Post on Saturday for Rainbow Challenge.