Stringing Along

I regularly add narrow strips of fabric to my bin of strings. Saving those slivers of fabric for a rainy day. I discovered that there was a small flaw with this plan. The bin does not hold infinite amounts of strings. I decided it was time to start stitching.

I trimmed pages from an old phone book to use as a foundation for assembling my blocks. This is a method I learned from Bonnie Hunter. Her blog Quiltville has loads of great stuff including the directions for string piecing blocks using foundation papers called Basket-Weave Strings. She also has a section about getting started with string piecing.

I decided it was time to really sit down and use my Singer red eye (model 66) in treadle cabinet and make something. You can read the four-post series I wrote about this wonderful machine. Start at the beginning and see some of what I've done to take this machine from a display piece to a working machine. This seemed the perfect project. That 1/4" seam allowance isn't all that important when piecing strings. This machine sews such a pretty straight stitch, and quietly, too.

I stitched and stitched.

Then I pressed and stitched some more. I used Electric Quilt 7 to figure out how many of these blocks I would need. It helpfully supplied the answer: 200! Because I don't make many small quilts.

I stitched and stitched. On January 9th I reached that goal with this stack of blocks. Next will be trimming them, removing the paper backing, and sewing them into rows. I did manage to knock down that strings bin, though.

How small is too small a piece of fabric to keep? I found some very narrow strips in my bin and I'm not likely to keep pieces that small (think around 1" wide) any more. What is your limit?

Recently Kelly Ann asked her readers if they used these leftovers. If you are a scrappy person, please go leave her a comment and let her know.

I recently discovered some amazingly colored cotton yarns through The Knot Theorist. You should check out the fun color combinations created by Susan of Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber.