Book Review: Scrap Therapy Cut the Scraps!

A few weeks ago I checked out Scrap Therapy Cut the Scraps!: 7 Steps to Quilting Your Way through Your Stash by Joan Ford from my local library. The patterns were nice, although none screamed “make me now!” to me. I was very inspired, though, by Joan’s scrappy story. She saved all of the scraps from her quilting projects, boxed them up and stored them in the basement out of sight and out of mind. One day, she decided to put her scraps to good use. She methodically cut her scraps into 5”, 3.5” and 2” squares and developed patterns that used those pieces and made scrap quilt after scrap quilt. I look working with scraps, but never thought about organizing them in such a manner. After reading her book, I couldn’t wait to start trimming my own scraps!

I decided to cut my scraps into 5” and 2.5” squares, as those are the sizes that I use most often, due to the prevalence of pre-cuts and patterns for pre-cuts. I really like the idea of using charm pack patterns with charms I have cut myself. I’m a sucker for charm packs anyways. I classify my stash into three categories: scraps, which are smaller than a fat eighth or so; leftovers, which are bigger than a fat eighth and/or sorted by projects; and unwashed fabric, which is new fabric that I haven’t touched yet. I plan on trimming all of my scraps and some of my leftovers into 5” and 2.5” squares. I’ve only just started, but already my box of neatly trimmed scraps makes me smile.

P.S. My mom made the quilt in the picture above.