I'm a Squirrel But Don't Tell Joe*

Here's what happened: My pal Julie over at Me and My Quilts wrote this post about finally deciding to make a Scrap Vortex quilt. I read her post and began thinking about the relatively untamed scraps in my studio and thought that might be a good idea for me, too. I wrote and told her this, and before very long her reply came back. I could hear her cackling as I read where she said something like "Wait until you see tomorrow's blog post!"

So, of course, first thing this morning I hurried to her blog and lo and behold, a club has formed!

Yup, the Squirrel club. It's for quilters like us who are contentedly working on a project and allatoncejustlikethat another idea strikes our fancy and we take off like a dog after a squirrel.

Don't you love it?

She's also sort of subtly encouraging participants to make a Scrap Vortex quilt. Like, who among us doesn't have a pile or a box or a tub full of scraps of one kind or another? (Or all kinds?)

My scraps aren't really of a size to be considered scraps. They're more like left-overs. And they are in about four Rubbermaid tubs (the big ones). There's the Kaffe and Associates, the Batiks, the Blacks-Whites-Grays, and the Brights. The Civil Wars, the William Morrises, and the Thirties all were given away. I've got a Pinterest board (or two) with ideas for using up scraps.

So here's my plan: I'm going to continue to work on my current project (a nice little baby quilt made from some of the fabrics I bought in Virginia this spring). But before I resume, I'm going to open one of those tubs and pull some scraps and start my own Scrap Vortex as a leader-ender project.

The only question is: Which tub?



*The Man of the House loathes squirrels. So does Blackberry.



Comments

Quiltdivajulie said…
Ohhh - I don't think I've ever seen one in blacks, whites, grays -- that could be amazing. And just for kicks you could drop in one or two related colors to spice things up if needed. (and DH despises squirrels and so does our grand dog)
Oh dear, what have I started? This is just great and I think I have a huge Rubbermaid tub (or two) filled with scraps. Time to chase that squirrel!!
gayle said…
I don't think I'll start a Scrap Vortex, but I'm always up for a good squirrel chase...
Yup, Crazy Mom Quilts' Vortex Bug hit me too. My scraps are on my table right now, still out from my present project. I'm thinking of stitching pieces for a Vortex before I put them away. I'm sure I don't have enough for a quilt, but I'll stitch and save and be ready to go when I create MORE scraps. So you and I have kind of the same plan for a Vortex Quilt. Great Minds.
xx, Carol
LizA. said…
Uh oh, I think this is definitely for me. If you saw all the bins of started projects and then....squirrel, there goes another one. And the scraps, I swam they multiply overnight. A friend was over a couple weeks ago and we were trying to cut them up using the GoCutter and I swear, we didn’t make a dent.
Janet O. said…
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
Joe won't hear a word of it from me.
Barbara Anne said…
I saw Julie's post and am pressing scraps (or would be if I wasn't typing!) as this Scrap Vortex project seems just perfect for a child's happy quilt, perhaps for donation ... or not. As if I have so few scraps I need to choose one or the other? Methinks I can make several of these quilts and I like your idea of using it as Leaders/Enders.

It's time for me to do a rain dance as things are sadly dry here. Our 90% chance of rain today and tonight (midweek forecast) has dropped to 50% chance of "scattered storms" for today and tonight. Phooey!

Hugs!
Cotton Farmer said…
I have a good start from trimming down the scrap patch in the middle of the back of The Quilt....plus tons of trimmings from cutting those tumblers. But it will have to wait until I get home. Perfect for stress relief from those other projects! (And, actually this is the cotton farmer's wife. We can't get our accounts straightened out!!
Have fun chasing that SQUIRREL!!! I absolutely LOVE quilting with my scraps. Not sure what my project will be (since I'm not interested in making the Scrap Vortex quilt.) I'm sure I'll think of something...
What a fun idea! I'm new to quilting so really don't have the scrap masses yet, but will love to see what you experienced squirrels make.
PaulaB quilts said…
The thought of a full size Vortex is daunting, BUT why not a baby quilt. So here I go chasing this squirrel.