Favorite Things Friday - Scraps

Scraps, wonderful scraps!  It's my Favourite Thing this week, and pretty much any other week of the year too.

(Caution:  Potentially disturbing images of disorganization follow.  Viewer discretion advised.  Sensitive persons may wish to pop a Xanax or pour a glass of wine.)

Under this pile is a vintage sewing table...somewhere.

New fabric is great, but I have a confession to make.  I look forward to the end of any project made with new fabric yardage just so I can have fun with the scraps.  You too?

So colorful and interesting!

There is a sort of liberation with scraps.  You have to use your noggin a bit to make it work.  You don't have to do matchy-matchy, unless you want to.  Not that there's anything wrong with coordination, but personally, I've grown comfortable with a certain degree of uncoordination.

A small pile to the left of my cutting mat.

Scraps offer so many possibilities.  Using the bits and bobs you have on hand can net you something very unique and interesting (and fugly happens too, let's be honest). 

To the right of the cutting mat, and keeping the Juki from getting lonesome.

I think the appeal of scraps plays right into my appreciation for people who make something from nothing.  Recycle, upcycle, turn trash to treasure, whatever you want to call it.  We throw so much away that still has value to someone somewhere.

To the right of the Singer, more black and white scraps.

But I'm not denying the urge to purge.  We all go through cycles of accumulating and getting rid of things.  Circle of life and commerce and all that.

Currently hogging space on my ironing board.

An attempt to organize by color on the floor (FAIL).

What's cool is when you share your scraps with willing quilty friends, like Jenny did when she packed (and I mean PACKED) a Priority Mail box and sent it my way.

This is after at least half of the scraps had been removed.  Still packed!

Scraps on top of scrap drawers (which are full of more scraps).

It was like scoring the jumbo pack of Crayolas with the built-in sharpener!  So many colors!  Patterns!  Potential!

A peek at one of the things I made from scraps this week.

And another peek at something else.

In fact, I'm reminded of my childhood love of coloring with crayons, because that's exactly what it's felt like to play with these.  Time disappears.  I'm in my happy place.  Likely to forget appointments, meals, and basic hygiene. 

To be sure, playtime with scraps will come to an end all too soon.  Work will get busier.  I'll feel the effects of neglect in other areas of life.  The phase of the moon will change and I'll get a wild hair to clean up all the clutter.  Or I may even decide to quilt a flimsy or two (gasp!).

Still, there's no doubt about it.  Scraps kick ass.