Scrap Attack {with Badskirt Amy}

just one of Amy's iconic hippos.  See more of her animals here.

This is Amy.  Isn't she adorable?  Ok, so this is actually just the face we know and love her by on Flickr, but you get the point.  Soooo much personality.  And lots of fun.

When I first contacted Badskirt Amy about joining in with our Scrap Attack Quilt-Along she was very upfront about having a "unique" perspective on scraps.  She said, "I don't actually own a "scrap bin" of any sort.  I work from FQs or 30cm strips, and cut off what I need as I use them.  Reasonable size pieces are folded back into the fabric shelves rather than put into a scrap bin. If I don't think I'll use it, I give it to local friends who use them in craft fair projects for local school..."

Well, I couldn't leave that alone!  I mean, here we are scrap attacking and there she is humming along with no care scraps in the world.  So off we go on a little interview!

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Rachel:  Did you decide from the get go not to keep small scraps or was this approach something that developed over time?  We want the full dish!

Colour and Shape test, at Badskirt

Amy:  I used to be a scrap keeper. When I started out, they filled one small tub. Then two. Then three... The theory was they were scraps and I could use them as I tested out patterns or new ideas. What I realized though is crap is at the core of the word scrap. And if it's crap, why keep it?  To me a piece of fabric is either useful or it isn't. I either love it or I don't. I'm judicious now in deciding what I'll keep. If I have an offcut that's usable to me, then I fold it up neatly and put it back in my fabric stack. Otherwise it goes to donations, friends or sometimes the trash.  (And friends have been known to pick through my sewing room trash in the hopes of finding little scraps.)

I think there is an important distinction between a scrap and a small, special piece of fabric. Not every fabric I buy is special. Not everything I cut is worth keeping.

I'm not sure what brought on the mental shift, but my husband was a big influence. He's the kind of guy who keeps very little.  It evolved over a period of a few years but I soon realized bins of scraps were weighing me down. Though I kept them sorted by colour and size, I'd still spend hours looking through them for just the right fabric for a project. It made no sense, I'd wade through stacks of fabric that I no longer loved in the hopes of finding a tiny square of something I did.

part of Amy's stash

So I let them go and haven't looked back. My sewing room and sewing time is much more functional because of it. I don't have a hard and fast rule about what I keep. It's more of a mental checklist.  

a. Do I still like it?

b. Am I likely to use it?

c. Do I think it will play a role in my evolving creative style?

d. Can I store in neatly in a way that I will easily find it?

If it passes all four questions in that checklist, then I keep it. Otherwise, the fabric goes out the door.

Me:  Do you think you have less fabric diversity in your creations since you don't have a scrap stash?  Or does donating scraps actually increase variety I wonder?

Amy:  The truth is that I find having too much fabric paralyzing. As it stands, I have a large and usable stash. Let's be honest for a minute. If WW3 broke out tomorrow, I'm comfortable that I'd have enough fabric to survive a long war.   That's not to say my stash is huge. It's not. As a lover of colour and design, I buy new fabric because I am enamoured with the print. I buy new fabric because it helps me move in a new creative direction or helps me explore colour, shape and scale. Buying new fabric is a good thing. By purging scraps and old fabric, I keep my stash in check.  My stash is also evolving. Fabrics I like today are different to fabrics I liked three years ago.  So I've adopted an "out with the old and in with the new" approach.  

Purging scraps means I have less variety immediately available, but in the long run it has led to more diversity moving through my stash. It also helps me overcome fabric paralysis. For me, having too much choice can be just as bad as having not enough.

Amy's tidy space

Me:  From examining your notes on your stash picture (see notes on Flickr) it seems that you organize your fabrics sometimes by color and sometimes by project.  Does it get pretty crazy in there sometimes?  How easy is it for you to find things?  Is an organized stash important to you anyways?

Amy:  If you asked me last year about how crazy my studio got, I would have have a different answer. Today though, I can honestly say that I've found a system that works for me. I could walk in with my camera and take a photo and it would look much the same as the one shown. It is exceptionally well organized and tidy. I've tried a number of organizational methods. I've sorted purely by colour. I've sorted purely by size. I've sorted by designer. For me, I found those methods didn't gel with how I approach projects. While the themes seem random, I've mentally categorized all my fabric by potential future project. I know that the orange stripes are with the teal dots waiting for me to dive in to the road trip print. I know there's a stack of yellow and black intended for  my pinwheel project. I know the nature prints are all near each other. Most importantly, I've mentally catalogued every piece of fabric in my stash. I'm lucky that the database in my brain is a good one. Aging has taken it's toll on historical dates, science formulas and mathematical thereoms; but I've still got a strong memory for my fabric.

Cogwheel, a "random" block at Badskirt

An organized stash is important to me because it allows me to work without hangups. Pairing fabric is the slowest part of the creative process for me. Doing it in advance gives me a leg up when I'm ready to sew. The IKEA tubs that hold my stash work well for me because it keeps things organized and portable. I can easily move a stack of fabric from the shelves to my desk. I can easily grab a stack of fabric to take on the road for a camping trip or day at the beach. Tubs fit with my lifestyle.

Me:  So be honest (and I know you will), do you ever wish you had small scraps when you see pictures of them piled on the cutting table or neatly gathered in bins or jars?  Or... or... or.. is your honest reaction something along the lines of "thank goodness, not for me!"    And, ok, also was there ever any project that made you wish you had saved scraps?

Amy's most recent quilt, at Badskirt

Amy:  I've been looking at the jars of fabric scraps in the Scrap Attack flickr group. They are admittedly pretty, but they aren't for me. What is great about quilting is that everyone can find their own niche. Some people are amazing when they work with tiny pieces. They bring out the best in those tiny morsels. Right now, I'm not one of those people and that's ok with me. I'm not turned off by their pictures, but I'm not envious either.

As for scraps that I've left go, nothing zings to mind. There are some prints where I feel a pang of sadness when I use the last piece, but I can't think of anything that I've given away or purged that I now wish I'd hadn't. That said, I can't wait to see how the Scrap Attack projects evolve. I know some people have amazing style when it comes to scraps. Who knows, maybe I'll be lured back into saving my own scraps?! 

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Thank-you, Amy, for letting me pick your brain over this scrap business.   I don't know about you, folks, but I love mulling over a completely different and thoughtfully cultivated perspective like this.   I do value the idea of letting one's stash "evolve" and perhaps sometimes the best way to accomplish that is to pass unwanteds along.  I know I've felt that drag before... "I don't really like this, but maybe I could use it somehow???"  Sometimes I do find a way to use it and to enjoy a project in spite of those feelings and sometimes I use it and regret it.  Other times, Aria uses it!  

Also, I think Amy's mental checklist for keeping or passing on fabrics is right on the money. What a freeing, self-aware way to live.  If you likely won't use it, why keep it?  Someone else might love it.  There's no reason it should go to waste.

What I'll take away from this conversation is still-emerging.  But, how about you?  Hmmm?  What do you take away?  Shiny thoughts welcome!