The joys of scrap quilting are many. There's a steady supply of materials. Plus happy memories abound as you create beautiful quilts.

New to string or strip piecing blocks? Check out video tutorials to see different ways to do the string piecing technique as well as some ideas for patterns and information to get you started.

Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

Scrappy String quilt by Emily of Quilty Love. See how Emily sewed together this fun and easy string quilt using her scrap stash.

I'm all about saving time and money. When I first heard of chain-piecing, I really latched onto it. I discovered that not only did it p...

I promised a tutorial for the string blocks and I had second thoughts.....why try to improve on my original source. The very best pla...

Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

(Edited to add: see the finished quilts HERE) Back in January I cut my string scraps that were less than 2.5" down to a uniform width of 1.5". Since then they've been aging in a couple of large ziploc bags. This weekend I decided the time had come to do something with those scraps! As many scrap quilts have made I remain amazed by how many quilts can hide in a scrap bin. Scraps are irresistible to me. Much more so than yardage. I had an idea in my head for what I wanted to do with these strings and I decided to photograph the process for a tutorial. I started by sorting out the cool colors, which probably constituted half of the strings. (I *might* have a problem with the color blue... the "warms" pile was pitiful by comparison.) I sewed the strings together at their short ends to make one looooooong string. Locate both loose ends, put them rights sides together, and start sewing down one long side toward the middle. When you reach the middle it will probably be all twisty. Cut it and complete sewing the two strips together. Press your string pair, then repeat the process. Find both loose ends and start sewing your pairs into a four. Press and repeat, sewing your 4-string string into an 8-string. This takes a long time if you started with a lot of string like I did. The bright side is that every time you fold it in half and sew, it ends up half as long, so as you go it gets easier. Keep going until you have a long panel 16 strings wide. I considered stopping at this point and just making a quilt top out of horizontal strings, but I decided to continue with my original plan. I sub cut the panel into squares, each 16.5" square. I put these up on the design wall alternating directions, this would make a cool quilt, too. Then I did the same process with my neutral colored strings. I took the neutral and cool colored squares and turned them into HSTs. I marked the line with a sharpie and pinned the blocks so they didn't shift while I sewed on either side of the line. If you put the squares together with their strips running the same way, then in the HST they will turn. If you put them together with their strips perpendicular then in the HST they will run the same direction. I chose the first method so the two different colors run at different angles. With my blocks turned into HSTs the options are limitless... Any layout that can be made with HSTs. I haven't sewn these together yet, still auditioning layouts to find my favorite. Which do you like best? Linking to Oh Scrap!

Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

FREE QAYG ALONG PART 11We’re obsessed with string quilts! And they are super easy, super fun and beginner friendly, so we thought you might like to make one too. This week we were invited to make some short videos for Spotlight’s Quilting Expo, so we went totally over the top and made a 3 part series on how to make a quilt as you go string quilt from start to finish. This series is perfect for the very beginner or for those that want to try their hand at making a quilt as you go quilt. It’s full

Check out our quick and easy string piecing video tutorial — it's a great option for getting rid of all those leftover strips! #quilting #scrapquilting | quilting, tutorial

The crumb quilt project was a great scrap buster. I got 2 quilts out of that project. But for some reason, after all the mess all over my sewing room, and working several months on those crumb quilts, I still had a huge pile of scraps!! They just seemed to multiply!!! So I decided to try scrap strips instead to see if I could lesson my scrap mountain. I put my scraps into piles strips that were about the same length. I had 6 or 7 piles of different lengths. I pulled two from the first pile (let's say they were 5 inch strips), and sewed them together, then without cutting strings, I sewed 2 together from the next pile (lets say they were 7 inch strips), and on down through all the piles. When I had sewn 2 together from each pile, I started back at the top. I picked one from the 5 inch pile and sewed that to the existing 5 inch strip, without cutting strings. I kept my nice big scissors near by, there was a lot of chopping at the machine. This was a donation quilt. So, I used a sheet for the back, and wrapped it around for the binding. I was careful to start and stop my quilting just 1 time because when you're carrying the backing around to the front, you can't just go running off the edge when you're quilting. Do you have a good way to get rid of scraps? I'd love to hear your ideas.

FREE QAYG ALONG PART 11We’re obsessed with string quilts! And they are super easy, super fun and beginner friendly, so we thought you might like to make one too. This week we were invited to make some short videos for Spotlight’s Quilting Expo, so we went totally over the top and made a 3 part series on how to make a quilt as you go string quilt from start to finish. This series is perfect for the very beginner or for those that want to try their hand at making a quilt as you go quilt. It’s full

Explore cyclingjanes' 456 photos on Flickr!

Is it really April 1 tomorrow? That seems impossible, but it's true. April means lots of good things. Tomorrow, my grandmother turns 89, and later in the month, we celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. And a wedding anniversary. And the second annual Stash Bash. It's also my month to plan the Love circle quilt for do.Good Stitches! It's been awhile since I've made string blocks. I don't know about you, but I always seem to have a pile of string scraps lying around. Last week, I divided them into two piles based on length, and made a bunch of blocks. Here's a few tips that might help, if you've never made a string block before. -Working with a foundation is best for string blocks, and I prefer paper. As Jeni pointed out, using a fabric foundation (even muslin) adds bulk, whereas the paper can be ripped away when you're finished. -If you have graph paper or an old telephone book, this works better than printer paper, but that will work, too! -Start with your center strip, and glue-baste this piece to make sure it stays in place! -To create a cohesive look, you can use a single color and width for your center strings. Or, you can mix it up to your heart's content! -The most important thing is to make sure you keep a 1/4" seam allowance throughout. -Make sure your strips are at least 1" wide. -With all paper piecing, it's best to leave the paper on until you've sewn your blocks together. It helps to minimize bias. -Setting your stitch length to 1.5 or 1.6 will make ripping that paper a little easier, too. -When pressing any paper-piecing, use a dry iron (no steam!). -Oh, and little triangle scraps are great for the end pieces! Any other tips? Did I leave anything out? Specifically for do.Good Stitches bee blocks this month, I'm asking for 8.5" blocks (so you can just cut a 2.5" strip off a sheet of paper to create that template!). For the center strings, I'd like 1" strips of any blue solid, and then the rest of the strings can be any width and any color. I'd love to see a mix of solids and prints. As you can see, these are addictive to sew! And my pile of strips doesn't seem any smaller.

Find a home for your scrappy strings with this foundationless string block tutorial. It's fun, easy and no paper to rip off.

Let's make a Strata Quilt! Cut strips 1.25" wide from interesting fabrics in your stash. Sew the ends together so you have 55" lengths. Then sew these strips together. Make a block about 6" x 55." Enter your name in the drawing once for each block entered. Helpful tip: After sewing a long seam, press before opening. This "sets the seam" and makes it easy to keep the seam straight when you press it open. Otherwise it can get a little curvy. This quilt was made by readers of the Selvage Blog from all over the world. I finished the quilt, and it now resides in Florida in the home of the drawing winner: the Quilting Violinist. Remember to bring your Bow Tie blocks from February too!

Today I will be sharing a tutorial on how to make a crazy rails quilt. (You can see more photos of my crazy rails quilt here, if you'd like.) My quilt was inspired by a vintage quilt (below) that belongs to Rebecca, who is a member of my modern quilt guild. Someone in Rebecca's family was on the verge of throwing this quilt away, but her dad stepped in a saved it. I'm so glad that this quilt was rescued. It's a beauty... so inspiring! This is the kind of quilt that one could sit under and look at the fabrics for hours. I just love it! This quilt isn't complicated, by any means, but it's the sheer number of pieces that makes it challenging. Here is a simple tutorial for you, in case you would like to make a crazy rails quilt of your own! I'm sure that I will be revisiting this pattern myself, before too long. I seem to be unable to make just one version of any quilt. :) A few things to note: All seam allowances are 1/4". Each block finishes at 3". Each individual "rail" finishes at 1" x 3". I made blocks by strip piecing, mostly, but I also pieced some blocks individually. I like doing both. Strip piecing saves a lot of time, but I am able to use up smaller pieces by making blocks one at a time. The mix of the two methods gave me a nice variety of blocks to work with in the final layout. It is a good idea to reduce your stitch length while strip piecing, so the seams don't start to separate while the blocks are being handled or arranged. (I use a stitch length setting just under 2 on my Juki, but all sewing machines vary.) To make 1 block at a time: Cut three strips of fabric 1 1/2" x 4". Sew the strips together and press seams to the side, or open, whichever you prefer. I generally press the seams toward the darker fabrics. Trim the block to 3 1/2" square. There is very little waste, as you can see. I trimmed from both ends of the block, to ensure that the block is exactly square. To make 2 blocks at a time: Cut 3 strips 1 1/2" x 7 1/2". Sew together and press seams. Trim the strip set to make 2 blocks, each measuring 3 1/2" square. To make 3 blocks at a time: Cut 3 strips 1 1/2" x 11". Sew together and press. Trim the strip set to make 3 blocks, each measuring 3 1/2" square. To make 4 blocks at a time: Cut 3 strips 1 1/2" x 14 1/2". Sew together and press. Trim the strip set to make 4 blocks, each measuring 3 1/2" square. You could make more that 4 blocks at a time, if you wanted to. Personally, I prefer to have fewer blocks that are exactly the same. Playing with different fabric combinations was a lot of fun! Strip piecing definitely helps make this quilt manageable. I made these 10 blocks in a matter of a few minutes. One other handy thing....I'm piecing a log cabin quilt (measurements here) that also uses 1 1/2" wide strips. It's nice to be able to cut fabric for both quilts at once! Quilt Sizes: size measurements # of blocks needed block layout baby 36” x 36” 144 12 x 12 small lap 48” x 60” 320 16 x 20 large lap 60” x 72” 480 20 x 24 twin 66” x 90” 660 22 x 30 queen 90” x 96” 960 30 x 32 king 108” x 108” 1296 36 x 36 I'm not going to give specific yardage requirements for each quilt size, but if you are guesstimating, a baby size quilt usually requires about 1 1/2 to 2 yards of fabric. A lap size quilt generally uses 3 1/2 to 4 yards of fabric. A twin generally uses between 5 1/2 to 6 yards of fabric. A queen generally requires about 7 1/2 to 8 yards of fabric. A king size quilt can use in the ballpark of 10 yards of fabric. This quilt has more seams than most, so it will probably require more fabric than the amounts listed. These are just very general guidelines for an idea of how much fabric you may need. If you think making a whole quilt is just crazy, (and it might be!) you could also use the block measurements for placemats. That would be pretty fun, too! If you use this tutorial, I'd love to see photos of your quilt. Happy Monday to you!

I've really been using up the scraps this week. I'm making six inch (finished) string blocks. I need to make 130 blocks for the twin size quilt I have planned. I'm using quite a mix of fabrics. Leftovers from a...

The crumb quilt project was a great scrap buster. I got 2 quilts out of that project. But for some reason, after all the mess all over my sewing room, and working several months on those crumb quilts, I still had a huge pile of scraps!! They just seemed to multiply!!! So I decided to try scrap strips instead to see if I could lesson my scrap mountain. I put my scraps into piles strips that were about the same length. I had 6 or 7 piles of different lengths. I pulled two from the first pile (let's say they were 5 inch strips), and sewed them together, then without cutting strings, I sewed 2 together from the next pile (lets say they were 7 inch strips), and on down through all the piles. When I had sewn 2 together from each pile, I started back at the top. I picked one from the 5 inch pile and sewed that to the existing 5 inch strip, without cutting strings. I kept my nice big scissors near by, there was a lot of chopping at the machine. This was a donation quilt. So, I used a sheet for the back, and wrapped it around for the binding. I was careful to start and stop my quilting just 1 time because when you're carrying the backing around to the front, you can't just go running off the edge when you're quilting. Do you have a good way to get rid of scraps? I'd love to hear your ideas.

In my local quilt last month we learned a little bit about how to sew a string quilt. I was so surprised at how simple it was to sew....and with the foundation piece you can keep control of all the pieces.

I am in the process of making some needed changes to these pages. So hang in there until the improvements are finished. :) If you make something from one of my tutorials, please link it back to me and help others find these tutorials so they can use them too. I would love to see what you make!! Please share your pictures in the from blank pages... facebook group, OR use the hashtag #fbppatterns on Instagram. Click HERE for a few Sewing Basics posts that I did a while back. NEW: YouTube Videos! http://YouTube.com/c/FromBlankPagesPatterns Paper Piecing Shortcuts: These are raw, unedited tutorials to share with you how I paper piece AS I paper piece. They are not made in order, but I will update this list as I post them, so you can easily watch them in order from start to finish! Glue Basting Multiple Sections at the Same Time Chain Piecing Multiple Sections Trimming Sections After Piecing Quilting: Sewing: Paper: Holiday: Christmas Tree Skirt "Meaning of Christmas" Ornaments

"X" MARKS THE BLOCK - THE TUTORIAL Are your strippy scrap bins or bags stuffed to bursting? This is a great scrappy project to help you reduce some scraps and ALL WITHOUT A PATTERN (sometimes a project without a pattern is like a day without pantyhose...ahhh...). OVERALL DIRECTIONS: I don't use a paper or fabric foundation when making these blocks...mostly because I am too lazy to reproduce the foundations, then later peel all those pieces of paper off my sewn blocks. If you would like to use a foundation, go right ahead...it's all good. But I challenge you to try one block without a foundation to s-t-r-e-t-c-h yourself. Here's the ONE I tried with a 8.5 inch paper foundation...it was really harder than doing it without one, believe it or not... This block/quilt uses mostly "strips" and "chunks." I define strips as anything from 3/4 - 2-1/2 inches wide. I try to keep them separate in my quilt cave - that way I don't have to dig through all my scraps just to find strips. Chunks can be odd-shaped, cut-off chunks of leftovers or wider strips, maybe even extra triangles or squares. If you are careful and use fatter strips at either end of the central pieced section, you don't have to fool with using chunks. We just don't want to trim down our final blocks and find too many seam allowances in the corners where blocks meet. The focus fabrics that form the "X" need to contrast the rest of your general scraps. I used blacks with brights. You could use something light as well, or maybe a color. Your "X" strips can either be scrappy like mine or all one fabric/color. Medium to dark batiks with light "X" strips would look cool. Maybe red and neutral scraps with green "X" strips for a holiday quilt. The sky is the limit! I cut my "X" strips 1 - 2 wide. The variation just adds to the wonkiness and draws attention away from the fact that the "X" strips don't line up between blocks. You can see below how the scrappy black strips are different widths and don't match up precisely...charming! Sometimes, my strips are wider at one end than the other...even MORE charming! After looking at my available strips and chunks, I chose to make blocks that would finish eight inches square. I had some short, stubbly strips that were 3.5 to 4 inches long, so I decided on a center diagonal strip that would finish about 3 inches wide. After looking at your scraps, you may decide to make smaller or larger squares, of maybe even rectangles, triangles, or other shapes. I will show you how I figured out the rough dimensions of my units, then you can apply what I did to your size block. Here is my 8.5 inch square ruler with a 3 inch wide ruler on top (which represents my central pieced strip). See how I have allowed roughly a half inch at each end? You can see, from the pictures above, that the unfinished length of that initial, central pieced strip needs to be at least 13 inches, once it is pressed. In my quilts, the strips that define the edge of the central pieced strip and make the prominent "X" design are scrappy black. Yours could be light, dark, or a certain color. They can be scrappy or cut from one fabric. You can see in the pictures above and below how to determine the minimal length of these setting strips. Each strip added to the central pieced strip needs to be at least a half inch longer in each direction than the edge of the ruler. Now you can vary the size of your blocks and central pieced strip to please you. Just be sure to allow adequate overhang of strips so that when you square up your blocks you won't have any holes! Just because you see brights and blacks in my tutorial doesn't mean that is the only color option possible. Look at your scrap stash, then decide how YOU want to proceed. You can even do it without a contrasting color for the "X" strip. Look at the backside of this finished block to see how you should press your block as you progress. I pressed the central pieced strip only after piecing the whole thing, then pressed the seams in the same direction, either way. Then starting with the black focus strips, I pressed each added strip to the outside. Now just fill some bobbins, put in a new sewing machine needle, replace your rotary cutting blade, and let's get started! STEP 1: I do not cut the short strips to 3.5 inches before chain-piecing the little strips together into a long section...as long as they are at least 3.5 inches long, it's OK of they are a little longer. Some of these strip sets have a triangle or chunk at either end, sometimes just a piece of a wider strip. I do this to avoid an accidental seam too close to the corners where 4 blocks will meet. Start with a chunk, wide strip or triangle at one end, then chain-piece strips together, matching up one end of your irregular, variable in length, short strips. Do not worry about pressing after each addition of a strip. Check the length of your pieced strip as you go. This central pieced strip needs to be at least 13 inches long...make sure you stop in time to place another chunk, wide strip or triangle at the opposite end. Turn your strip sets over and press ALL the seams in ONE direction, either way. STEP 2: Now you are ready to sew on the contrasting focus "X" strips, right sides together. These should be at least 10 inches long (1 - 2 inches wide), CENTERED along the edge of your pieced central strip. I place the first strip along the "straightest" edge of the strip set, lining up the edge of the shortest strip (the cow strip in the following set).  Even though this is wonky sewing, I still maintain a quarter inch seam allowance when I can (old habits are hard to shake...). A consistent quarter inch seam allowance is not critical while making the blocks, but will be very important when sewing the blocks together into a quilt top. After stitching, trim away extra seam allowance with your rotary cutter or scissors (trim the uneven end of the central strip set even with the quarter inch seam of your "X" strip). Press strip to the outside. (I like to chain stitch several of these units, then sew on the opposing strip before stopping, trimming and pressing.) Place this opposing strip. face down and centered on the other side of the strip, with the help of a ruler (or just "eyeball" this for extra wonky-ness). Your stitching line should be at 3 inches (or the outer edge of this strip should be 3.25 inches from the opposing seam). After stitching, trim away extra seam allowance with your rotary cutter or scissors. (Would you believe I save some of these longer cut away leftovers? That will be the subject of another liberated tutorial project!). Press strip to the outside. (Again, chain piecing really saves time with this method.) STEP 3: Now we can start adding strips, one on each side, building our block, chain piecing and pressing to the outside after the addition of each new pair. As you continue centering strips (chain piecing), adding strips to each side, notice that they are getting shorter and shorter. Press toward outside before adding the next pair. Just make sure the strips are long enough so that when you trim down your blocks there aren't any surprise "peek-a-boo" holes. Please notice the left side of the block pictured below. The white-ish strip just under the left corner of the ruler is a little too wide and would cause there to be a seam too close to the corner of the block. Just slice or cut some of it off so that your last strip will form a larger triangle after the block is trimmed down. You may need to make a few of this kind of adjustment as you go. Place your block on a small cutting mat. Square up your block by placing the 8.5 inch ruler on top, centering the ruler's diagonal line in the middle of your center strip set and sliding the ruler back and forth until the end triangles are centered and all seams are solid under the ruler (no "peek-a-boo" holes...). Cut away each side, turning the MAT, not your block, as you go. A small rotary mat works OK, but I like trimming these blocks on a revolving rotary mat, like this Brooklyn Revolver. It has a 'lazy Susan' mechanism that allows you to easily rotate the block as you trim each side away (I just LOVE a good gadget...). There are other versions of the revolving rotary mat out there...here's the Olfa offering from Joann's Fabrics online (use your coupon on it!). Ta-da!!! You did it! Now you can make as many or as few blocks as you want. For each of the quilts pictured at the beginning of the post, I set 8 blocks across, 10 blocks down, with a 1.5 inch (finished) stop border and outer borders of either 6 or 5 inches (finished). The green-bordered quilt measured 79 x 95 inches and the one with red borders, 77 x 93 inches. I recently taught a class on this block at my LQS. Janet S worked with her medium to dark, earthy scraps, with a consistent light "X" fabric (she cut her light strips the same width throughout). She ended up cutting her remaining setting strips more consistent in width, while keeping her central pieced strip wonky. Lori L used fun, colorful scraps with lime green "X" strips. I've never seen such a fun bag of colorful, happy scraps (I admit it...I had scrap envy!) Both had stunning results! When it comes down to piecing the blocks together, sew in rows, pressing the seams to one side, alternating direction every row. This way the seams will nest nicely for beautiful, accurate piecing. Remember that the edges of your strips are most likely bias edges, so handle them carefully until they are seamed in and stable to they won't stretch. ENJOY! In stitches, Teresa :o)

This is our first-ever post about scrap quilts, although we've been collecting inspiration for years. Our favorite scrap quilts are those w...

FREE QAYG ALONG PART 11We’re obsessed with string quilts! And they are super easy, super fun and beginner friendly, so we thought you might like to make one too. This week we were invited to make some short videos for Spotlight’s Quilting Expo, so we went totally over the top and made a 3 part series on how to make a quilt as you go string quilt from start to finish. This series is perfect for the very beginner or for those that want to try their hand at making a quilt as you go quilt. It’s full

Learn how to make a string quilt using leftover strips from your stash. If you have strips of fabric that are either from a collection (think jelly roll) or from scraps, the string quilt is

It's the first day of summer and here in Arizona and it is HOT, HOT, HOT! It's definitely time to hole up in my studio and make new things until cooler weather is with us again. This year I got back from my latest trip and started studio clean up. Usually that process begins with putting away my scraps from recent projects, but this time I was confronted with this image. What a wreck! Not only can I not find anything in my scrap drawers, but I also can't fit any more in those drawers. As yo

Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

I'm following Vicki's lead and quilting for an hour first thing in the morning. I have been making a lot of progress on my Scrappy String and I'm enjoying it immensely. If I keep up at this pace, this quilt will be done in no time. Since I've decided to make it a tall, narrow wall-hanging I think it will be easy for me to quilt too. I have an idea of what I want but I'll probably play around a bit. I don't want anything too complicated or swirly. I'm going for a more "modern" and simple look, but graphic too. In this bottom photo it's possible to see at what stage I'm working. All of the triangle portions of each block have been sewn together and now I'm sewing the blocks together into horizontal rows. I've only just done one row so far, but I do love how it's looking. I'm planning on using a black/white polka dot for binding and no borders. Even my husband looked at it and commented (before I told him) that that's what it needed. :) He always surprises me as to how much knowledge he's picked up over the years. He's really developed quite a good eye for color. Take care,

Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

It started so innocently... a conversation with Jamie and Anna. We were talking about scraps and that led to string quilts. I hadn't made one in years, Anna had never made one but wanted to, and Jamie had made one for her family and wanted to make another. So... maybe an in-office sewing day after Christmas? Vintage String Quilt.

Learn how to make these Amazing Potato Chip blocks with scraps to create a beautiful scrappy quilt. Free Printable Tutorial Download!

The crumb quilt project was a great scrap buster. I got 2 quilts out of that project. But for some reason, after all the mess all over my sewing room, and working several months on those crumb quilts, I still had a huge pile of scraps!! They just seemed to multiply!!! So I decided to try scrap strips instead to see if I could lesson my scrap mountain. I put my scraps into piles strips that were about the same length. I had 6 or 7 piles of different lengths. I pulled two from the first pile (let's say they were 5 inch strips), and sewed them together, then without cutting strings, I sewed 2 together from the next pile (lets say they were 7 inch strips), and on down through all the piles. When I had sewn 2 together from each pile, I started back at the top. I picked one from the 5 inch pile and sewed that to the existing 5 inch strip, without cutting strings. I kept my nice big scissors near by, there was a lot of chopping at the machine. This was a donation quilt. So, I used a sheet for the back, and wrapped it around for the binding. I was careful to start and stop my quilting just 1 time because when you're carrying the backing around to the front, you can't just go running off the edge when you're quilting. Do you have a good way to get rid of scraps? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Fabric leftovers pile up, no matter your good intentions. Creating quilts from your scraps is always a great way to cut down on the piles (...

String quilts are pretty fantastic. They're so much fun to make, a great way to use up scraps, and can help build a lot of confidence if you're just beginning to learn to piece and quilt. How to make a string quilt isn't new, and there are lots of other great tutorials out there. I learned how to make my first one from a blog I adore: Film in the Fridge. I use a similar foundation piecing, aka paper...

Hi, all! May! The lovely month of May has arrived, with beautiful springtime weather to enjoy and the end of this year's Hands2Help Challenge in sight. Today we have another guest blogger joining us - Anja from Nova Scotia, who blogs at Anja Quilts! Anja is always creating something beautiful, it seems, and she has a wonderful tutorial for us today. So now I will turn the blog over to her! *&*&*&*&*&*&* Thanks to Sarah for hosting another year of Hands2Help and for the opportunity to guest blog. I'm Anja, and I blog over at Anja Quilts and on Instagram with the same name. My tutorial continues Sarah's theme of string therapy. I found a piece of paper in my quilting notebook with some directions, but no indication what the pattern was called or where I found it. It said to cut strips 14.5-inch long of various widths. I decided to use 12.5-inch lengths because that's the largest square ruler I had. Sew strips together to make a 12.5-inch square. Match two squares together, alternating the orientation of the strips so they are perpendicular. Sew a 1/4-inch seam around the entire perimeter of the square. Cut the square diagonally twice to get four sections. Press each section open to reveal a square. My note did not say to sew the strips to a foundation, and at this point of the process, I realized that would have been a good idea. Some of my squares were 8.5 inches, but some were not. So I trimmed them all down to 8.25 inches. I ended up making 48 blocks, resulting in a quilt top about 47 x 63 inches. There are many possibilities to arrange the blocks. This is a simple way to use up your scraps. *&*&*&*&*&*&* Oh, how I wish I had known about this technique when I was doing my string tutorials! This is such a great and simple way to change up string blocks into something really special. Thanks for sharing with us, Anja! Next week we will have another guest blogger, and it's also a check-in week. If you don't have a blog and want to share your progress, please feel free to send them to me at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com and I will add them to a blogpost so others can see your work! See you next week! Hugs! Sarah

Use my mini string quilt blocks sewing tutorial to make use of even your smallest fabric scraps! No fuss blocks require no corner matching!

When I blogged about my scrappy improv blocks , I had several people mention that they were afraid to try it with their own scraps, since th...

Get Creative with Super Easy String Piecing! String quilts are a great way to use up miscellaneous strips of leftover fabrics. They’re also very adaptable and so easy to make. You may find that a string quilt is the most fun of any quilt you’ll make! Make the blocks any size you want, make as …

This Scrappy September, we want you to raid your fabric stash and sew up something beautiful with all that's left of your other projects. We knew that quilters end up with lots of leftover fabrics and that inspired us to get scrappy with our September sewing! This September, we are challenging you to make a new quilt entirely from your scrap stash. Are you up for it?