Waste Not, Want Not

An old saying, but still as true as ever. As good quality quilting cottons approach $10 per yard in some quilt shops and are actually priced at $10 per yard now in others, it becomes increasingly important to me to use every bit of fabric to best advantage. I'd been saving selvages for a while because it appealed to me to have those color dots as a reference; but after Karen Griska released a book called Quilts From The Selvage Edge, I began collecting in earnest. My friend Barb commented that she thought selvage quilts were ugly; and that may be true, but I also find them really interesting to look at.

I was delighted the other day to find that Wanda from Exuberant Color was also collecting selvages. Not only did Wanda have a link to some photos of an entire dress made from selvages, but she also had a link to Karen Griska's blog. Now I am discovering all sorts of interesting things to do with selvages--pincushions, handbags, scarves, postcards, and doll quilts.

I thought about the "waste not, want not" theme again the other day, when I saw Sherry throw away a big handful of trimmings. Some people refer to these trimmings as quilt confetti, and I have seen a photo or two where people put them in an attractive clear glass jar or clear table lamp base. That never appealed to me, but then I remembered that someone in my Friday quilt group was collecting them to make dog beds for a local animal shelter. I thought that was a worthwhile endeavor; so I retrieved Sherry's scraps from the trash, then went home and dug mine out of the trash too. I now have about a quarter of a bag full of trimmings, and I feel downright righteous that I am using every single shred of my $10 per yard fabric! At least as long as someone will make dog beds out of them, I suppose..... or maybe.... a floor pillow!