Quilting is an expensive hobby, with fabric being the easiest to acquire. It seems like a waste for even the smallest scrap to be thrown out, but what to do with them? The larger scraps I keep for scrappy future projects, especially paper piecing. The smaller scraps of weird sizes and the non-printed selvedges get sent to my daughter's school for art projects. That leaves these tiny little scraps, so pretty and so hard to throw out.
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| Don't they look pretty? |
Some people, Jenn at A Quarter Inch from the Edge included, snap pictures of the scraps to make it easier to throw out. But I did some research and came up with another solution...suet cages.
Suet cages are meant to feed birds, but the cages can be stuffed with the tiny scraps instead for birds to use to make their nests. Just fill up the cage...
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| Stuff them in there! |
Close it up...
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| Pretty in the cage, too! |
And hang it up. Try to pull out a few thin strands so they attract the birds' attention.
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| Pretty even in the woods! |
Of course you need to make sure only appropriate materials goes in there- no plastics or other synthetic materials.
I've been monitoring the cage and a few birds have been interested for sure. I feel much better knowing that even the beautiful tiny scraps are going to good use!
I never really thought of that! Imagine finding a bird's nest with that rainbow of scraps woven into it. Now that would be an awesome of a scrap project!
ReplyDeleteOh wow - this is such a cute idea!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this! Like you, I can't bear to part with the scraps that I've had since 2009 so I am now using them in paper pieced scrappy pineapple quilt blocks (3 1/2" square). That way I will use up my smallest scraps - 1" squares cut in triangles 😁 I'm having fun though and it makes for a bit of mindless sewing which I sometimes crave for.
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