Introducing my “lifetime project”

My lifetime project is a postage stamp quilt. I call it my lifetime project because the scraps of fabric that will make up the quilt have been collected during my lifetime. My Mom made a patchwork scrap quilt when I was little, and I always loved being able to point to a fabric and remember where it came from. (Luckily my Mom saved some of these old fabrics, and they'll be incorporated into my own quilt.)


I first came up with this idea in 1991, when I purchased this book and fell in love with this scrap quilt from 1935 which is comprised of over 5,000 1 inch pieces. (That's my first test 9-patch on the pattern page.)

The first step in making a quilt is cutting the clean, pressed fabric. I've been collecting Ricardo's old shirts for a while now -- it was time to slice them up for the quilt.

I recently bought this fancy ruler thingy with cutting slots that makes the job much easier.

After I cut each piece of fabric I pile up all the little squares...

...and stack them into neat little piles.

Unfortunately the piles tend to get messed up -- I've never come up with a good organizational system.

This box of squares cut up years and years ago is completely out of control.


Next up: hand piecing