Scrappy triangles

This is a good design for using up a variety of different sized scraps - the basic HST unit blocks could be made to fit almost any size triangle (or square) which you have knocking about. What I did here, which I really like the effect of, was two things:  first, I grouped my scrappy HSTs by colour to make it look more unified and second, I used an alternating block with a larger HST unit to give the eye somewhere to rest and to use up a piece of slightly awkward fabric I had hanging about anyway. I like this design a lot - may even use it again.

Scrappy log cabins

Scrapy log cabin blocks are always an excellent way to get rid of strips you have hanging around - especially if you don't care if the strip widths match.  I have made many scrappy log cabin blocks in my day and will no doubt make many more.  There are lots of things you can do with them, as well - you can go totally scrappy as above, you could divide them into a colour scheme, you could make one side of the block neutral, and so on. 

Irish Chain

An Irish Chain is always a good way to use up scrap squares (if you don't mind it being scrappy, of course) - it doesn't use a lot of them in comparison to the amount of backing it uses, but it's a fun little quilt to make. You can use any size square; and use 5 of them along with 4 same size squares of your background colour to make 9 patch blocks. You then need solid background colour blocks in whatever the size of the completed 9 patch. You alternate these blocks and hey presto - Irish Chain.  

What it uses: any size square

Rectangles and Squares

This is a very simple top - and depending on the chosen colours, can look either very scrappy, like the one above, or more controlled. (Like the ones we made for the block lotto in June 2011).  The nice thing about this pattern is that there's no given size for the block - you can make it in whatever size you need to suit your scraps.

The basic block is two squares and one rectangle the size of the two joined squares. These were, I think, 2.5" squares, which means the rectangle was 2.5x4.5.  But you could go bigger (or smaller) and of course you could control the colours more - for instance, make the two squares in the same two colours and the rectangle a third colour. Or make the squares scrappy and the rectangles a consistent neutral. Or whatever.

What is uses: 2.5" squares, 2.5" strips (or other size squares and strips as desired)

Another crossed block

Like the fully-crossed  block in the previous post, this is another block that uses the idea of making a block and slicing it across to insert strips.  This one simple inserts to strips going in the same direction, so it's even easier than the crossed one - no seam matching at all. The backgrounds in this piece are two rectangles pieced to make a square; the slashes are then made at a slight angle across the rectangle's join.  They are done one at a time, and at an angle to one another.  An excellent, quick way to use larger scraps.

What it uses: strips of any width. larger scraps for the rectangles