Such a cut up

Lately I have been working my way through a massive pile of things that need to be cut up (or down) into smaller sizes for my Scrap User's System  drawers.  Most of what is to be cut is fabric left over from quilt projects but some of it is clothing that I need to take apart.

For a few hours this afternoon I sat in the porch and took apart 3 shirts, a skirt and a cotton jumper. It was very relaxing to sit and not have to be careful while ripping or cutting seams - just git 'er done. :)
The shirts are ones my husband purchased on clearance for about $3 and wore them for a few years and they are still in good condition.  So,  they are pretty cheap fabric when you consider that they are doing dual duty.

The buttons are saved....never know when I might need them.  Even my husband was digging in my button jar for one of his projects the other day.  I started saving these when I got married almost 30 years ago.  As a child I loved playing in my Mom's button tin. The jar on the left are buttons that are sets (like that came off the shirts today) or still on cards from a store, garage sale, etc. The jar on the right are all odds and ends... a button here and there collected through the years.

Here's the fabric I ended up with.  Now it's ready to be cut into strips and squares.  When I was taking the picture Ukester was doing something on the floor (that's his knees) and then Hezzie had to get in the middle of what was going on - such a cut up!  :)  

If you haven't ever taken a shirt apart be sure to take a look at Bonnie Hunter's video of De-boning a Shirt! You will see how fast and easy the process is, how much fabric you can get out of one shirt and you will never want to throw another one away!