Time sure flies when you're having fun, and another week has come and gone! It's Friday again, and you know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on! Let's go!
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After all the quilting and binding I've done over the past two weeks, something got into me - a major urge to clean up! I've been doing some deep thinking about my stash while doing all that quilting and binding, and finally just jumped right in with guns blazing!
Wait! I know that sounds terrible - but I'm not getting rid of anything, just changing my methods a bit. I realized that I had a lot of very small pieces on my yardage shelves, so I started going through them. I took one bin at a time and sorted the fabric into three piles - pieces that were a yard or larger, pieces that were at least a half yard but not a yard, and pieces that were less than half a yard.
Then I got down to the serious work! Pieces that were a yard or more were easy - they just got folded and restacked in the bins. They look like this now...
Nice neat stacks! That final bin contains some fabrics that I tend to sort out by type instead of color - solids, homespuns, and batiks. I'll add to them as I find more in the remaining bins.
The next step was to take the pieces that were a half yard or longer. From those I cut lots of fat quarters, and look at this fabulous storage!
These clear bins from Target hold the fat quarters perfectly and they are stackable, too! I haven't organized these by color yet, but will eventually.
Any fabric that remained after cutting the fat quarters, and those pieces I sorted out that were less than half a yard, was cut into either 10", 5", or 2.5" strips, starting with the largest possible cut and working down. From those 10" strips, I crosscut 10" (layer cake-size) squares...
...and managed to fill up this storage box! I've had it for a while, and it had about an inch of 10" squares in it, but now it's full. And it was so fulfilling I went to Target to get some more of these storage bins!
great job cleaning. Don't turn your head or it will go all willy nilly LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat would we do without Target? Those bins work perfectly. If you're like me, though, the organization will last five minutes!
ReplyDeletegood system - I have so many small pieces sometimes I think about cutting them all like you have done but I never get around to it. I do have a lot of pre-cut boxes of small squares though
ReplyDeleteGood job on what you accomplished this week, it looks great!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on re-organizing your fabrics!!! 👏 I desparately need to do it too! I can't tell you how many times I've pulled a FQ from my stash only to realize I've already cut some out of it 🥴 I'm making progress on the Orange Irish Chain quilt... only need to piece 20 more blocks, then assemble the top!
ReplyDeleteI finished all UFO quilting and binding, cleaned out my stash, cut pieces, cleaned up my pattern drawers, and now I am in the binding business again with 17 quilts to trim and bind (from Rebecca!) - getting ready for 2 quilt shows. I am ready to get this PHASE done! Hugs
ReplyDeleteI like your cloth bns with the windows. I like looking at my fabrics. I also like that you have prints. Prints are so much fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat work on the fabric organizing! I found it to be worth the time and effort when I did mine--now I use what I have.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to organize my fabric but haven't seemed to be able to do it. Now that I saw how you did yours and I really like the ideas. The Target bins look great. I'll get some. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI finished a quilt top and took it to my favorite quilter, Sarah, for finishing…adding to her long “todo” list. I have started another, hemmed a bridesmaid dress for a friend and cut out a soft doll for a sweet one year old. Yeah, me!
ReplyDeleteI didn’t mean for that to be anonymous…I’m Marilyn Jordan
DeleteI am trying to organize fabric also. I keep the batiks separate, so it is another whole section of sizes. It makes me crazy after a while. I have a bunch of go to layer cake patterns (free ones) that I could share about, I wonder if readers would be insterested in sharing theirs. I also cut fabric into 10, 5 and 2.5 and sometimes 3.5".
ReplyDeleteOh, do you hire out?!?!?!?!?! Your studio looks great! I know it is a lot of work but wow-what results!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a whoop whoop for you! I cleaned out a closet of fabric, batting, and other quilty things. Well, I supervised my assistant in doing it. He's getting pretty good after working in my quilt things for almost 2 years! But I still have to make some decisions. The closet looks so much better now, and we've spent 6 hours and eliminated several boxes, donating some things.
ReplyDeleteI like your organizational bins, and thank you for the information on how you did this. It sounds like a great method. I have dozens of shoebox bins and I have to stick with that for now, but I will think about adapting what you did to fit in with my bins.
Kudos for changing up how you store your fabric. Mine is fairly similar -- 1/2 yard and larger, fat quarters, bits and pieces, 2" and 2.5" squares. I try to hit up the fat quarters first when I'm making solo blocks or a small quilt. I really like your fat quarter storage bins but I'm going to be strong and try not to go to Target to check them out. I really don't need to buy more storage bins. Hope your new system works really well for you.
ReplyDeletelooks great...have to do it every once in a while
ReplyDeleteYou did great! I agree those small pieces in with yardage gets to be annoying. Mine needs a revamp, but not right now. Am contemplating making a few kits before I get serious about cutting it down. I like your system, works for me!
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Sarah! Love seeing how you've organized your stash. Those Target storage units are genius! And I see your white board behind there...reminds me I need to get me one (thanks for that tip)!
ReplyDelete