Fabric Storage

Thank goodness for closets. A few years ago when DD Emma helped me move from a normal-sized bedroom to the bigger bedroom, I gained not only more space to spread out, but also a bigger closet. And that closet is mostly full of storage tubs containing my fabric stash.

I have finished quilt tops on hangers waiting to be quilted.

And below the quilt tops and on the other side of the closet are the tubs of fabric separated by color.

When I was clearing the clutter off the cutting table last week, I needed access to these tubs and having them stacked was not especially conducive to my efforts. So I pulled the main color-tubs out and lined them up in the hallway outside my sewing room door. With the lids off, I could add the fabrics to the correct tubs with more ease.

I think - perhaps - I really like red fabric. The red tub is so full that the lid will not be going on until I do some additional sorting. I have the whites, browns and greens all cleared away now.

For these reds, separating red-red from white-red or from burgundy-red might be an option. I will need to see what I've got first and proceed from there.

I learned the 'separate-by-color-method' from my Frienzies, the home-ec teachers. Kay, Sherrie and Susan had the home-ec room at school in tip-top shape all the time, and they kept big tubs of fabric on top of some built-in cabinets in the sewing part of their area. If separating by color worked for the professionals, then it ought to work for me. And it does.

I have pretty much finished with the sorting and organizing that came from the top of the cutting table. I still have scraps to cut, and I must not let myself get too far removed from this task. If I do, it may be a long time before I get back to it. 

My attention span is short-lived.

Have a wonderful Sunday, friends, and have a great week, too!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Retail Therapy

While in Amish Country on Tuesday, Sharon, Dee and I visited Mrs. Miller's Dry Goods in Charm. I have shared this wonderful quilt shop here in earlier posts, as it has long been a favorite. It has been so long since I made random purchases, so this was quite a treat I allowed myself. *wink*

Since I seem to be teetering on that slippery slope towards the insanity known as English Paper Piecing, I picked up these two essentials--3/4" hexagon templates and glue pen refills.

Fat quarters. The blue and yellow will likely end up on a pillow for our screened porch; the red and teal set might see life as a zipper bag like the one shown here; and the brown, gray and black set seemed to be suited for EPP.

Four of these items are 1-yard cuts; I think I can never have enough neutrals in the stash, and that gray dottie one may end up going in the tub with a project I've had simmering that will use grays and yellows.  The larger piece is a 3-yard cut of white-on-white, and I have been finding myself using these more often of late, so that falls into the stash enhancement category, too.

I continue to try to use from the stash, but every now and then a gal has to shop! I think I maintained restraint and at the same time, got some real useful additions for upcoming projects.

After Charm, we drove over to Berlin where we shopped two more stores, but I was content to just window shop--no additional purchases were required, although I did see some French General that really begged to come with me. I resisted. Barely.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

I Shopped

It's a rare day when I find myself shopping for fabric anymore. I came to an unpleasant realization 3 or 4 years ago that I could not possibly live long enough to use all my fabric, and that I had better focus on reducing the stash instead of continuing to buy more. And for the most part, I have been rather successful in that endeavor. If only I'd kept track of how much I've bought as opposed to how much of the stash I've used. That would be some telling statistic, for sure. But I did not, alas. It's gratifying enough, then, to know that I have done well at limiting the new fabric purchases.

All that being said, I did cut loose while on retreat recently; we took only one outing and, of course, it was to buy fabric. Jackson, OH, has a unique discount clearance store called Guhl's. Fabric is drastically reduced, and they draw lots of quilters from all over. I spent $25 and got 6.5 yards. At full price, $25 would get you little more than 2 yards, so I know I did well. *smiling!*

 Ten fat quarters in a pleasing array of colors. I never could resist a pile of fat quarters.

Two 2-yard cuts of neutrals. They are actually the same design in different colorways. One is gray on gray; one is navy on cream. One always needs neutrals, and I seem to use mine up, so it seemed wise to restock.

That little bit of retail therapy satisfied my fabric appetite, and I didn't stretch the purse strings too terribly far.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Retail Therapy

I don't know if you've noticed how little fabric buying I've been doing lately. It's been a real effort on my part to try to use from my stash. I could sew from now until my dying day - which I hope is a long way off - and never use all the fabric stored in the quilting room.

Now I do love some of the new fabrics coming out, and it just about kills me to resist enhancing the stash. So, every now and then I allow myself a small purchase. I generally try to follow the rule that I select something that will enhance what I already own, and occasionally buy something totally new.

With those ground rules, I will show you what I did on Saturday. *wink*

My husband and I took a drive in Amish Country with his father. We were mostly just out to see some pretty countryside. I had an idea in the back of my mind that we'd stop at Pearl Valley for some cheese. It wasn't  until they asked me what I was interested in seeing, that I even entertained the idea of a quilt shop stop.

Mrs. Miller's in Berlin, OH, is one of the must-see destinations for any quilter visiting our Amish Country. Rather unassuming, isn't it?

A small bag of quilting goodness! It was so hard to decide what to get. I didn't have time to prepare a wishlist!

Here's what came home with me: 4 fat quarters from the brown, gold and neutral range of colors; 2 Charm Packs of French General Chateau Rouge. Oh my, I'm a sucker for French General.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Terry's Fabric Storage

Don't you find it fascinating to see how other quilters organize their sewing spaces and the items in those spaces? I sure do. I am curious about what works for my fellow quilters, and I wonder if I can find a few ideas that I might also use.

A few weeks back I had occasion to visit Terry's sewing room. She was thrilled about the cleaning and organizing she had been doing, and was more than happy to show off her newly straightened fabric closet.

Her closet has lots of shelves of varying widths. She organizes her fabrics in several different ways. Up top, in the area that you can barely see, she has all her homespun fabrics.

Then, under the homespun, she begins organizing quilting fabrics by ROYGBIV colors. So neatly folded and easy to see. Look at those yummy stacks of neutrals. And blues. And reds and greens.*Sigh.*

This shot shows the lower portion of the closet. There are tubs in various spots. Those tubs over on the right are project tubs. On the hangers are bags of kits Terry has purchased.

I did not take a picture of another closet across the room, but it is filled with nothing but Civil War reproduction fabrics. Oh, my gosh, is that something to see! I should have gotten a picture of it;  maybe I was awestruck. Do you think??

Well, this gets me to thinking. How do you store your fabric stash? I will take some pics of my own stash and share that with you in the coming days.

Happy Quilting, Friends!