Originally Posted by weezie
Tiffany, I'm sure the time will come when you need to match up a particular fabric for a sensational quilt idea you've had and then you will put a swatch or swatches in your photo book.
The photo book's a neat idea. My purse is a fanny pack because I need my hands free and, to avoid an old whiplash injury pain, can't wear a shoulder strap bag. I barely have room in my fanny pack to cram an envelope of swatches.
Oh honey, that doesn't sound like fun. :( I don't carry a purse but not because of any injury but to save me from injury. When I used to carry a purse everyone seemed to think it was like the junk drawer in the kitchen, if they didn't want to carry it around they'd put it in my purse. I ended up carry everyone else's stuff around with no room for my stuff. I refused to get a huge purse and instead threw mine away and declared I would no longer carry one. That was over 10 years ago and now that everyone has grown up and moved off, I'm considering getting a purse again. I need something to carry my stuff around and hubby is tired of carrying it for me. Lol.
Most of my quilts are scrappy, which makes it easier to pick up fabric for a quilt when I need it. There's less of a need to find that perfect fabric.
However, here's a tip I learned the hard way. If you run out of fabric and only need a small bit to finish a quilt and you can't find it anywhere - do NOT rip it all out and redo with another fabric. :cry: (Learned this the hard way!) Instead, scan the fabric into your computer and using the fabric sheets that go in the printer, simply print out a sheet of the fabric and finish your quilt. I wish I'd known this a couple years ago when I ran out of fabric for a delectable mountain border. I only needed about 6-8 inches but couldn't find the fabric anywhere. Trust me, I searched high and low with no luck. So I ripped out the entire border, bought new fabric, and remade the borders. Gah! If I'd only known I could have saved hours and hours of frustration, saved money, and the quilt would not have become a UFO. :roll: I sure hope this tip helps out someone else so they don't have to experience the same frustration.