Too bad that MI is so far ftom VA! I love organizing, you never know what you'll find! :-)

Ruler fold the fabric. it condenses the fabric alot more. Bonnie Hunter website has great scrappy quilt patterns and ways of organizing scraps.

I LOVE doing scrappies!!! Have soooo many strips cut and waiting, and when I do a scrappy it seems overnight my other scraps have multiplied...when will it end???

I would like to do a scrappy "Shakespeare in the Park," so setting aside or even cutting the strips required for that quilt as I handle all this fabric is not a bad idea. It's all still in the totes because I had the carpets cleaned yesterday and haven't put the drawers back into the armoire yet, so I will have to handle all of it again. Good ideas!

Hi, I had resolved after late night internet fabric shopping to go on a fabric diet from February. Then the shelves in my fabric cupboard collapsed under the weight and I decided to buy a new cabinet. Found a lovely solid rosewood cabinet with half glass doors and chippendale-like lattice on the glass --really beautiful. But I was sure that all my fabric would not fit in the new cabinet! So I started to ruler fold it (which I learned from the ladies here) and it was marvellous -- made fabric much easier to stack. Of course I found tons of stuff I had forgotten -- really stiffened my resolve for NO MORE SHOPPING! I think I have enough fabric for 100 quilts -- and I only make 3-4 a year.

See if you have a quilting friend who would like to help organize. I helped my friend do hers. ( She has a back problem so can't do very much lifting.) Then about a year and a half later she had to move and she called me to help again. She lives in another state so I went for a week long visit and we had a great time visiting while organizing. Everything is on shelves so she doesn't have to move any totes, etc. We put it on shelves standing up like books so it is easy for her to get out without having to move anything to get to it. It's easy to see also. Her scraps are in drawers.

I guess I really don't understand cutting up fabric into strips or squares before you know what quilt you want to make with it. Fabric being fabric, it seems to me it would take up the same amount of space no matter the figuration of the cut.

That being said, I've been quilting a looonnng time and have MANY clear shoe boxes marked:
1" strips,
1+1/4" strips,
1+1/2" strips,
1+3/4" strips,
2" strips,
2+1/2" strips,
3" strips,
3+1/2" and wider strips,
2" and 3" squares,
4" squares (these by color as most of them came from my shop years ago and there are so many),
4-patches,
9-patches,
HSTs,
sewn strips (such as leftover binding pieces, or other sewn together strips for piecing)
and SEVERAL bigger clear boxes for "random usable pieces" (usually less than 1/4 yd. or portions of a leftover fat quarter)
THEN I have my 1/3yd./1/2yd./larger fabric stored on 14 sleeves, behind closed doors, in stacks by color. Each stack is at least 12' tall and the cuts are frequently less than 1 yard.
Large cuts of 4+ yards are stored separately as I only have about 25-30 of those.

I HAVE ENOUGH FABRIC! (Shouting for my own ears and shaking my finger in my face.......do you think it's working?!)

Jan in VA

Fay, did you see alaskasunshine's wonderful organizational tutorial? I'm working on that now too, except i used acid free magazine boards. It really is a great way to be able to see all your fabrics at a glance and be inspired. No more digging through bins and laundry baskets or forgetting what I have. Enjoy getting organized!
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutorials-f10/alaskasunshines-fabric-folding-organizing-your-quilt-room-t43871.html

Jan I wondered the same thing. I just know I would cut up a fabric that I would later wish I had in a larger piece!

I pull out my fabrics regularly and pet them (DH claims it puts me in a better mood when I'm cranky) and when I run across a piece from another project I may remember the other project. But I never review my stash in the sentiment you mentioned. I'm just glad that I got done what I got done. My list of UFOs and ideas is a mile long. THAT is where my focus needs to be - not in what's already done.

I started to organize my stash last month - I don't think I have near what you do but I am cutting all of mine into easy to use pieces - 5 inch charms, 4, 3 1/2, 3, 2, 2 1/2, and 1 1/2 inch squares - other sizes - strings and bars (2 1/2 x 5) I hope to have all scraps cut sometime this summer and have them all organized into boxes that I get from Hobby Lobby - basically shoe box size but pretty! All up on a shelf - out of the way but will be ready to use for some nice patchwork.
Karen