I'm having more fun reading these posts than I should. We are either anal organized, totally disorganized, don't give a rat organized or in-process organized. Too funny.

i recieved a box of old quilting books that came from a elderly lady that had passed , there was a book in the box that had a lot of pieces of material and i didnt know what it was for , maybe that is what she used it for ? hmmm maybe the mystery is solved

I sell my stuff and I used to clip a small piece of each fabric and staple it to a sheet of paper. I used one sheet for each purchase. If I only bought 3 fabrics that day I only had 3 pieces on that sheet. Or if I had 10 fabrics then that sheet would have 10 pieces of fabric. I cut them about an 1" sq. I also stapled the reciept to that page so I had a record of where I bought that fabric and when. I kept these on a clipboard.

I like to know where I bought something so I can start looking there when I want more of it.

I stopped doing it because it is a lot of work and I just got tired of doing it. but I should go back to it. It really helps to know where I bought that fabric I liked so much. I tend to find favorites and use them alot. When I can't get that favorite anymore it is wonderful if I run across them somewhere else later on.

Boy! are you organized! Unfortunately, I am still "computer challenged".

I have my fabrics in those closet hanging shoe and sweater organizers, the shoe size hold my FQ's and the sweater size holds the larger pieces. They are sorted by color. The scraps are in stackable clear storage boxes. It is easy to go to the closet and see what I have when choosing for a quilt. When I applique, I take the stack of scrap boxes out and keep them next to me or at the back of my large table when selecting for appliques. I Have whole (or partial) bolts on a shelf,and batting on the top of the shelf. All in all, I think I am pretty organized. If I need to get a fabric at the store, I take 2" pieces, stapled to a sheet with the needed items to get with me. I also have a couple of large Stanley tool chests with removable trays to hold my "bits & pieces". I always look at photos of other's great studios and say "someday---"

Sounds like a good thing to do but even if I did this it would be a matter of finding where I placed the fabric in the stash.

you would also need to put length/width too

[quote=Quilting Nonnie]I just got an order from Thousands of Bolts. On each fabric, they have a sticky label that names the fabric, the amount, etc. I thought that was such a good idea that I took some computer printer labels, stuck them in an envelope and put them in my glove box in my car. [quote]

This sounds like a great idea, but use the labels with caution, because as they get older, they become very sticky and leave residue on the fabrics. I found that out with fat quarters that had labels on them.

I have a couple of friends who use those inexpensive photo albums (4 x 6) to put a selvage (with the manufacturer details) & a block of the fabric so they can carry them to quilt shows & shops.

I haven't invested the time, but I'm always so envious when they pull them out & aren't wrestling with a million things in their purses like I do. :)

Corky, you asked what to do with your second group of fabrics, which I really like, make purses. The fabric with purses on it would be perfect and the rest would be perfect for accents, like handles, pockets, bottom and side pieces. You could make a quilt I have seen with different purses on squares making up lots of rows of purses