How would you even Begin to organize your stash?
 

Hi everyone!

Well, I'm in the UFO Challenge group, and that has definitely gotten me to looking at what I have "on hand".
Egads, the fabric!!!

So, while I have not usually been a "scrappy person" in the past, with last year's Moda blocks (I forget what they called them), and the "Frivols", and various other things that have piqued my scrappy interest, I've decided that I need to finally begin to make use of the TONS of scraps, and those "just GOTTA have that!" purchases. (Don't look at me in that tone of voice - I KNOW you've bought some "too pretty to pass by" fabric!!)

My question now is, "how do you even BEGIN?"
I've browsed Bonnie Hunter's site some (skimmed might be a better word), and I'd love some feedback from everyone on what they found to work for them. Do I keep some of the larger pieces? Do I trim it all to homemade "layer cakes" and "Jelly rolls"? Do I start by determining how big a piece of fabric is? (if I do that, nothing will ever get accomplished!!) Or do I just reach into the scrap bags/totes/sacks and start wearing out an AccuQuilt cutting mat?

And once I get started on making my scraps manageable, what has everyone found to be the best method of organizing? by color? by cut?

And what about my leaders and enders? I don't really have "true" leaders and enders, as my machine would snarl worse with these when I power off/power on. I'm just talking about those "bonus" HST's that are the result of whacking off the ears of creating flying geese, snowball blocks and so on. So, not really leaders and enders, but.. how do I go about organizing these so that they do eventually get used someday?

And while Bonnie is obviously the "Queen" of scraps, is there anyone else who is at least a "scrap Princess". I like to see other people's methods of doing stuff, until I find what is "just right" for me. At this point, I don't think Bonnie really resonates with my style of chaos - which in no way is intended as criticism - her method just does not give me that "aha!" moment... although I DID use her pineapple pattern (and loved it!!).

Any help would be appreciated... especially if you come to my house and help!! :D

For me I have been using a lot of the patterns on Sewing is more fun then houseworks site
http://quiltingismorefunthanhousewor...t-gallery.html

She tends to pick out specific colorways that more closely appeals to my color sense and balance. I started small as I began to organize and took one box at a time. I bought comic boards and put anything 3/4 yard or bigger on them and put them on shelves like books. Sorted all of my fat quarters and half yard cuts and folded them all and put them on end in small short totes so only one level and I can quickly spot what I am looking for. Scraps I have not yet sorted by color but will some days in one tote I have all strings and strips in another I have bigger chunks. I don't really cut them up into size as I do not know what I want them for.
The small totes I use for these are 12x12 and about 5 inches tall and clear so I can see into them. I have been working on this for a few months just a bit at a time and its really working. The last four quilts I made all came from what I had on hand and I shop my shelves just like a store.

Can you post a pic? I can't quite envision what you're saying here. This sounds like it would be a good start for me, if I can understand what you're doing.

And your comment " I don't really cut them up into size as I do not know what I want them for." sounds kind of like me too.

I'm only "sort of" organized... I have a place for all my longarm rulers, all my threads, and all the other various "tools of the trade" of quilting... so I know exactly where to go for those things.
But fabric... well, I'm a mess for sure.

I utilize mostly lawyers bookcases for my yardage. I have 2 smaller lawyers bookcases that hold most of my FQ stash. I decided a long time ago that I will mostly make scrap quilts using either 2 1/2" strips or 5" squares so that's what I cut anything smaller than a FQ. I give away my crumbs and anything smaller than 5". That's just what works for me.

I am a huge Bonnie Hunter fan but (confession coming) I buy yardage - sure I have a few precuts in my stash but I like to get a yard or 3 or 5 if I like a fabric or find a bargain price. And I cannot make myself cut a piece larger than a fat quarter into strips or squares. What I do is cut strips and squares from my yardage but leave as much as possible in one big piece. Maybe I will evolve into a true Scrap Saver System devotee, but for now...

For fat quarters and pieces around 1 yard or so, I bought 2 letter sorters I found at Habitat's Restore. I stacked them on end and it takes up very little floor space that way. Other people use CD/DVD holders to hold fat quarters. Check out your thrift shops to see what they might have.

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I'm right there with you, Leta! Just setting up a new sewing room and have about 60 boxes of fabric I didn't get rid of before moving, sitting in the garage waiting to be unpacked into new cupboards and drawers that may only hold half that.
When I packed, I know two boxes are "solids", one is "3 yds and over", nearly all my 30's +/- reproduction prints are together, everything under a fat-eighth is considered "scraps" (some of which are bagged by color family).
FQ's are in shoe boxes, triangles and cut squares have their own places.....
Wish we lived closer, we could help each other out!

I wish we lived closer too, Quilting Cat! Bouncing some organizational ideas off each other would be loads of fun!! However, I don't think we could get much further apart and still be on the same continent! :D

Christine, thanks for the pic!! The CD/DVD unit sounds like a solid idea, I'll definitely haunt my area thrift stores looking for one!! I really like your letter sorter, though!! and it looks like you're hanging your rulers and such on the side! What a great idea!!

Diannia, I didn't know what a lawyers bookcase was, so I googled it... if I had some of those, they would be full of BOOKS!! (which is my other addiction!!)

Thank you everyone, so far this at least might get me started. From the sound of it though, I'm not the only one with this problem. :)

BH's scrap system sounds great, but I hated the idea of cutting everything into pieces and then finding out I needed one big piece.

In the end I just sorted all my scraps by color, folding them (somewhat) neatly and sliding them into a divided box. When I do something scrappy, I just look through and find something I like together to make my block.

Our yardage is ruler folded and sorted by color. Holiday fabric is all together. Solids and blenders are all together. Fat quarters are all together and sorted by color also.