Eh, right now is definitely not my ideal, but I'm glad I still have a room I can put my two sewing machines out, and have some room to cut/press. Storage is in another room, in plastic tubs. Ideally, they'd be nicely folded on an open shelf, but now I'm thinking I'd like sewingpup's lawyer's bookcase idea even better. That way the fabric would be neat, visible, but not open to dust/pets.I dream of having a large, sunlit studio type room for my hobby. I love using natural light to look at the color of fabric -it's a big part of what I love about quilting!

We can customize technology all we want in this scenario, right? I'd get one of those huge conveyor belt systems that dry cleaners use. Have all my fabric ironed, hung along the conveyor belt roughly grouped by color, and assigned a number. The number and a picture of the fabric, along with some sort of tagging descriptor system (color, whether it's multicolored, pattern size, pattern style, how much of the fabric I have left, etc) is entered into a computer program so I can search by the parameters of what I'm looking for. So, say, my pattern calls for 2 yards of blue fabric with a small print. I'd be able to search the tags "blue", "2+ yards", and "small print" to get a list of all my fabric that meets all 3 of those requirements. It'd also have an exclusion function so that if my pattern would look okay with a blue/green combo fabric but not a blue/pink combo, I could add in blue fabrics with multiple colors but exclude any that are tagged with "pink" as a descriptor.

It'd be the best of both worlds, in my opinion. When I just want to browse my fabrics for inspiration, they'd all be hung right there for my enjoyment but when I'm hunting for one specific fabric, I won't fall in love with one that's like 3/4 of a yard when I need 1 1/2 for my pattern, because I'd only see fabrics in my fabric searching computer program that fit what I need.

I make kits and don't just buy yardage so mine is stored in tubs. I have maybe 7 pieces that are just yardage which I will use for small projects like bags.

Ok, you just 'won' this thread! That's awesome! :D

Vadalia, Yes, I want that system. Sounds wonderful. I am redoing my stash right now. I have ikea cabinets with baskets and and draws and shelves. the cabinet are 23 inches deep so I had it laid on top of each other. every time I wanted a piece I messed up the whole pile. Now I am using boards and folding fabric on them. They will stack two deep which may still be a problem. The baskets hold all kinds of things I need. If the basket is too high, I slip the basket out to fine what I need. I still have totes and containers around here in the corner. My house is just not big enough.

If money is no object I would hire someone to come in and sort/organize my stash better. Currently it is semi organized. I have no dedicated sewing room, so it currently is all in mostly frosted tubs. I would want a cabinet, with fabric on boards, organized by color. I'd want scraps (which I save but never use) separate. Seasonal would be separate, as would all my FQ's. As long as they are here, another cabinet would be used to store all my notions ,threads, rulers, cutters, buttons and miscellaneous stuff. I'd also like a cabinet for all my books, magazines and patterns, Everything would need to be labeled to make finding things easier. I'd then like a dedicated drop spot, shelf or basket to put things into until they can come and put the items back where they came from. Too much to ask??

All my cotton yardage is ruler folded and is in pattern cabinets drawers, sorted by background color. I have 8 of the cabinets. I also have a dresser with the "runovers". All the flannels, wool and home decorator fabrics are in the small shed. There's not enough room in the sewing room. LOL

I'd then like a dedicated drop spot, shelf or basket to put things into until they can come and put the items back where they came from. Too much to ask??

OMG! I just realized my fabric room AND sewing room is a drop spot!!!

I would want to have designated areas to function for different activities. They would include a cutting, ironing station, separate tables for 3 loved machines that I would like to have out all the time. There would be 36 inch wide cabinet drawers for the embroidery, serger and quilting threads. Zippers would be organized in a shallow drawer by size with dividers separating them.
The cabinet would include a slide out board like a secretary desk for flat space as needed.

Slide out drawers with dividers would hold the layer cakes upright. The drawer slides would be auto close.

The stash is ruler folded on the closet shelves. No comic boards here.