MaryKa

I use Walmart sandwich bags (200 count) and place 1 Walmart brand napkin (500 count) inside each bag. This helps prevent mildew from forming inside the bags. First place to go in and stays at the front is the picture on the block. Then I trace and cut the pieces out, so they fit in the bag, I do have to fold some of the pieces. Then I place all my patterns in one of the plastic tubs from Dollar Tree. I can get around 500 - 1,000 in my white baskets but I find that they are not as neat as I want them down the road so I have one of the big plastic tubs--the one that will hold 2 gallons of milk side by side and upright. I also have divided the patterns according to season and holiday. Helps keep my focus on what I am looking for instead of getting lost in my mountain of patterns. I also use these tubs for my doll and children’s clothing.

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Yesterday I went to the library to copy some patterns and I was given 1 book that became a discard when I told them about all the pages that had come out of the binding. Poor old book had been copied so many times.

The title of this book is 501 Quilt Blocks by Better Homes and Gardens. These are pictures of the quilt/block. This book does not have the actual pattern pieces, but we all have patterns for most of these if we do a lot of quilting. As almost all are circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. For those that I do not have like the cat sitting and looking backwards I can copy that box and then enlarge the pattern to the desired block size I want to make it. Cut it apart and I have that pattern.

I was awake all night last night cutting the blocks apart so I can get them into the sandwich bags and then I can get the kits put together as I decide which ones to work on during that month. I’m trying to not have any UFO’s as I don’t really have a good place to store half done quilts.

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I do have one question. How do you put machine QAG’s together after you have all the rows completed and quilted? I have never done any QAG on the machine but that is how most of my quilts will be done (unless tying off).

quiltsfor

I put my Quilt As You Go together like this: The Crafty Author though, I use a different size for my strips that work for me. For putting the rows together, just do it the same way only with strips the width (length) of the rows. I use this for putting both the blocks together and the rows together, or use it to put sections together, whatever the project calls for.

I store my patterns in a 5 quart plastic tote/box. It holds the purchased patterns that are like little booklets. I can flip through them with ease as they are on edge. Any patterns that are digital, I print them out when I'm working on them, otherwise they stay in my computer files. All the patterns are in plastic sleeves and in alpha order so they are easy to find. Pattern books are on a book shelf. If the purchased pattern is in a larger size, (some I have are book size but only a few pages), I keep them in a narrow drawer.

For a pattern I am working on, I have it and all the extra information in a folder on my sewing table for reference.