Retired teach, I know your pain. I had my sewing room all tidied up and then started working on 2 scrappy lap quilt for teens. Those darn trolls came in again and made such a mess. I finally decided to toss fabric that was too thin which means I bought that stuff decades ago when I started quilting and had no idea there was such a difference in quality of quilting fabric. I finished piecing one lap quilt but struggling with starting the second. Maybe a piece of chocolate will help. Wouldn't hurt, right?

But RetT, you will be glad you have them sorted. I'm working with waste triangles and so glad I can find the "brights" I'm using in my current quilt. And yes Julienm1, I threw some thin fabric triangles away too.

I threw some thin fabrics away too. Some were from my DMILs stash that was given to me for charity quilts . That was almost 10 years ago. Some corduroys and heavier denim were either thrown into the fabric recycling bag or put in the donation pile.

Yes, oksewglad, it will be nice to find what I need.

I was afraid to look too hard in case I found another bin or small box of fabric. Lol! That happened twice just today.

I have about 90% put in shoebox sized bins to sort some other time by size or width. I think I have emptied all the bigger bins of all the ‘random tossed in the box’ scraps. If I help a niece by hanging out with her 6th and 8th grader on distance learning days (to keep them focused), I can easily grab a few of the shoebox tubs and sort further. They are used to me bringing things to work on when I hang out with them.

Here are the bins I have emptied over the last 8 days or so.

That’s an impressive stack of bins, Connie!

I’ve spent the last week reclaiming my jewelry bench and consolidating jewelry supplies so they are all on the same side of my studio. Meanwhile, my quilting studio has gotten discombobulated and needs some attention. Mainly, I need to make more storage bags for quilts that are currently folded on the guest bed, and I need to put away all the thread that I pulled out when I was thread painting the big butterfly. And then I need to put away all the things I pulled out when I was making masks...And my scrap bucket has gotten full again...

Rob

Perfect time to do your sorting with your gr nieces...mindless work that you can drop when they need your help. And yes empty containers! I can't believe how many I have emptied over the last year just by sorting and organizing. They then become handy sorting containers to be used over and over!

Rob: All of the sorting definitely takes time. It’s well worth it though.

oksewglad: True to reusing the bins for sorting more fabric. I was ironing the strips and squares before putting them in their respective places but decided I just needed to get the job done. Ironing can also happen when I’m helping out family.

I am stacking the bigger bins in a couple of different areas: a closet and under my stair steps. They will be great to use when I decide to move. No time schedule for a move though.

With the bins from my picture/memorabilia organizing, the stacked piles have grown.

Had to clear off the cutting table for the umpteenth time and this time decided to look at the container that had lots of small baggies with scraps. OMG>>>boat load of tiny blocks that when sewn into something that will be either 2, 3, or 4 inch squares. So decided to make 3 or 4 doll quilts for GGD who is 5. Small projects are so much fun to work on. No batting for these. Will use old print sheet for backing and call it DONE.

And she will love these little gems!

Julienm1: Lucky GGD! Great way to use up those tiny scraps.

All of my organizing last week has started to pay off especially the bins that I sorted by color and width. I started 2 more leader/ender projects. One I’m using the 2” bin from the sorting process and the other one are strip blocks from the 1.5” bin I sorted. I’m also pulling from other sorted strips too.

I certainly don’t need any more projects to start because I’m not getting any finishes right now. Lol! Oh, well! Since I won’t be subbing this fall, I will have way more time to sew than usual.

The last couple of days I sorted through a huge donation of fabric strips that had been purchased for rug making. I pulled some that could be used in strip squares last year and hoped to serge others for handles on diaper bags. I finally decided to go through the boxes and bins again and I only kept a small portion of the fabric strips. I’m hoping I can find someone who wants them or I will donate to a thrift store.

Now I’m sorting stamping dies, embossing folders, etc. I’m planning to offer them for a fundraiser.

Wow, Connie- You're on a roll! keep it up.

Today I am putting all the stuff away that is laying around my quilting studio. I have somehow managed to work on 3 thread painting projects without ever putting away any of the thread that I took out to use on them-- and of course, not a one is finished yet https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/biggrin.png. Anyway. I will be putting all those thread spools back where they belong- oh, and finding space for the batch of Molynke thread that I bought off eBay- 36 spools that need a home. In all, there are about 100 spools and cones of thread that have taken over my cutting table. Then, once my cutting table is useable, I am going to sandwich the Big Butterfly and quilt it. I hope to have it done by the weekend. Wish me luck.

Rob