WMUTeach

Quiltsfor, I might be to casual about my mats but I just store them flat. One on the top of the other. Never had a problem with them. On the other hand I have a mid sized one that lives to the left of my machine for trimming and small cutting and a very large one that lives on the island in my kitchen most of the time. The others are small to mid sized and don't get much use. They are just stacked up waiting their turn.

quiltsfor

I finally arranged a flat place to store my rotary mats, the ones you put blocks on to square up the sides without moving the blocks. Thanks all.

I am starting my log cabin quilt now and I got out the jelly rolls I planned on using. I have had them for about a year. I was surprised that the inner rolled strips were creased and crunched curls so much from being rolled up. Though I probably shouldn't have been. But, with most of the jelly rolls I use just after they come out in a fabric line, I don't see this. I'm wondering if it is because they were rolled up for a long period of time. I'm thinking I might unroll all of my older jelly rolls and store them lightly folded in half instead of rolled, and lay them flat in a container. And do it for new ones as well. Letting the fabric breath some instead of being tightly rolled up.

Slsweets22

“I'm thinking I might unroll all of my older jelly rolls and store them lightly folded in half instead of rolled, and lay them flat in a container. And do it for new ones as well. Letting the fabric breath some instead of being tightly rolled up.”
Maybe roll it up on a tp or paper towel roll? Or other cylindrical item? Folds will crease over time, as well, just not as badly.

quiltsfor

Thanks, I thought about doing that. But I try to keep any cardboard out of the craft room. I've heard that it attracts bugs with the glue in it. And since it might be a long time 'storage' I don't want to take the chance.

I started just this week with all the jelly rolls I have and now, when I get jelly rolls, since I tend to get multiples of the same ones, as I make queen and king size quilts. I am opening them and matching all the like fabric strips from the different rolls and putting them together in one stack, then lightly folding that stack in half. They fit well in my totes and since there is many strips of the same fabric together, it isn't a tight fold, plus it will save a lot of time when I'm ready to start a quilt with them.

WMUTeach

My attempts at organization have been so successful in the past. Loved the cleaner look of my sewing space but yesterday, I stepped in to "clean up" sewing room yesterday and ended up creating another project. I found enough RWB to make a baby quilt and just had to start it. Now the mess has grown instead of disappearing. Piles of this and that fabrics that almost match and bins here and there that I stumbled on that needed to be consolidated. I finely tossed in the towel and went to bed last evening with my space still in chaos. It all started with a search for my glue gun for door wreath project that would have taken 10 minutes to complete. I did find it.....eventually. Now sure whether to laugh or cry at the mess I made. Guess with a new day here, I will set my timer as recommended by Karen Brown and just clean one surface at a time, starting with the floor. Then when that is finished I will make the door wreath. I need the satisfaction of getting one thing/project finished. Someone please tell me that their creativity gets in the way of their "cleaning up". I can't be the only one. Tee-Hee-Hee!

EmiliasNana

My space looks like chaos when I'm working on a project, but even then I try and keep piles of fabric organized and label pieces "A" and "B" or rows 1,2,3. When I'm done I learn to clean up and put everything away again. I really can't work in total chaos.
I recently reorganized my closet (posted earlier) and have two boxes ready to take to donate: some fabric I no longer like or it don't go with anything else, some patterns, some magazines, some batting scraps too small to sew together for quilts but great for stuffing or potholders etc. I'm also donating two quilts to the local Children's Home for a resident girl who is aging out or for their annual auction. I made them because I liked them and it challenged me (2 Bonnie Hunter quilts) but I don't have a need for that size and the family has many. I have enough fabric and kits left to last me two more lifetimes, so it's time to sew faster LOL or let some of it go.

WMUTeach

Chaos has calmed a bit. I did not set the timer but dove in and started clearing the floor of projects, little snippets of sewing detritus and opened bins. Then moved UFOS and unfinished projects and all the accompanying fabric into small bins and stacked them up so I can see them as individual projects and not a giant mess. Found some scraps that I cut into 2.5" squares and put them in a "miscellaneous" box to be sorted by color later. Then I moved to label some small shoe box bins so I know what is in them and can either take on the project or add appropriate pieces to finish the project. Lastly I found a bag with a UFO that I promised to another quilter for a QOV, it had been given to me. Amazing what one finds when you clean up just a little deeper!

With that done, I finished 5 disappearing four patch blocks for a project using RWB scraps and made 6 blocks for my quilting group's mystery quilt. That makes for a very good day in my book. A big breath and a sigh. I feel better about my sewing space now.

EmiliasNana, I have donated already this year and may take another look later, perhaps fall. It is a good way to lift the weight of "too much stuff" off of my shoulders every now and again. I give to several quilt groups first and then Goodwill after that. I have also given to local schools and the fashion design students for their charity projects at my university. Onward to conquer or to make more progress on the unfinished projects.

Julienm1

I have amazed myself! I orgnized my fab by color and after, I think 2 weeks, fab still looks so pretty. I'm very careful when I pull fab. Only had one avalanche!...lol

Decided to see what was hiding in containers in storage area. Found a top that needed to be sandwhiched...done and ready for donation on Friday. Fouind two bags of finished blocks. One done and ready for donation. 2nd one just may be done in tilme. Feels so good to donate these to PL and empty out containers.

WMUTeach

Cleaning up, AKA organizing, always yields treasures, Julienm1.

cashs_mom

I'm not very good about organizing but I have started. My fabric was a mess. Jumbled in boxes by color but I had to dig thru the box to find the fabric I wanted. I was pulling fabric for a new project and I folded the pieces like fat quarters and put them neatly in a box so I could see what I had. I decided I was going to go thru all my smaller pieces of fabrics a do the same. I've been working at them a box or two at a time for a couple weeks now. I'm not done yet, but its so much better! I was looking for something this morning and could just open the box and see if it was there. I'm probably 2/3 of the way thru. I'm so happy I did this. And, yes, I found several pieces of fabric that I'd forgotten about.