thanks for sharing your progress and photos....inspires me to "keep at it". I think right now, I have many projects to complete...so my room is in utter chaos. I've got a quilt to add a label to, 1 quilt that is quilted and needs binding sewn and label, 1 quilt on the long-arm being quilted, 1 quilt waiting to be quilted. I think once I get those done, I will feel better. Right now, I'm just moving stuff from one surface to another so I can complete the task at hand.
Here's what I do that seems to help me keep a little neater: Once I've trimmed the quilted quilt, I dispense with the trimmed fabric and batting immediately.
If the fabric is less than 2 1/2" wide, it gets cut up into confetti and goes in my dog bed stuffing bin (a pop-up, mesh laundry basket thingie that sits under my cutting table). Otherwise, it is folded and put away to be used.
If the batting is less than 4", I also confetti it and it goes into the dog bed stuffing bin.
If the batting is 4", I cut the batting to use in "hickory nut" hexagon charity quilts (see other posts about hickory nuts on the board). Those are put away in the box that I'm keeping for hickory nuts.
If the batting is at least 12" wide, (which usually never happens), I roll it up with my batting scraps to be used later.
Then, I pull out my trusty vacuum (which is always in my sewing room, plugged in and waiting underneath my pressing station) and vacuum my design board, my cutting area, the pressing station, the long arm leaders and the carpet.
When the dog bed stuffing bin is full, I pull out dog beds I have "pre-made" and stuff those puppies and walk them down to the pet store (they collect for our local animal rescue group).
Then, onto the next project. I started doing this because it seemed I always had strips of fabric piled up, along with the left-over batting. Now, I find if it is cut up, it takes up less space AND when I just feel like "stress-sewing"...I can pick these up and do something constructive.
But, for me...I've got to get some of these long-standing projects completed! I've been working on quilts for family made out of pieces of my Mother's cotton clothing and her stash. She wore a lot of cotton and much stash, so I've been able to make and gift 14 quilts. I have enough to complete 3 more quilts and they are almost done (2 more to quilt). I had purchased bolts of fabric for the backing and borders and rolls of batting for these gifts. So, once they are all completed, I can put those back in the regular fabric and batting stashes and use them as I can. I've managed to gift these quilts to all my siblings, their children and now my mother's 3 sisters. I'm thinking any additional fabric can be used in baby quilts for the great-grandchildren.
So, this was my 5+ year project. My Mother has been gone for a little over 5 years and EVERY day I think of her....every time I sew....every time I touch fabric she used to make other quilts. Grateful to pass on her legacy.