Stash management was the topic of the day at yesterday's guild meeting. A great program performed beautifully by the also beautiful Ginger. She got a round of applause from the group even though we groaned and growled at her for making us so aware that we weren't nearly as on top of our stash as we could/should be.
She began the program by asking a few pertinent questions.....
Shame-faced, I took a picture or two of 'the way we were'. Man, did I ever get the picture!
I growled and snarled at her even more this morning as I took a look closer around me: Me, the one who is so organized and gets so much accomplished because of my organizational skills! I thought I was a good fabric manager when I put all my batik in one stack and all my hand dyes together and even have a few solids nicely snuggled. But Ginger shared some good information on how to fold yardage so it stacks nicely, making the viewing more pleasing, but even more - saving time in finding just the right fabric for the next project.
And, I thought I was a great manager when I purchased all those bins in which to store my scraps and on-going projects and other things and stuff! But Ginger says I need to do more than just put them in a bin. She says if I took those scraps that are less than a fat-quarter size and pressed them then cut them into more usable sizes, then I would enjoy every one of those scraps to the limit. For instance, Ginger says cut into 10" squares (you know....layer cake size) or 6" or 5" squares. She says 2 1/2" strips are a must do. From those you can quickly cut your 2 1/2" squares, or 2 1/2" by rectangles as needed.
And, I thought my magazines and books were organized. But, here was Ginger's food for thought. How often do you need to keep the magazine when all you want in that one magazine is that one quilt pattern? Simply tear out the pages you want to keep and make folders - a folder for modern quilts, one for mini quilts, one for totes and purses....you get the idea. Your magazine stash is very quickly organized. And, the same goes for books. Keep the ones you love and pass on all the others.
While in the process of pulling and thinking of how things could/should be organized, I found some fabric that had been lost....enough fabric for some border choices for my latest modern quilt on the design wall.
She began the program by asking a few pertinent questions.....
- "Have you lost anything in your sewing room lately?"
- "Have you bought a duplicate of a ruler, pattern, fabric, template because you couldn't find the one you knew was there (somewhere)?"
- "Can you find your cutting board or ironing surface underneath all the stuff?"
Shame-faced, I took a picture or two of 'the way we were'. Man, did I ever get the picture!
I growled and snarled at her even more this morning as I took a look closer around me: Me, the one who is so organized and gets so much accomplished because of my organizational skills! I thought I was a good fabric manager when I put all my batik in one stack and all my hand dyes together and even have a few solids nicely snuggled. But Ginger shared some good information on how to fold yardage so it stacks nicely, making the viewing more pleasing, but even more - saving time in finding just the right fabric for the next project.
And, I thought I was a great manager when I purchased all those bins in which to store my scraps and on-going projects and other things and stuff! But Ginger says I need to do more than just put them in a bin. She says if I took those scraps that are less than a fat-quarter size and pressed them then cut them into more usable sizes, then I would enjoy every one of those scraps to the limit. For instance, Ginger says cut into 10" squares (you know....layer cake size) or 6" or 5" squares. She says 2 1/2" strips are a must do. From those you can quickly cut your 2 1/2" squares, or 2 1/2" by rectangles as needed.
And, I thought my magazines and books were organized. But, here was Ginger's food for thought. How often do you need to keep the magazine when all you want in that one magazine is that one quilt pattern? Simply tear out the pages you want to keep and make folders - a folder for modern quilts, one for mini quilts, one for totes and purses....you get the idea. Your magazine stash is very quickly organized. And, the same goes for books. Keep the ones you love and pass on all the others.
While in the process of pulling and thinking of how things could/should be organized, I found some fabric that had been lost....enough fabric for some border choices for my latest modern quilt on the design wall.
Things are going to get organized and I will share when that happens.
Give me time here!
Oh, yes, life is good and will be so much better after I get my sewing studio managed.
Thanks, Ginger. You are the greatest.
No comments :
Post a Comment
Thanks for stopping by...