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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Cleaning up the Ivory Tower…..

Do you ever feel like you need a magic carpet to make your way through your quilting room?  

This is what I’ve needed this past week to get through my sewing area! 

I don’t know about you, but I just can’t work in a messy, disorganized environment.  It’s okay to turn the room on its head pulling out fabrics to start a new project…. Oh yeah!  That’s FUN!!  But once it’s planned and cut and I’m ready to sew, I have to put things back in order before I start sewing! 

So, not much sewing has been going on the past few days because I’ve been very busy taming the stash!  It had seriously begun to get completely out of hand, and I found myself wasting a lot of time just looking for fabrics because they were not where I thought they should be.  A few days ago my studio looked like this….

Pulling out fabrics to give away.....

Flannels.... Wow! These are like dust bunnies,  multiplying while my back is turned!


How many greens do YOU have?  I obviously have more than I thought :*)




Stuff just shoved onto the shelves... not good!

Now all these piles have been neatly organized...........






............ and put in their proper places on their shelves….


I remember when my mom would view my room after I had cleaned it (under protest of course!)  She'd always say, “Now, doesn’t that look better?”  Yes, Mom, it does!!!

I’ve also pulled out a LOT of fabric that no longer works for me. 




TONS of fabric being pulled out!  These are fabrics I bought or picked up on the “free” table at guild when I first started quilting, and I know I’ll never use them.  Tastes change, and I only have so much room, so I’m getting a lot more picky about what is allowed to remain in my stash!  I’ve pulled out some that I’ll sell at our guild’s yard sale, but most of it I’ll put back on the “free” table or take to Goodwill. 

I'm sending out a HUGE Thanks to my good friend Dar over at Dar's Patchwork Garden who reminded me that I can count destashing older fabrics like this as MINUS YARDAGE on my Stash Report!  Yoohoo!!!  And it’s a lot of yardage too!!!  More room for new stuff, right ;-)  Thanks Dar for reminding me to count this!

So, as I said, not much sewing getting done.  Lots of Plotting and Planning though!!!  =^..^=    

Planning as in picking lots of DOTS fabrics out as I’ve been reorganizing. 


Why?  Because my day on the Dots on Dots Blog Hop is September 17, and I’m really looking forward to showing what I’m planning on doing with all my happy little dots :*)

And Planning my next Promises & Borders block for slow stitching. 



I just LOVE these sweet little blocks!  Each stitch reminds me of how wonderful my Father is and how much I love Him!!!

I’m also doing a lot of Plotting …. What will my September NewFO Challenge project be?  Hmmmm…. So many quilts, so little time!!!  I think I’ll explore those options in tomorrow’s post.  Be sure to come back & see what I decide!  =^..^= 

Today I am keeping those in the path of Isaac in my prayers!  It looks as though it will miss us all the way up here in Nashville.  Although we may get some of the outer bands of activity.  My friend Norma took this picture while on her morning walk - is this spectacular or what???
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning!

Later in the morning, this was the view from my back porch....



......... the cloud bands can be clearly seen but it is only the very edges of it, so no rain or other types of weather yet.  We’re keeping our fingers crossed though, because we sure could use some of that rain!

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

19 comments:

  1. I'm the same (canNOT work/cook in clutter or disorganized environment)! I have to put it all away again when I'm finished, too.

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  2. ...and I think the rains will come soon and very soon! We need them, too.

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  3. Alas my sewing room is no where near as organized but as Scarlet sayes, Tomorrow is another day :o)
    I just about split my side with that first photo, too funny.
    Have a great day.
    Always, Queenie

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  4. Do you have a drop off point for The Sewing Machine Project near you? If you don't know about it, please google The Sewing Machine Project. They take sewing machines, and fabric to help those less fortunate. Just an idea. Your fabrics are beautiful!

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  5. At first glance I thought that was Lucy Ricardo on that ironing board! I'm very impressed by your cleaned Ivory Tower. I'm a bit envious. Mine NEVER looks that good. You have some great looking cabinets for your stash!

    Thanks for the shout out for reminding you of counting your outgoing clutter. What is it I see in one of those piles --- blacks and white with a piece of red!!! Haven't you heard they don't take those colors at Goodwill--but they would feel right at home in my stash. They want to grow up to be featured in a D9P quilt real soon!!

    Back to trying to use my stash the slow way -- sewing small borders! ha

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  6. Look at the yardage! The largest part of my stash is FQ and smaller, so I am drooling. Although, I do have a 'fabric diet' of storage to the bits.

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  7. THAT is exactly what I need to do. I have a really hard time parting with my yardage, though. So hard!

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  8. Most of my stash is in buckets in the basement. Out of site, is out of mind, oops! I do donate lots of fabric (no florals) to Quilts of Valor, and kids flannels and cottons to make preemie quilts with one of my guilds. I really need to get my stash organized one of these days.

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  9. If you are on facebook there is a fabric destash page.

    http://www.facebook.com/groups/fabricdestash/

    where others are selling the fabrics they no longer want, and it is a big hit!

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  10. I am with you, girl! Clean it out! Amazing how our tastes mature and change... and the whole quilt market has changed so dramatically. Spectacular - all of it. Loved the verse, how true it is. How true it is. Now go and enjoy the fruits of your cleaning labor! Your Mom is soooo right! Hugs back atcha.

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  11. Purging the stash feels so good!
    Another very sweet stitchery block--can't wait to see the finish.
    Wow, that is such a stunning sunrise!

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  12. Oh how I love organizing fabric. Great post! Thanks for linking up!

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  13. Your room looks great! I did a quilt last summer that had 4 green blocks (among lots of others) and I used 60 different greens in those 4 blocks!!! Each block used 20 different greens, so obviously I didn't have enough because there were some doubles!!! Amazing sunrise!!! God paints so beautifully.

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  14. I'm like you. Can't work in a messy space.

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  15. Great job, Teresa!!! It looks fabulous! You run out of places to send that material ... just send it on. I'll make...errrr...find a good home for it! LOL! And yeah -- I can't work in unorganized space, either. LOVE the ironing board surfer!! :)

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  16. Teresa,
    I have copied off the blocks for the Promises embroidery. I am getting a late start on them as I just found them and am not letting myself start them until I finish another project. I have seen where she fuses something called whisperweft on the back of the fabric. I've never seen that product. Are you using that on yours?

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  17. Awesome accomplishment! It has to feel good to look at those neatly stacked shelves and ponder the possibilities. Congratulations.

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  18. It looks great all organized. I love my fabric to be organized and folded nice and neat. the picture of the lady on the ironing bood is hysterical!! love it :)

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  19. Wow you did an amazing job! And before you take that extra fabric to Goodwill would you consider donating it to our church quilt ministry? I can get you a charitable donation letter for tax purposes, just like Goodwill - and I'll even meet you to pick it up! Just say the word!

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