Following Up - Part Two

Now to the questions about my stash storage system.

Yes, it pretty much DOES stay this neat.

Even when I am working and making a mess,

the stacks stay intact and yardage gets put back

very soon after being pulled out.

And now, with the new single layer resource box method,

the odd sized pieces also get put away sooner.

But it wasn't always this way!

A very early version of what would become my stash storage system -
from a failed attempt to use Bonnie Hunter's scrap cutting method
instead of mishmash drawer storage.

For the first several years I stored my fabric of all sizes

in drawers with solid fronts.

Even with labels, it was hard to find things.

Then I tried taming the chaos

by cutting up all of the scraps 

using Bonnie Hunter's method.

It did tame the mess,

but the pre-cut scraps were always the wrong size

for whatever it was I wanted to make.

I also tried storing yardage by type

(i.e., batiks, cotton prints, reproductions, etc.)

but that meant I ignored entire groups of fabrics

when pulling for a new project.

Storing my yardage on open shelves

was inspired by a 2013 visit with

 Wanda Hanson of Exuberant Color.

I'd never seen such a glorious stash as Wanda's

and I knew even before I got in the car to drive home

that I would be changing my existing system.

My new goal became 

to store my fabrics by color

in the open where I could see and enjoy them.

But that meant I had to make a mess

of incredible proportions 

to get where from where I was

to where I wanted to go.

* * *

It turned out to be a multi-layer effort.

As I pulled out every piece of fabric I owned,

the first decision was to keep it 

or to put it in the pile of "rejects"

to be dealt with later.

For the yardage I wanted to keep,

my rule was that if I picked it up,

I folded it before putting it back down.

As the lengths of yardage were folded, 

I stored them on the large open bookshelf unit.

Pieces less than 1/2 yard but larger than a charm square

were unceremoniously dumped into color-themed bins

to be dealt with after all the yardage was folded.

Working for an hour or two each evening after work,

it took me about six weeks to get everything 

separated into groups and the yardage re-folded.

And then I started the whole process over 

but this time with the non-yardage fabrics.

The smallest bits went into crumb boxes - 

the accessory boxes from The Container Store

that Lynne had told me about -

again sorted by color only

without regard to whether they were

solids, batiks, reproductions, prints, etc.

The larger pieces were folded 

(as neatly as possible)

and placed into medium-size Iris storage boxes.

(Ikea's Samla boxes and/or

The Container Store's clear storage boxes

would also work)

The assortment of mismatched boxes 

that I had been using all found 

new homes in other parts of the house.

For me, it worked best to lay the boxes on their sides 

so the folded edges of the fabrics were visible 

whenever the box was upright and the lid was removed.

(those resource boxes quickly became a valuable part

of my scrappy madness making it easy to find 

the cut-into-swiss-cheese pieces 

that were too good to toss

but had always caused so much clutter)

Once the crumb and resource boxes were filled

and the trash can emptied yet again,

I finally started through the pile of "rejects.

In the end, some went to Art LaFlamme's IBOL effort,

some went to Margaret's Hope Chest,

some went to a local guild for their projects,

much of it was used (by me) to make 

scrappy comfort quilts for the ADSC,

and the worst of the pieces literally went in the trash can.

Shocking, but true.

(they were not even worth the postage

to send off as a give away)

In 2017 I discovered the use of paint chip cards to help label my resource boxes
(courtesy of someone on Instagram whose name I've forgotten)

Now, for those who think they cannot develop or maintain

any kind of organization in their studios -

start by taking some time to just sit in your studio,

letting your mind wander about the room,

and think about how you work and what you really want.

Do you work based on color or type?

Do you work with yardage only 

or do you also love the leftovers?

Are you a kit person?  A pattern person?  

Or are you a make-it-up-as-you-go person?

Each process style has its own needs.

And while you are sitting still,

consider what annoys you the most

when you are in your studio space.

(i.e., flickering lights, 

odd buzzing or humming noises,

no comfortable place to sit, etc.)

Make the correction of those annoyances

your top priorities and you'll be much happier 

while you re-work your storage methods.

It takes time and effort to develop your own style -

it took me four or five serious makeovers

over the course of ten years

before I settled into my current system.

And from personal experience,

you will not regret the time and effort 

it takes to clarify your preferences

and reorganize your studio 

to make things work for you.

(and if you don't have a label maker,

put one on your wish list --

I could not manage without mine)

Quiltdivajulie

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p.s.  For those who read yesterday's post early, Glen added a comment late in the day with a link to a review for several online photo book making sources - check out that review HERE.