The picture is my studio in active chaos. I am having fun doing all this cutting. What you can't see is the ironing board with the fat quarters I am cutting and behind me (and the camera) is the cutting area that is piled with the quarter yard cuts.After I am done with these, I need to empty out the light paintbucket and make those scraps workable. Note: since I started this post and saved it as a draft for a couple of days, I have now made the lights paintbucket workable.
Oh, btw, the Iris cases that I keep my projects in are currently on sale at Michael's Crafts for $4.99. Hurry. You can see one right there next to the Baby Davis quilt. No affiliation, yada, yada.
Sweet P asked what I was doing with all the squares and strips. Well, I have been cutting 2.5" and 5" squares for a long time. Ala 'Nickel Quilts' the 5" squares can be cut into quarters of 2.5" each. The 2.5" strips are just an extension of these. And the 10.5" squares can be cut down if needed, but I was actually cutting them for pieced backings. I don't really have a quilt in mind, but the fabric is now in a usable form. The majority of what I was cutting down were quarter yard cuts from a grab bag from Keepsake Quilting. Did you know you can get 3 2.5" strips from a quarter yard?
And for Susan's hero's quilts, I actually dug out those 12 embroidered blocks I threw away and snail mailed them to her Monday.
I have found that for scrap saving, I needed to make some decisions and then stick to them. If I leave the fabric as is, it will only sit and age. Now I have taken it out from the stacks and cut it down into some pre-determined sizes and it awaits inspiration!
I have 2 more projects to make quilt kits for: my version of Judy-L's Leaf Season quilt and in the Iris case you see on the sewing maching table is a BOM for which I need to cut sashing a built-in borders. Then I will have things to work on. I seem to work best this way: to have several things to choose from to work on, rather than one thing at a time.
My LAer called me today with the news that my fan quilt and JunkyardBob's quilt are ready to pick up. Once they are back in my posession then I have 3 quilty things to stitch the binding onto. Photos of these when I have them done. I promise.
Love the picture of your work area - fun to see how others work!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for the perfect storage boxes to keep my DMC machine embroidery thread in - I wonder if those boxes like yours would work?
I like all your storage containers. I need to invest in more of them. I think organization leads to more productivity. Less time spent rummaging looking for things you know you have but can't find.
ReplyDeleteI too, try to keep scraps in manageble cuts. You however, are the queen! Your studio looks beauteous compared to mine. rumor has it local fire dept. may be headed in my direction for creating a fire hazard if I don't straighten things out!
ReplyDeleteWatched your video! you are inspiring
You inspire me! (I apparently need to make some "size" decisions and start cutting!)
ReplyDeleteA very organized plan -- I usually try to just keep scraps as is. Then in a frenzy of organization, chop them all up and use them right away, allow them to build up again . . and so the cycle goes *s*
ReplyDeleteDid you check out Bonnie Hunter's site for all the things she does with strips and squares like that? Her directions are easy to follow.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you are organizing all this!
Thanks for mailing the squares. As soon as I get them into tops, they'll be on my quilting blog. desertskyquilts.livejournal.com
Wow! You have been busy! Your storage containers are cute. I only have on basket of scraps to work on right now, but I do keep my projects in different containers
ReplyDeleteWow - that's organised! I'm impressed. I'm not too keen on cutting, so the thought of cutting just for fun leaves me cold...
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to take bigger scraps and some stash and just come them into strips for a long time now. You have inspired me! Since my photo upload button has disappeared from blogger, I may have to actually sew instead of talking about sewing for a while. I love your organization, Paula!
ReplyDeleteWhat are you collecting in the box on the wall, scissors? I'd love to see it better!
ReplyDeleteGood job on getting yourself organized. I should do that one day...nah...
8^)
I like to look at pictures of other people's work areas too, and it looks more like the way I work than all the other super neat and tidy places. It is a work area. I like that you labeled the picture too. So thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteCutting scraps into manageable sizes is a great idea. I haven't done it, but it sounds like it could get you past the pesky cutting stage and into the exciting piecing stage faster. With my luck though, the quilt I choose to make would need different size squares.
I go through periods of cutting up scraps into uniform shapes and sizes. So far I haven't used many, but I think I need to dedicate a scrap quilt project to the scrap drawers. I cut squares, strips and bricks of varying sizes.
ReplyDeleteI too love seeing other people's creative spaces, so thank you for the glimpse! And thanks for the mention of the Iris boxes at Michael's. I want straight away and bought two of them. $4.99 beats the heck out of $14.99 for the same darn thing, essentially, at the LQS!