Thought I'd come home for lunch and the postman had brought more fabric and a book. I adored These is my Words by Nancy E. Turner and have read the sequel, Sarah's Quilt. I liked that too, though maybe not as much as the first one. I'm looking forward to reading this other one of hers - might save it for when I go on holiday in July.
The other pictures show how I keep track of my stash (sorry they're a bit mixed up - blogger didn't insert them in the order added them and I daren't change them in case I delete everything - AGAIN). Because a lot of the fabric I have is cut up from shirts and stuff purchased at charity shops it doesn't fold up in one neat piece. I put each fabric in ziplock bags once I've cut it up and keep it in storage boxes with regular cuts of fabric in the same colour. Trouble is, I'm not the neatest of people, and the boxes tend to get a little jumbled up, shall we say. So I cut a little piece of each fabric and stick it onto old business cards from my last job with double-sided tape - the plastic holders are the sort they sell for photographers to keep their slides in. I still pull out the actual fabrics to decide what I'm going to use and lay them all out together - the squares are too small for that, but having a little sample of each means I can hunt for a fabric even if I've put it in the wrong box because if it's in the folder I know I've got it. Besides, I like flicking through the folder and looking at the fabrics anyway!
By the way - the pattern for the bears - it's Simplicity 5247 :o)
9 comments:
Fiona - you are sooo organised - I'm impressed - but what a terrific way to keep track of what you've got and to see if things match in principle before you pull everything out all over the floor - love the new fabrics especially the landscape one - aren't parcels like that special :o)
hi fiona,
i love how you have your fabric organised, i was just thinking the other day that it would be nice to keep a piece of each fabric just to know I had it once (even if it is used up already), i was thinking i might use for this purpose some kind of business cards holder...
oh, i already checked out the simplicity web and found the pattern for these lovely bears, thanks once again...
Organization and fabric just aren't two words that go into the same sentance for me! Love the way your books look though! I have kept envelopes with fabric swatches from quilts I've made but that I'm afraid is as organized as I'll get...
Siobhan
What fun to have new reading material as a surprise when you got home..*VBS*
Love the "samples" system you have created for your fabric. It's a good thing to get going on before your collection get toooo big. It would be a nearly impossible task for me to do that these days. It looks like it would be fun to look at while quilt dreaming..*VBS*
What a wonderful way to keep track of what stash you have! I think I might try this with some index cards and photo albums. That way I can write the yardage and maybe where I bought it on the card with the swatch. And since I'm currently re-organizing my stash this would be a good time to start my books. Thanks so much for the idea.
Hmmm, I have These Is My Words -- read it several years ago, and I'd forgotten it. I'm going to go pull it off the shelf tonight! I'll be looking forward to a report on the third one :)
Jeanne
These is My Words is perhaps my all time favorite! It reminds me of my grandmother's life, though it takes place a little earlier. My daughter and granddaughter both love the book as well. Funny, but that is the same time period of fabric that I am hooked on!
Blogger has been so weird these last few days that I can't remember who I commented to and who I didn't!! I mean to comment about your stash. What a great way to do it. I started doing this at first, and even put little squares in the back of my journal, but I lost track and now it would be impossible to ge tthem all in there.
Good for you to keep going. It will make it easy when you want to plan a quilt and can take your fabrics with you to add to your stash!
Love your book of fabric swatches. I'd "read" it anytime.
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