Saturday 26 August 2017

some serious spring cleaning

Ah yes, I'm on a full spring cleaning mission around here at present,
we are moving
decluttering & downsizing
and decisions need to be made about what comes or what goes,
- including the stuff in my sewing room!

*pic from Google cartoons

But But But . . .
I have a lot of my stash organised in colours, in baskets where I can easily see the fabrics.
It seems to work . . .
I can usually find things . . .



. . . lately mind you, while I start off with the best intentions
when I have pulled fabrics from anywhere & everywhere for a few recent projects,
things have gone from order to disorder!


So yes, I guess maybe it's time for some selective scrap sorting,
maybe some decluttering
and maybe some destashing.

I started with my collection of 10" squares.
For a while there I had a monthly postie parcel from a patchwork shop.
 Occasionally there were fabrics I wouldn't chose
but, as you know, I have a soft spot for scrappy, and I've found them all very handy.

But, how to store them?
I had them all mixed up together, however in all honesty, they just got lost.

So, I spent some time reminiscing, colour sorting & folding each one,
and it took a while I admit . . .

. . .  but they are now all back tidily in the basket.

Next up, I rummaged through my fabric baskets
and put aside anything that was vintage-y looking. 
I've had Judy Newman's lovely book for a while now, {see here for book info}
and while her patterns are certainly adaptable
to any number of colour and fabric theme variations, I love the way she actually combines things.
And the fabrics she uses are different to what I see available here in NZ,
so I've made up a new basket of fabrics, perfect for making something similar . . . 
sometime . . . 



I also collected up a few fabric pulls that I had made during the year on a whim,
and decided that I still loved 'the idea' of each one,
so I folded them up nicely,
popped them into 'project packs'
and labelled them for future use . . .
{thanx to Audrey from quiltyfolk  and Linda from koshka2quilts for the ideas!}


Oh dear, oh dear, I've had fun but nothing actually got thrown out
{how can that be?}
Wish me luck with the rest of the house . . .


16 comments:

Leeanne said...

There is something in the air! Because I have started, only started though..... sorting my fabrics too. I have a pile of reproductions fabrics (my tastes have changed) to sell and then i want to sort more, but I am afraid that I will get playing with them all! Still it's more fun than cleaning the cobwebs! Good luck with yours.

dutchcomfort said...

I wish you luck with decluttering the house! What a great idea to make fabric ‘kits’ for future quilts! I can hardly enter my sewing room, because of the mess in there. I should do a Fall cleaning!

Julie said...

Definitely spring cleaning in the air today, I wiped down all the bathroom walls and ceiling, think my neck protest more than it is doing now tomorrow. I occasionally sort through my fabrics and scraps, anything I have grown out of I donate to my hospice shop, for other people to use.

Linda said...

I certainly can't call it "Spring cleaning" as we are heading towards Autumn but I have been sorting out this week too. I started with the study and have shredded so much old paperwork, thrown out newspaper cuttings, and so on. Now I am determined to sort/declutter every drawer and cupboard in the house. It may take sometime!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

love seeing all your quilts folded on the shelves ready to be used. I will be so glad to get back into my sewing room when the remodel is done. Hubby works so slow

somethingrosemade14@blogspot.com said...

Well I almost skipped your post thinking it was old because we're still enjoying late summer up here but then I remember my quilting friends from down under and sure enough it was a current post. This type of spring cleaning is fun; it's almost like shopping. It's hard to declutter for me because it's hard to decide which fabric should depart because the big "what if" is always there. I love seeing peeks of your fabric stash.

Kate said...

You've got some lovely fabrics to play with. And now that they are all organized, you can know just where to go to get them. I think the sewing room is the hardest part of the house to "discard" from. I bet you have much better luck with the rest of the house.

audrey said...

I loved seeing your beautifully organized shelving with the fabric and folded quilts! Wish I had room to do that myself. It's a good feeling to organize in the quilting room and get a feel for what is going on in there. Thanks for the shout out! I definitely like my stacks of fabric pulls, all the what-ifs and possibilities!:)

Nancy said...

Surely fabric is the hardest thing to pass on because we have an future, definite use for it. Other things, maybe not so much, especially the things that have been in closets for a few years under cover of darkness and not even remembered -- maybe those will be easier to part with. Good luck!

Ann said...

I just finished UN-project packing my fabrics. Too many set aside for too long. How is it that we always need to declultter? I started with fabric but moved to our old tax returns. Much easier to trash those babies!

Raewyn said...

I know that feeling - no matter how organised and tidy I think I am, it still ends up a scrambled mix! Sounds like a lovely time though, going through it all and sorting and falling in love all over again.....

Mystic Quilter said...

You've had a busy time on both the home front and with your quilting supplies and sorting the fabrics! I desperately need to tackle this chore at my place. Strange how we do this but still end up with the same amount at the end!

Janie said...

You are busy!
That organizing is a good thing. It always clears my head for action.
Good luck with the move

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Thank you Janie.
It’s good to have a handle now on what fabric I do actually have. I found bits I’d ‘lost’ and was able to put my most coveted pieces into a special place.
I’m not looking forward to decluttering the house though; I’m a bit of a hoarder!
Still, it’s got to be done, especially if we want to achieve that ‘minimalistic’ look they seem to need for selling the house. Thanks for stopping by.

Suz J said...

You might not have got "rid" of anything, but it sounds like you had a great time, and that sounds much better than cleaning.

Charles Alabi said...

It's good to see someone going through exactly what I went through a couple of months ago. Good luck with the rest of the cleaning and thank you for sharing. I will definitely be following your subsequent posts!