My sewing room is basically made up of bits and pieces that eventually come together to form something pretty – I don’t mean this to sound all philosophical. I am not like that. I mean to say it is a mess and I spent some time organizing and realized there are all sorts of fun bits in there that I want to play with. I have picked up a few things thrifting, made a few fun things and finished some others.
As far as thrifting goes, here are the most recent finds. This little stack of bits was a cute one. I love the roosters and the piece of white is totally clean and quite large; and really,- who doesn’t want extra white fabric on the shelf? The yellow bit is about 7″ by 42″ and my yellow scraps are next to nothing. These are washed and put away for now.
This block was in a bin and looked so forlorn. It was a dollar and I wondered who pieced this with such nice points and didn’t want to keep it. I usually imagine that these things come from a lovely woman’s quilty UFO pile and get donated when she can no longer sew. Take a look at the beautiful curve she did with the stem, it is lovely. I will make a little table topper with it because it is 14″ square and deserves to be finished.
When I was cleaning up, I somehow ended up with this pull from my stash. I kept seeing pieces that needed to be together. I don’t have a project in mind for it but if I put them back in their color area, they wouldn’t become used together and they should, don’t you think? Pieces are anywhere from fat quarter to 1/2 yard in size. I just love this autumnal bundle. When I put the photo on Instagram last night I was asking what other colors might need to be added. My IG/blogging friend, Gloria, suggested deep brown and I agree. I have a nice dark brown in the solids stack and will pull it to see if it belongs with the others. Am I crazy to just pull it and let it sit there until I figure out what to make with it? Do others do this? I have projects lined up right now and don’t “need” another but still??
Here is another little bit. This is a six-inch square made up of leftover pieces when I was making the border to surround my THREAD mini quilt. I didn’t want to throw them away. It will adorn my design wall for now, waiting to become something else. It is so cute.
Speaking of the THREAD mini, I put sleeves on both minis and got them hung up. My thread collection is a mess. I have some on the wall, as you can see. The pegs on these two spool hangers are too short for my Aurifil and Connecting Threads collections. So I have bins of those two and another of gorgeous, shiny spools of Sulky. What is the solution here??
This picture shows the slightly ridiculous state of affairs in the closet that holds my fabric. It was either show you the truth or close the door which is a mirror and show you me taking a picture, standing on a chair, in my nightgown. The decision came quite easily.
Lest you worry that I didn’t make any progress on my scrappy projects during August, let me assure you I did. But barely….hardly any….almost none. I made four scrappy HST blocks. Except, once again, I veered from the RSC16 color of the month and used yellow scraps instead of a second round of purple. I think I can no longer call this a RSC16 project. They are so cheerful – I was too pressed for time to lay them out with all the others though.
I will have to lay them out this month though and take stock to see what colors I need to finish it up. There are three months left and while it sounds like forever, we all know it will pass far too quickly! I also need to double up on the Pretty Gemstones project and do two colorways for that.
Finally – oh, you are going to be so proud of me for this one. I took a ton of bits and pieces – namely the receipts that support my Etsy shop – and got them organized into a spreadsheet for the 2016 tax year process. Oh my gosh, you don’t know how happy this makes me. To have eight months all organized – Paypal and Etsy reports downloaded, numbers entered in Excel. Amazing!! My usual process is to complete our personal taxes, and then become angry with myself because there are twelve months of nonsense to compile to figure out the numbers for my little business. Last year I was kicking myself over and over for having it in such a messy state. But, look! It is September and 3/4 of it is done. OK, I will stop bragging now.
There you have it. A whole lot of minutiae – somehow having written this up makes me feel like I took care of lots of loose ends. Simple pleasures, right?
Linking up to my favorites – please check out the tab at the top of the page, Link Ups, for all sorts of fun linky parties.
Also, if you haven’t popped over to check out the $5 Blowout Sale at C&T this weekend, please do. Lots of great sewing and crafting books to be had for only $5 each.
Put pieces of cut up straws ( drinking straws) over your wooden pegs to make them longer
Wow- that is a great idea! Thanks Colleen??
Bernie, you must have the most delightful thrift shops! I never see such finds. That quilt block is perfect for this time of year. I love the combination of fabric you put together. And I think keeping the pieces together is a wonderful way for them to percolate and figure out what they want to be. Your closet looks fine to me–see all those color coordinated bundles! For thread, I keep my small spools in a antique spool cabinet and my big ones in an antique medicine cabinet. I like the idea of straws to extend the pegs, though.
It is hit and miss with the thrift shops. But every so often, I come away with a treasure. The straw idea is pretty cool and I am going to give it a try. An antique medicine cabinet has more wow factor tho!
Hi Bernie,
Boy, I can totally relate to cleaning up your sewing room and ending up with piles of fabric that are meant to go together without yet having a planned project. I have lots of those piles sitting in baskets, awaiting the moment I receive inspiration! And thanks so much for the heads up on the book sale. I’ve just purchased three books …and even with paying for shipping, they’re an incredible deal!
Oh, I am so glad you found some books that appealed to you! I think it is a great deal as well. I found two for myself. 🙂
Hi Bernie! It looks like you have accomplished a LOT lately! Just getting organized is a tremendous accomplishment and so helpful in getting more accomplished in the future. I took last January and cleaned out/organized my sewing stuff, even my disasteously overflowing scrap bins. The result has been that I am now motivated to actually use my organized scraps and stash — 5 scrap quilts so far since Feb! I too have a lovely pull of fabrics sitting where I can see them and meditate on how to use them — so lovely. May I say I am flattered beyond words that you liked my dark brown suggestion? I am enjoying you so much both here and on IG. Now I shall have to explore your Etsy shop too!
My scrap bins are also overflowing – most especially the green and blue bins. Five scrap quilts is quite an accomplishment and probably went a long ways toward using up some scraps. Do you donate them or did you keep them? The dark brown suggestion was perfect. I found a good one and while I was looking I also found a plum colored solid so there is just this perfect bundle waiting to be made into something!
I do give some quilts away but most have been for friends and family. I also have a new Etsy shop I am trying to populate so 2 have been put there. I’ve also been participating in #30daysofquiltdesign sponsored by @stitchedincolor and @gothamquilts on IG so my creative juices have been kick started for sure! This morning as I was getting dressed I noticed my husband’s old ties (he rarely wears them any more). What a wealth of pattern inspiration! I do like the idea of plum with those fabrics you have pulled. This will be one lovely quilt when the pattern inspiration hits! I love the whole process of making a quilt, don’t you? Hope you have a great day!
I was thinking the same thing as JanineMarie above – what great finds at the thrift shop! I love the flower block, and I think I would make it into a table topper, too! Perfect colors for fall! I didn’t think your fabric closet looked bad at all! Looking at your photos reminded me that I wanted to make a little quilted word mini using your tutorial. I need to get on that!
Thanks Diann. I actually got the little fall colors mini quilted up today and it is waiting for a binding. So fun to start and finish something so quickly — really satisfying. Let me know when you make a word mini. I want to see it! 🙂
Oh My GOD woman you and I sing the same song…or sew the same way…whatever the messed-up metaphor there is, I am totally like that, putting fabrics together often by accident when straightening up, and leaving them together, sometimes for er, months, while they wait to grow up! And yes! Sewing a slab of leftover pieces ( I have a good-sized two of them from two of Angela Walters’ earliest lines! Hmm, a bag? A mug rug? A part of the Scrap Vortex quilt? So many possibilities. As for thread, I keep mine in Sterilite little 3-drawer units, and those too tall for that go in Rubbermaid drawer organizers. Glad you are finishing that $1 quilt block! Something I never do is look at fabric in thrift shops…might have to.
Haha – yes we sing the same song – except I can’t really carry a tune so it’s lucky you don’t have to actually listen to me. 😉
Have a great week Sandra!
Great thrift shop finds! Never much here in NZ that’s worth the hunt! Maybe quilters are a messy bunch by nature? I certainly am. It’s good to do a spot of organising, I often find bits I’d forgotten about!
Definitely — There is always something that turns up when I straighten up the sewing room (like that bundle that miraculously put itself together yesterday!) Have a great week Linda!
Awesome thrifty finds! I never score like that when I look! My sewing area is almost always messy. Because I share my workspace with another now, I keep my fabrics upstairs in a small guest room. They are spread all over the floor at the moment. But yes, as I’m pawing through them, I do fabric pulls, too, and keep them together. Then next year, they all change! Have a great week ahead! XO
Karen, exactly. When I was cleaning up yesterday I found a bundle that I have had sitting together for well over a year. I looked at it and thought meh… I don’t like this anymore. It was blues and yellows and just didn’t appeal to me. Maybe because fall is upon us, I don’t know. But it was kind of funny because I remember when I pulled that one, I was tickled with it.
I’m doing the happy dance for you for getting your numbers all pulled together for the tax season. I know how much work that is, and I’m not a fan either! Your little snippets and quilty pieces are going to be fun, and that orphaned block is a beauty! And yes, I pull fabric, let it sit and just keep peeking at it now and then until something strikes my fancy.
The tax prep isn’t tons of work but it is certainly not as fun as sewing. I just procrastinate with those types of chores! So, even if I don’t touch it again until tax time, I am way ahead of the game! Hurray. 🙂
I rarely go to thrift stores because I am afraid of all the things I would bring home with me. But you sure scored some good finds! Thanks for linking up with On Scrap!
Tax season…Oy! I’ve been procrastinating on that very chore, maybe I might be a bit more motivated after reading your post… That orphan block is so pretty and will make a lovely table topper. And yes, I always have fabric sitting around together waiting for inspiration to hit. I think that’s just a curse (or blessing) of a quilter!
Well, all I can say is, if you get some of that paperwork done, you will be doing a happy dance!! Such a relief – it is not a fun chore. 😉
I love all your color collections and especially the purples. That block you found for a dollar – wow! Your comment about finding fabrics that needed to be together made me think about how when I first began to collect/gather fabrics I would put fat quarters/yardage together by potential quilts. At some point I decided to organize my growing stash by color, and I really, really miss those bundles that had so much potential – I took them apart! 🙁 When I get all my fabric unpacked, what a fun day that will be – I might just sort by bundles again. 😉
Are you getting closer to being able to set up a sewing room yet? When will that be happening?
When I sort, I definitely have sections. FQ’s are by color, unless I purchase a set. Then they stay together. All charms stay in their packs. Solids are separate from everything else. It helps to be able to pull from certain areas. My biggest mess is yardage. That is piled, kind of by color but it is really a jumble at this point in time. It would be good to separate that out. Oh, and novelty fabric – I try to keep that separate too. Yikes! Will you post a picture of the new set up when you get it going??
Lots of nice ‘bits’ here 🙂 That 14 inch block is the perfect start for a fall table topper, yes! 🙂
Thanks Deb! I was quite pleased with my $1.00 purchase!