Organizing my batik stash
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.I spent yesterday organizing my batik stash for the first time since we started all of our house moves. It seems like every time we moved, I would tell myself I needed to go through my batik stash and fold and organize them but it never seemed to happen.
I guess I feel we have finally found the home we want to live in and it is time to get these fabrics sorted. I’m only working on the batiks right now as the rest of my fabric is in another room.
It is now 90% done! I still have the blacks to sort and a little more arranging. I also have quite a few pieces of blenders and I haven’t decided if I want to keep them separate or mix them back in with the other batiks.
It sure looks like I have less fabric.
Batik stash at my last house
Here is what my batik stash looked like at our last house. This quilt studio was also in Ankeny in our unfinished basement.
Batik stash in our country home
Believe it or not, it has actually been fun moving as much as we have in the last four years. At each house, we have tackled remodeling, painting and more. I thought this was going to be my forever quilt studio as we were in the country. Then our daughter and grandkids moved to Ankeny. You know what happened next!
Back to the present
What I did was pull a color group of batiks from the shelves and then start going through them. Most of the pieces are a fat quarter, 1/3 yard or less. I actually found some bigger pieces I didn’t even know I had.
Over the last couple of years when I would work on a quilt project, I would keep the leftovers and just toss them in the right color grouping thinking I might need them again. Well, it was time to sort and if the pieces were too small, I cut them to the sizes I like to keep in my scrap stash.
Lots of batiks
It took me all day to sort through my batiks.
I always seem to make a lot of quilt projects with teal and thought I had a lot of it in my stash.
Organizing my batik stash
Can you see what I actually have? There are two stacks between the blues and greens.
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I use a lot of browns and neutral batiks in my quilt projects.
Scrap Stash
When I pulled a stack of fabric off the shelves, I would then sort the pieces and decide if I should just cut them up for my scrap stash. Most of the pieces needed a little pressing from my iron also. I like to cut my scraps into the following sizes. I normally keep the 2½ inch strips in a drawer but it is full so now I’m going to put them in this clear bin.
- 1½ inch square
- 2-inch square
- 2½ inch square
- 5-inch square
- 2½ inch strips
I also have some batiks that I still need to organize.
Rusty
‘Rusty spent the day downstairs sleeping under my longarm most of the time. He will go outside alone as long as he can see me through the window.’Rusty spent the day downstairs sleeping under my longarm most of the time. He will go outside alone as long as he can see me through the window.
My Quilt Studios
I have had 5 different quilt studios in the past 5 years! I just realized I need to do an updated quilt studio tour since I finished painting and getting things arranged.
- Ankeny quilt studio June 2023 – where we live now
- Ankeny quilt studio April 2023 – just before our move
- Ankeny quilt studio reveal May 2022
- Maquoketa country house quilt studio March 2021
- Maquoketa country house new quilt studio setup December 2020
- Maquoketa in town quilt studio decluttering September 2020
- Maquoketa in town upstairs quilt studio September 2019
- Muscatine river house new basement studio March 2017
- Muscatine river house spare bedroom February 2014
- Muscatine river house – small quilt studio October 2011
Squirrel fun
I’ve got to share a couple of cute pictures of our squirrels, yes I call them “ours” as they are loving the black oil sunflower seeds we feed them.
This one is waiting for his turn at the bird feeder. While I was watching, he actually climbed into the feeder and scared away the other squirrel.
5 squirrels
Can you see all 5 squirrels? 2 of them are in the red bird feeder. There was another one in the other bird feeder but he jumped down before I could get a photo. The squirrels always seem to keep a little distance between them. It is hard to get any work done while watching them!
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About Connie
Hi, I’m Connie Kresin Campbell, the quilter, writer, and photographer behind Freemotion By the River. I enjoy inspiring others with my quilt tutorials and patterns. You’ll also see my sweet adopted dogs from time to time.
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Rusty looks so cute under your longarm. That’s amazing that he’s gained so much weight. Glad they didn’t put him on a diet, but it’s probably something worth keeping an eye on. I love your stash of batiks. I gave most of mine away when I moved in May. Right now, I’m thinking about reducing my stash of everything else. To be honest, I haven’t been doing much of anything of late. I still haven’t really figured out a comfortable way to make quilts in my new setup. I haven’t given up, but I guess I’m on a bit of a break for now. I did do an honest-to-goodness “quilt as you go” project recently. It was the first time I’d ever done that. It was fun and I liked the results so I might try it again fairly soon. Certainly a good way to use leftover strips.
When I was working at the fabric store I used batiks, but somehow have morphed over to “calicos” and prints. The quality is not as good even with really good cottons, but I do enjoy the Holiday prints, and can’t resist a good dog or paw print. Either way I love fabric and have the stash to prove it! Now if I could just get organized like you!
You have a wonderful supply of batiks. I have a few, but not this many. However you make many beautiful projects with the batiks. Love all the studio pics, but believe your current one is a dream come true, will all the room and sunlight. Of course being close to family, especially grandchildren, is a huge plus.
I love your pictures of your quilt studio, Rusty and the wildlife. It makes me think of my childhood days when we lived in Eastern US states and had the wildlife and colorful leaves.
All of your quilt studios were and are beautiful! That’s something I’d love to have, a basement to have a studio!! That’s one thing the homes in Southern California don’t typically have, a basement.
You’ve always had a great eye for color and design. I certainly enjoy seeing your batik stash and love your teals and browns. I definitely want to make a teal and brown quilt, but need to find more teals. If you have a chance in future posts, I’d like to see how you organize and store your threads. One storage picture you showed in an older post has a cabinet with not too deep of drawers which I think might be what you use. We bought a new home and I’m now looking for how to finish the two rooms in the casita, to turn it into my new sewing room.
Good to hear Rusty is doing well and you are enjoying the fall season. Your batik organizing look amazing.
I’m so glad Rusty did good at the Vet’s. He is so lucky to have you and Bob.
My mess should look so good. I’ve been working on organizing my veteran’s fabic. I’ve got one case done and put the 2 1/2 ” strips in their own case, you don’t realize how much scrap you collect. I still have another bigger tub of veteran’s fabric, panels and fabric to go with them. plus all the regular fabric.
I made the Jacob’s Ladder Box quilt 48″ x 48″ for a baby boy that is due Nov. 20
I’ll have to send you the picture later
Good morning, those of us in the East are also having nice, almost Spring-like, days. I think we need to enjoy them while we can! I’m so happy for your little Rusty, he is a sweetie. Your batik organization is so nice. I am always wanting to reorganize my studio, I just need it to be larger, It’s not that I have too many machines! Ha!
I am that person who keeps fabric in drawers, by color, and by size because I often go days or even weeks without spending much time there and I worry about dust or fading of the fabric. Even though I have no direct light, I still stick to my old ways even though I love the look of fabric in nice little color defined stacks, they look like abstract art.
As always, thanks for your inspiration.
T
So glad Rusty did well at the vets and no problems found. Having a loving and caring home for him is a beautiful thing. I’m always thankful for folks who adopt pets, especially those who are past the cute baby stages. It’s wonderful to see pictures of him so relaxed and enjoying life.
I cannot keep squirrels away from our feeders. They work so hard to get to the food, it seems like they deserve it. Nothing squirrel proof, no sending them flying off the bottom, but it is a stretch from the pole to the feeder – and that’s after they’ve climbed the pole, lol. Only the grey ones come; the black ones seem more reticent and do not visit. The chipmunks we had were SO adorable, but DH dispatched them after the 2nd round of them chewing through spots of siding to get inside. 🙁
Your studio is just beautiful. Those batiks are gorgeous, especially the blues, greens and reds. I always enjoy seeing what you create.
I need to invite you to Florida to have you organize my fabric stash (maybe that should read fabric mess) LOL!!