Organizing my scrap fabrics
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.The last couple of days I have been working on some batik scrap blocks. While picking out the colors for the blocks, I started sorting my 2½-inch batiks squares into piles. I am using the same light background in each block so my neutral scrap squares weren’t used. I also separated out browns and some of the colors that are too light and wouldn’t show up well in these blocks.
Finally by yesterday I had one completely organized assortment of batik blocks. Will they stay this way? Nope, as I work I try and cut any scraps into the sizes in my bins and I know I’ll just open the bin up and throw them in.
They should stay nice for a while as I haven’t straightened them in a couple of years.
I have to admit that it sure looks nice and organized!
Here is the quilt I am working on, I showed you the batik blocks the other day and I am glad I decided to go with two different variations of the block. Pattern coming soon.
It is so nice to have my cutting table setup again! It is 4 foot by 6 foot and I have 4 cutting mats on it. There is a drawer to keep my rotary cutters in.
Stackable scrap drawers
Some of you have asked about the stackable drawers I am using, these are the ones I am using. I bought them at Walmart, they are 7 inches tall and 14 inches wide. Each one is separate which makes it easy to arrange them in the space you have. They are nice and sturdy.
Sizes I cut my scraps
I like to separate my batiks from my other quilt fabrics so I have two drawers for each size of scraps I keep.
The left three are my batiks, the top drawer is 1½-inch squares, the middle drawer is 2-inch squares and the bottom is my 2½-inch squares which I seem to use the most.
The next three are my regular quilt fabrics and are sorted in the same sizes. Then I have drawers for 5-inch squares and 2½-inch strips that are leftover from other projects. The first two are batiks. I did another post on my batik scraps when I lived in the river house.
Short on scraps? You’ll always find good deals on precuts here. They are great for quilt projects and the leftovers can be added to your scraps.
SewPad
Just before the holidays I received a SewPad cushion and am really impressed with it. I have it here on my piano stool that I use when I am sewing. The 1/2-inch thick medical-grade gel filled pad cushions and support your hips and back. It has a no-slip bottom so it doesn’t slide off of my wooden chair.
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My daughter and granddaughter tried it out. My daughter hinted that she would like one for her office chair. They both look cute at the sewing machine right?
I don’t know about you but at my age, I seem to have lost all of the muscle in my bottom and sitting in any chair for too long hurts my hips and back. I have also been bringing my cushion upstairs and using it on my chair when I’m working on my website. I recommend this cushion.
Visit SewPad.com to learn more about this wonderful cushion.
Snow, snow go away!
Here is what it looks like outside today. All of the trees are beautiful with a layer of snow and frost. Thank goodness it isn’t ice as that would break the limbs. We got 12 inches of snow last week, a couple over the weekend and there is more coming later today.
The people who owned the house before us fed the birds, so we have to keep it up (which we both enjoy). I think we’ll be heading to town the morning before the snow so we can pick up more bird seed and since there are 5 or 6 cats that show up…..more cat food.
We have two different kinds of woodpeckers, tons of cardinals and a few other types of birds. I finally have one squirrel that is visiting. Boy is he scared of us! In town the squirrels I fed would be in the tree right above us and not be afraid.
We watched this little squirrel sit between the two ears of corn for over 30 minutes.
I have to admit that I am really enjoying watching the wildlife, can you see all of the birds? I brought my laptop into the kitchen so I can work and enjoy the scenery.
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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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Absolutely tickled I found your website! I have just retired and returned to quilting. It’s amazing how much you forget over time 🙁 But I’m having a ball learning anew. I can’t wait to start the new block and looking forward to joining the quilt community with the Seasoned Quilt challenge.
I’m a transplant from Upstate NY , so I love the pictures of the snow. I miss it, but I live in coastal NC now and if we get a quarter inch everything shuts down and everyone goes crazy! My husband feeds the birds year-round and we have the fattest squirrels on the planet!
Thanks for everything you share with us quilty friends!
Jane
Ps, Yes, I do paranormal research ! Boo!!
In your article “Organizing my scrap fabrics” you posted a link to the iRIS pull out drawers on Amazon that you use for scraps under your cutting table. Can you share what size you use (that you found fit that need?) I am horrible at judging sizes of things and have a feeling what you chose would work for me.
Thank you in advance and sorry to bother you for such a silly question.
Love your posts. Looks like you have a big sewing room. I need to get mine organized. For me the birds, squirrels and other critters are on their own. I hate snow and the cold. In my part of Canada(Ontario) it hasn’t been bad but they say it’s coming.
I love your posts.
That’s a fat squirrel you got there.
The squirrels in my back yard are skinny but that’s understandable being in San Antonio Texas. No need to store up food.
God bless you.
Love seeing the family behind all the quilting ! Also the wild life and beautiful family pets. Love your site and how you share your talent and day with all of us. You make the quilts look so easy and tempting to try. In upstate NY we have a ton of snow too- heading back to Tx once we get past winter. I love the snow but hubby does not. My dogs even love it too. Thanks for sharing – it’s nice to have friends in our Covid world.
I enjoyed seeing your post, and your daughter and granddaughter at the machine.
That is a good way to organize scraps, you have given me a couple of ideas.
I thought the squirrel sitting between the corn was cute. It would make a cute quilt block.
Happy New year to you and your family and all the best for 2021,
Where I live, if you are feeding the birds, you are also feeding the rats YUCK !!! I am surrounded by neighbors that feed the birds and I am the one paying for the pest company for getting rid of the rats. Our climate is very mild so there is no need to feed the birds, there is plenty of “natural” food for them year round. Other than that rant; I love your quilts, and I am very glad that you have the pretty pictures of the snow and I have none 🙂
I forgot to mention your scraps looks so pretty all nicely organized. Too bad we couldn’t always keep things organized, but I guess if we did it would mean we’re not using them.
I love watching the birds as well, never used to notice them much, but the last few years I’ve been enjoying them more and more. We have a pond in the backyard so we get lots of robins, orioles and sparrows coming and going all the time. This winter we’ve finally got a blue jay that comes by daily for peanuts, I was so excited when he showed up here, I enjoy watching him pecking at the the shells and sometimes he eats then and sometimes he flies off with them, not sure what he is doing with them all, but I’ve seen him burying them in the snow around our yard.
We’ve also had 3 ruffed grouse in the yard, they enjoy the extra saskatoon berries and chokecherries that we left on the bushes,
We had a 2 day snow storm and got over 2 feet of snow on the 8th of November, the weather has been beautiful, I’m sure we will pay for our beautiful weather one of these days, in Saskatchewan Canada we usually have temperatures in the – 20 degree celsius range so this warm -2 to -10 is very unusual for us, but I’ll take it for as long as it lasts.
Your cushion sounds interesting, I have a memory foam cushion but I find after sitting in it for awhile it sinks in and I have to stop using it for awhile till it puffs up again, not the best cushion in my mind, does your cushion ever get flat?
The cushion does go flat, I think it is used more to help keep your posture correct.
Connie-
Your daughter and grand-daughter are so cute!
Love the storage ideas!
Do I see a bird scrappy quilt coming soon?
Connie,
Can you tell me a bit about your mesh drawers, the brand, if possible, and where you found them. I need to desperately organize my work area also. Thank you!
Those are from Ikea and no longer available darn it.
Yes, the heavy snow has passed by Chicago. Love your view and your lovely familyn
Happy New Year everyone. Connie your view looks like ours. I love to see the birds. You are lucky, I think I see a cardinal on the ground. We have the hairy and downy woodpecker, nuthatches, chick-a-dees and blue jays. No, not squirrels. Do not like them around. They got into our garage a few years ago and chewed on some of the wires in my Jeep and built a nest there. It was winter and I did not drive very much. No Squirrels for me!
We have about five inches of snow and I love it. It makes everything look so nice and clean and bright.
I do have a gel cushion and it does make a big difference in the amount of time I can sit.
Your daughter and granddaughter look great sitting at the machines. Two nice looking ladies, like Mom and grandmother. Too bad they don’t sew with you. Maybe someday.
I have also been going through my fabric and sorting it. Trying to down size and it is a very hard job. Lived in the same place for fifty years and love it. Country life is the best for me. Dread the day if I ever have to move. Like it here.
Your scrapey quilts are lovely. I like them the best. Goes with any colour room.
Mice also get in the cars in the garage, every year we had to have something fix due to them. The last time it was the wires on the gas tank. They have also gotten spark plug wires and built a nest on top of them. They have also gotten in the air vent and built a nest and wonder why the car wasn’t running right and my husband found that. I have 2 cats, but it is too cold to let them be outside, (live just south of Buffalo near the lake. I found a mouse sonic box (don’t remember the name of it) in a catalog. It seems to be working, also they do not like the smell of mint. I sprayed “Rodent Sheriff” and 3 mice come running out from behind the cabinets in the garage. My dog Happy got all 3. Since it’s for rodents maybe it would work for your squirrels
Very pretty views, but cold, cold by the look of it.
The girls in the family picture perfect, I assume? enjoying the snowy views,
I love your scraps trays, wish I had that much room y my little Kingdom.
Lore all your posts , Thank U.
I have loved my cushion for some time, still using it but ready for a new one! I keep sorting scraps, messing them up, resorting, etc. Your storage solutions looks very nice. Settling into a new space is always exciting to me and it actually makes me more productive.
How do you get any work done with that beautiful view! Cushion sounds like a really good idea.
The small squares – In the past I have made cardboard dividers but they sell them at pretty reasonable prices. Plastic Grid Drawer Dividers (Amazon) we used them for socks, toys – any of those little things. Thanks for sharing your snow pics – Chicago is getting past by this year, just enough to be annoying.
Thanks!
It feels so great to start the New Year off organized! The turquoise and white block in the photo with your daughter is beautiful. Do you have a pattern for that?
I’m working on that one now.
You are off to a good start, Connie. Happy New Year! I love feeding the birds although I have a rather limited variety of visitors because I’m on the fifth floor. That’s the bad news. The good news is the squirrels haven’t found me. Except for my little nocturnal flying squirrels. I don’t usually see them, but I know they are there.
You have a wonderful view of your feeders from those windows.
I have a SewPad on my office chair, but haven’t ordered an extra one for my sewing room – yet. Your organization looks like it works really well. I have similar drawer units and have been sorting my yardage by color among those drawers.