My Etsy Shop Got Me Organizing Fabric

So, as you might imagine, I have a to do list about a mile long (does it ever get any shorter?). There are things I actually NEED to sew (repairs, you know?), but then I came across this doll quilt pattern from Polka Dot Chair via Pinterest. As any responsible adult would do, I dropped everything and started working on this.

You can never say I'm one of those people that Pins but never does. 

This was a great opportunity to use up some scraps and make something cute for my girls.

There's something so simple and satisfying with piecing together all these little squares.  And basting with safety pins makes me feel like a real quilter. It really is the little things, right?

Anyway, here's the finished product, in use with my American Girl doll, passed down to N:

It was such a quick and satisfying project, I used scrap flannel for batting, and used a rogue fat quarter for the backing and binding. I'm think I'd like to make a few more similar sized quilts and re-open my Etsy shop. That poor Etsy shop... has there ever been a more neglected shop out there? Okay, I'm sure there has, but I've been wanting to reopen it for a while now anyway, so this just came at the perfect time. Plus, if I can manage to clear out some of my fabric stores, I'll have some justification for buying more fabric, right? Okay, as if I don't buy new fabric for every other new project, but this will make me feel less guilty, because...

This is just a glimpse into ONE box of my fabric stash. And it's a mess. I finally decided to do something about it, and it is time consuming. If I could give one bit of advice to anyone out there just starting to collect fabric - keep it organized from the beginning!

We're pretty regular shoppers on Amazon, so we get pretty big piles of cardboard built up in the hall. Normally, we reuse it for whatever, or break it down and take it to the recycling center - which stinks, literally. They have it right next door to the sewage treatment center here. Anyway, I decided to cut up some boxes to help me organize this mess.

My original ideal would have been to cut the cardboard to be about the size of a sheet of paper. Because a lot of the boxes had pieces I didn't want to waste that would be smaller than that, I ended up trimming all boards to about 5"x11". Then I proceeded to wrap my fabric on the cardboard. Did I mention this is time consuming?

Eventually, I'll organize all my fabric in stacks on a bookcase, but I've only managed to get through about 1-1/2 bins of fabric so far. If you're curious, I think I have about 6 more to sort through. When I finally get through this project, I'll be sure to share some "after" images with you.

The worst part really is cutting the cardboard. I'd buy these magazine backing boards, but I feel like I would just be wasting all the cardboard we already have. For you, though, just buy the boards. Just buy the boards.

What's new on your plate these days? Any new projects? What about tips for organizing your home? We're getting ready to move in a few months, and I am completely overwhelmed by our current state of complete chaos.



UPDATE: The Etsy shop is now up and running - please check it out and support this small shop! Use this link or the tab at the top - A Cloth Life: The Shop

Other posts you might be interested in:

• My Big Sewing Project for Christmas
• Organization Amidst Chaos: eMeals Meal Planning for 2015 
• A Cloth Life: the shop