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Friday, July 6, 2012

Organizing Part 1 - Fat Quarter Storage

 I have a confession to make. I recently went crazy at a fabric sale.There was a very special deal on fat quarters. The average price for good quality Moda/designer fat quarters here is $4.00, give or take a quarter. They rarely go on sale, and if they do it is half price at the very most. However, at this unheard of sale, if you bought over 101 you paid only $1.17 each! So...........what's a girl to do...............insert sheepish grin....insert flush of embarrassment.............I bought.300. Not all at once though. The first time I went I exhibited self control and picked out a bunch for my friend and lots for myself. Second time I went, I bought for specific projects, and told the owner that my twin sister told me about the sale. Third time I went, it was just because I HAVE A SICKNESS CALLED UFQHD (uncontrollable fat quarter hoarding disorder).I told the owner that my 2 sisters had come to the sale and they thought it would be a good idea to come and get some for myself, and that by the way, we were triplets. He just laughed and now thinks I'm nuts! In my fabric hoarding defence, I rationalized that I am committed to make several charity quilts, 2 larger birthday quilts and thought it would be great to give fat quarter bundles as gifts too! Anywhoooo, that's what I'm telling myself :) Problem is, where do I store all these beauties? Say hello to cd storage cabinet from Canadian Tire:
mine are darker
It's 44" tall, 17"wide and the shelves are only 5 1/2" deep. Perfect for fat quarters. Originally I had all my bundles of joy in shallow fabric boxes, stacked one on top the other. When I needed to pull a few for a new quilt I had to drag out all these boxes, then restack and put them back into the bookshelf. Things will be so much easier now. To hold my now overflowing stash of fat quarters I needed 3 of these babies.  Here's what they look like now:
I so love seeing them on display. I do get the occasional guilty/ill flutter of YIKES when I think of how many I have, but that will lessen with each quilt I make!. There will be lots of rearranging the colors over time. Right now some are grouped by color, others by project.

Next time I will post about organizing my sewing drawers using parts of an Oil of Olay display from the grocery store!

Happy Stitching
corina


19 comments:

Flo @ Butterfly Quilting said...

Hahaha....I love the twin sister part! I am sitting here, laughing....my husband is wondering what I am doing!!
Great sale! I would go back a few times too! In fact I might come over from Saskatchewan to have a look LOL!!!!

MariQuilts said...

Only 300...what self-control you have!!!

Impera Magna said...

Wow... that is a great sale on FQs! Love your new storage units... wonderful idea to use CD shelves!

Pat said...

My problem is that when I store fabric so openly and beautifully as this, I amn so much in awe of the splendiferousness that I have a hard time actually using the darned fabric!! I have a huge collection of Kaffes, but have a VERY hard time using any of it just because it's so purdy up there on the shelf. And of course the easy solution is to just buy more when I actually need to USE a piece frather than cut into what I have! It's a sickness, I tell ya, a sickness.

Sandra :) said...

TRIPLETS! ROTFLMAO!!! I bow to your restraint, oh Manitoba FQ Queen!!

Nita said...

300? Twin sister? Lol! You are so fun! I love the way you've organized it all, too. What a great idea! I would love to get your blog directly into my email, but I don't see a sign up for it. Do you have jet pack?

Nita said...

Oh, I can relate to Pat's problem, too! A sickness indeed! Lol!

Kristi said...

lol....looks like some lovely buys!! I am sure the shop owner got a kick out of you!

Jen said...

Hahahaha! This is too funny. I guess fabric and bookshelves are complementary goods: when one buys lots of fabric, one must also buy a bookshelf! It looks great. And it was a great sale, good for you ;)

Catskill Quilter said...

Congrats, Corina! I think that is the absolute best storage shelf for fat quarters! And you can SEE them all...wonderful!

Marie-José H said...

I had a good laugh reading about your buying skills. But I think I would also buy lots of FQ for this price. I'm making my own quiltroom now our daughter left the house so I can learn from your organizing skills:-)

northernknitter said...

Too funny Corina! Will be watching for those quilts at CCC this fall :) aka yvonne

Joanne said...

Wow!! What a beautiful display. Your are too funny though! Do we ever have to justify our addiction to fabric?!

Quilter Kathy said...

I love this photo of all your FQ's on display! Just think of all the great quilts you are going to make and enjoy the view!

Mary Ann Tate said...

As someone commented...only 300?? I would have gone nuts:) I belong to a fat quarter club and I get 10 fat quarters each month from Sew Sisters. So your idea is something I may consider as they do tend to pile up here and there...LOL

Marie said...

I think the three of you will have lots of fun with your new purchases :), and your storage idea is great. I need a better system in my sewing room and this has got me thinking. Thanks!

Darlene D said...

Awesome! Looks like fun! Love the story you told the store clerk!

Lilbitbrit said...

Such fun to see all that Eye Candy.

Christy

historygirl said...

What store was this at? I haven't found any good places to shop in town!