Time to cull my stash

I have decided it is time to cull through my fabric - . The baskets I use as drawers are so full it is a struggle to put anything away.  I started with the novelty baskets - mostly because I have a clear idea of what I tend to use and what I don't.

I made 3 piles. First I pulled out all the small pieces (generally those less than FQ).  I was surprised how many of these had gotten lost between other fabrics. These will cut into 4.5" & 2.5" strips, squares & rectangles.   I know that almost all my I spy quilts are built using those sizes so it will save a lot of time pre-cutting these. I also pulled out those fabrics that I like but that I have had for a long time but that never seem to make it into a quilt.  Time to cut those up too as I've found if they are pre-cut I am more likely to use them. And then I made a pile of those fabrics that I just don't think I am likely to ever use. Many were inherited or gifted to me, but some where my purchases that just haven't ever gotten used or don't fit with how I quilt now. The result of this was I had a completely empty basket and each remaining drawer/basket actually had room - no more struggling to put fabrics away. Cool. 

I plan to take the "give away" bag to my next guild meeting - I 'm someone there will be able to use them.  I found a few fabrics in this stack that I didn't want to use in I spy quilts but that would make good binding, so I pulled those out. Also some yardage that will work as a border. Sometimes getting the fabrics out in the open helps to look at it differently. 

Now I had a large stack of fabrics to cut up. Ok, a VERY large stack. I spent two days cutting. Love using a new blade. 

I now have an entire drawer full (remember that empty drawer?) of precut strips that are 4.5 or 2.5 wide and at least 8" long - many are length of fabric so it will take a lot of quilts to use them up. These I can quickly cut into lengths needed for a particular quilt pattern - without the need to unfold & refold yardage. Folding is my least favorite part of quilting - especially as I only put one piece of each fabric in a quilt.  It can get very overwhelming.  Since these are already cut I will be more inclined to use them. I sorted them by size and color - aren't they pretty!  There at the top right corner you can see the bindings I made - I think there is enough for 4 or 5 quilts. 

This is the plastic drawer of 4.5 squares, 2.5 x 4.5 rectangles and 2.5 squares. I need to make some easy donation quilts from these - Trip around the world or rainbow diagonals maybe. But since no cutting is required, they go together very quickly.  But I do need to sort these by color too.  I may save that task for the next time my daughter is home - 😀

As I am cutting (fussy cutting and strip cutting) I keep anything smaller that 2.5 wide to make piano keys. And here is the result. Great for mindless sewing - I think that's what I'll work on next. There's definitely enough here to make several quilts worth of piano keys - either borders or entire quilts.

I've also saved all the tiny triangles - they now fill up a gallon size bag. I don't think I will ever use them - I've already made one tiny triangle quilt and doubt I'll do it again. But I have a friend who says she will give them a good home.

And here is the pile of little trimmings - kind of pretty.

Next I need to go through my TOT drawers. That's going to be harder. But there are definitely some fabrics that I inherited or been gifted that I don't want. And I know there are some small pieces that I keep glimpsing that I need to pull out. And then there is the scrap basket that has gotten out of control. I have gotten a couple of ideas from recent videos that I want to try that I'm going to pull from scraps. Plenty to keep me busy for a good long time.