And the gold medal winner is................

If they had an Olympic event for stash organization I'm sure Cathy K. would win.. She had at least 3 times as many open bins as shown of the left (and these were very large baskets) and these were just the small pieces of fabric (6-12"). Then there was a floor to ceiling bookcase with all the cottons folded and sorted by color and THEN there were the big bins for larger pieces and specialties such as velvets and sheers. Some of the lace bins are shown on the right...She had 15 categories and subcategories for lace alone. I didn't even begin to count all the bins and drawers on shelves with threads, ribbons, trims etc....all neatly labeled and sorted by color.... It was absolutely overwhelming and I'm pretty organized myself.....

I did come away with some good ideas. I have my threads sorted first by type (rayon, silk, cotton) and then by color... She had hers separated by color FIRST and then by type... So she brought out a big bag of greens and in it were smaller bags of perle, silks, cottons. etc... This made a lot of sense to me and will do it soon.... Also she was disciplined about only keeping pieces 1/4 yd or less and giving the rest away. I had entirely too many large pieces that I am emotionally attached to.

So this morning I went through all my fancy fabric and only kept pieces about 12-18" (well a few 24") and the rest is in my car to go to the thrift store or in the trash....I was able to reduce every single large piece except one...so I did what any confirmed fabricholic would do. I wrapped it in tissue and hid it at the bottom of the large bin.... My goal was to have ALL my fancies in one jumbo bin.... I didn't quite make it but I came close enough. All the beads, trims etc. I have under control but need to subdivide my laces more like Cathy's. Now I can go outside for the rest of the day and feel I've accomplished something.

If I didn't feel guilty enough after being in Cathy's studio, I read Kerry's blog this am about her progress on her sewing room and I quote: "approximately 30 boxes of books have left the sewing room destined for the second hand book store, the thrift store and the library sale! In addition, approximately 10 boxes of stash have gone to the thrift store." .. Thanks Cathy and Kerry for spurring me on!!!!