Review: Fabric Organizers

Organizing is what you do before you do something, 

so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up.  

~ A. A. Milne

When "researching" for my holiday give away packages, I came across these fabric organizers - something I had never heard of before:

Aside: Don't you just love it?  All you have to do is have your own blog, and all of a sudden on-line shopping becomes "research" !  ;)

My sewing room is in a perpetual state of disarray, so I am always on the look out for things to help me organize.  They seemed to have potential, and I decided to get a set - some for me and some for my give away.  

I felt that I owed it to you, my dear readers, to try the product myself first...  ;)

(And if you believe that one...)  

Anyways, the box arrived last week and I spent some time this weekend organizing my fabric stash.  First I'll mention that I had assumed that the organizers were made out of solid plastic - but they are actually a bit flimsier than that, as you can see by this end-on view:  

They are more like corrugated plastic...  I guess one advantage of this is that they are light weight...?

They come in 3 sizes (I got some of each size) and have built-in tabs to hold the inner edge of your fabric.  (You need to supply your own method of holding the outer edge - maybe a paper clip?)  

At first I had some problems folding my fabric to be the right width to fit into the built-in tabs.  But eventually I did get the hang of it - pretty much every piece fit if I either folded it in quarters or in sixths.  After that, it went pretty smoothly.  

And the bottom line for me?  Honestly, I think their value depends on how you are able to store your fabric.  If you can stand your mini-bolts up on their ends, like books in a bookcase, then I think these would be really handy - because you can just slide out the fabric that you want to use.  

But my fabric storage is on those wire shelves in a closet and I can't stand anything up on its edge - it falls through the holes between the wires.  I have to lay my fabric flat horizontally.  Under these circumstances, wrapping the pieces around the corrugated plastic sheets doesn't seem to give me much of an advantage over just folding each piece neatly and stacking them.  

Of course, what WAS useful for me was the process of going through my stash - it was fun, inspiring and brought back some memories...  I'll share some of my "finds" with you in another post later this week.  :)

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P.S. - Don't forget to sign up for the second of my four weekly holiday give-aways here.  The theme is "Fabric Shopper" and the package contains a gift certificate to buy fabric, a set of The Original "How Much Fabric?" Reference Cards, a special fabric buying t-shirt and a starter set of fabric organizers for your home stash!  

Check back Friday to see if you've won, and to sign up for the third give-away!  All give-aways are open internationally.  :)

Gratuitous Kitten Photo

The cat is the animal to whom the Creator gave the biggest eye, 
the softest fur, the most supremely delicate nostrils, a mobile ear, 
an unrivaled paw and a curved claw borrowed from the rose-tree.

~ Sidonie Gabrielle

Behold, the unrivaled paw:  

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P.S. - Don't forget to sign up for the second of my four weekly holiday give-aways here.  The theme is "Fabric Shopper" and the package contains a gift certificate to buy fabric, a set of The Original "How Much Fabric?" Reference Cards, a special fabric buying t-shirt and a starter set of fabric organizers for your home stash!  

Check back Friday to see if you've won, and to sign up for the third give-away!  All give-aways are open internationally.  :)

Holiday Countdown Give Away - Week #2

Scroll down to learn who won the Give Away for Week #1

If you didn't win, don't despair - there are 3 more Give Aways before Christmas!  

I have decided to celebrate the holiday season by offering a give away each Friday in December up until Christmas.  Each give away will be collection of sewing-related gifts with a theme.  

This week's theme is Fabric Shopping!  

The give away package will include:

• A $35 gift certificate to Joann's OR the online fabric store of your choice
• A set of The Original "How Much Fabric?" Reference Cards
• A "Keep Calm and Buy More Fabric" v-neck t-shirt 
• Fabric Organizers for your "home store" - 15 large, 15 small and 15 shorty

The give away is open to everyone, including international readers, and will be open until midnight (EST) next Thursday (December 13th).  I'll announce the winner and the next give away on Friday, December 14th.

To enter, leave a comment and don't forget your name!  

Good luck to everyone!  :)

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And now the moment you've all been waiting for - the winner of last week's give away!  

There were 7 entries (giving each person a 14% chance of being picked) and the randomly drawn number was #2:  

Debbie!

Congratulations, Debbie!  

Email me at: gwynhug@gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll get your "Pins and Needles" package in the mail!  :)

Everyone else - don't despair - there are 3 more chances!  Sign up for today's "Fabric Shopper" package!  :)

Can Sewing Save Lives?

The purpose of life is not to be happy.  It is to be useful, to be honorable, 

to be compassionate, to have it make some difference 

that you have lived and lived well.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

We all know about lots of different ways that we can reach out and touch someone with our sewing - for example, I have made flannel pillow cases for children hospitalized with cancer and special clothing that fits over leg braces for veterans.  There are opportunities to sew stuffed animals for children being taken into foster care and to create small quilts from baby clothes that bring comfort to bereaved parents.  And the list goes on...

But did you ever imagine that your sewing could actually SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE?  LITERALLY!

Every year, hundreds of people die in the desert areas around the border between the United States and Mexico - most of them from the heat and thirst.  Do you see the blue flag flying high in the picture above?  That flag was sewn by a volunteer - someone like you and I.  That flag marks a water station where everyone is welcome.  

That flag saves lives.

It turns out that the desert sun and wind are very hard on the flags and, even when they are made out of heavy nylon, they shred quickly and have to be replaced every few months.  That's why the organization Humane Borders is always looking for volunteers to sew more flags.

Granted, our current immigration situation is complicated - there are plenty of good points (and bad ones!) being made by people on every side of the issue.  

But there is one thing that I know for sure: no one deserves to die of thirst in the desert.

And so, after the Christmas-gift-making-rush, I'm going to be making some flags.  Will anyone join me?  

You can see a little bit more about this in this YouTube video:  

The video also has some text which explains in more detail what they need.  Here is that text:

Do you sew? Desert winds do heavy damage to our flags; we replace them every few months. You can help guide migrants to life-saving water by making flags that will fly over water stations in remote areas of southern Arizona.

Fabric should be medium- to heavyweight, 100 percent nylon usually costing about $7 per yard (rip-stop nylon does not last as long as heavier fabric). Color should be medium or royal blue. Finished size should be about 36 by 52 inches. With 60-inch wide fabric, cut pieces 44 by 60 inches and make 2-inch hems on all sides. Iron over 4 inches, fold under two inches, so that the entire hem is triple thickness of fabric.

Please use synthetic thread (polyester or nylon). Threads made of cotton or other natural fibers deteriorate quickly in the sun and elements. Any color of thread is acceptable. Please make the sure the corners are stitched securely. A zigzag stitch is very good for sewing the hem.

If you do not have a sewing machine with zigzag stitching, please double stitch the hems. Volunteers at Humane Borders will place grommets into the flag's hem. Mail to Humane Borders, 740 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ, 85719. Visit our website humaneborders.org for other ways to support our humanitarian work.

Milestone!

Care about your customers more than about yourself, and you'll do well.  

~ Derek Sivers

Over the weekend, after 1,176 days in business, we sold our 1,000th set of The Original "How Much Fabric?" Reference Cards.  :)

What I hope most is that each one of those card sets is a trusted and valued companion during many delightful fabric shopping expeditions - helping people buy the right amount of fabric over and over again!  :)

Reaching one thousand sets sold is a milestone that I have been anticipating all year.  (If I was better at marketing, it probably would have happened quite a bit sooner - but I'm still trying to figure this marketing stuff out.)  

Well, there's time tomorrow to try to get better at marketing - right now, I just want to take a moment and enjoy this milestone.  :)

Any suggestions for how we should celebrate?  

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P.S. - Don't forget to sign up for the first of my four weekly holiday give-aways here.  The theme is "pins and needles" and the package contains glass headed pins, sewing machine needles, hand needles, a needle threader, a hand made pin cushion and a vintage thimble!  

Check back Friday to see if you've won, and to sign up for the second give-away!  All give-aways are open internationally.  :)

Gratuitous Kitten Picture

There is, incidentally, no way of talking about cats that enables one 

to come off as a sane person.  

~ Dan Greenberg

I thought you might like to see Oliver's impression of a great horned owl.   :)

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P.S. - Don't forget to sign up for the first of my four weekly holiday give-aways here.  The theme is "pins and needles" and the package contains glass headed pins, sewing machine needles, hand needles, a needle threader, a hand made pin cushion and a vintage thimble!  

Check back Friday to see if you've won, and to sign up for the second give-away!  All give-aways are open internationally.  :)

Holiday Countdown Give Away - Week #1

I have decided to celebrate the holiday season by offering a give away each Friday for the next four weeks.  (The fact that I like shopping and was running low on ideas for posts this week may have contributed to this decision...)  Each give away will be collection of sewing-related gifts with a theme.    

This week's theme - in honor of the anticipation that accompanies this holiday for many people - is "pins and needles."     ;)

The give away package will include:

• A box of glass head pins
• A package of Schmetz sewing machine needles
• A package of hand sewing needles
• A hand needle threader
• A handmade pin cushion
• A vintage thimble

The give away will be open until midnight (EST) next Thursday (December 6th).  I'll announce the winner and the next give away on Friday, December 7th.

To enter this week's give away, just leave a comment (and don't forget your name!)  

Good luck to everyone!  :)