Sorting stabilizers

It's time to put my money where my mouth is. I've been harping about decluttering and organizing, but I found a mess yesterday that needs to be dealt with. 

I had collected all my stabilizers in one place, sorted them by type, and purchased large tubs to store them. 

Let's be clear that they need to be separated from batting (fleece), fusible webs, and interfacing. The "underground" world of sewing is mysterious. All four categories are needed to make our projects look amazing, but you never see them. 

I recently wrote some articles for QUILTsocial on a high-level description of the categories and then spent a week chatting about fusible webs. 

Yesterday, sorting was easy if the stabilizer was in a package or labeled. But what about the rest? Over the years, I've collected many odds and ends. When I initially sorted them, many were shoved into a separate container, and many unlabeled pieces were in the tubs. Sorted? Maybe, but it wasn't efficient, nor was the sorting complete. 

So I pulled everything out of the tubs. 

Sorting stabilizers

Then, I put everything back in the tubs according to the stabilizer category to which it belongs. Stabilizers are categorized by how they are removed: tear away, cut away, wash away, or heat away. Even the container with the blue lid contains stabilizers, as I do not have many heat-away products.  

My tubs of stabilizers

One of the tubs is currently empty because I have more stabilizers under my filming table. Once I finish them at the end of the month, I'll need to incorporate them into the tubs. They will go into the empty tub, and I'll likely have to use one of these tubs. Never mind that I have rolls of stabilizer in a tote bag that I'm taking to the retreat this weekend. Let's say it'll be a while before I run out of stabilizer. 

More stabilizer

One issue is that the rolls come in various widths, from 8" to 24", making them difficult to store. 

Then, there was an overflow basket, which was also a mess. It is partially empty in this picture. But the mess was so nasty that I wasn't using those stabilizers and would default to what was easily identifiable on a roll. That was just silly and wasteful! 

Unidentified stabilizers

These were all the odd bits that were not labeled. I have started to go through them. Some of them are easy to identify, while others are not. 

The rogue pieces of stabilizer

I'm putting the ones I should be using back into the basket, and I've sorted them by type and separated them with bags so it'll be easy to grab what I want. 

Some of the stabilizers were sorted into bags

Some are challenging to identify by eye, so I have my trusty little water container to test if they dissolve in water. There are two pieces in the water. Are they dissolving? 

Testing for water-soluble stabilizer

When I checked a few minutes later (my water was cold; otherwise, it would happen instantly), only one did not dissolve. 

This is NOT water-soluable

What is scary is that there was a label inside the folds of that one that is still intact. This was the label. 

OH -- it was mislabeled

From the feel, I suspected it was not water-soluble. I must have spotted a loose label somewhere along the line and stuck it in the folds. Sigh.

But no more—I am going to clean up this mess. I'll now have an easier time selecting a stabilizer for future machine embroidery projects, and at some point, that basket of odds and ends will be used up! And unless I need something particular, I will force myself to use only what is in the green basket! 

I still have this container to sort through, but at least it's all in one spot. 

A container of odd stabilizer pieces

This is an excellent example of what I mean by cleaning the clutter. You may have a lot of anything, and that's OK. But if there is "junk" amongst those items, you need to deal with it. That basket contains a lot of stabilizers, and I should use those up before I go into those tubs.

Remember those zippered bags for linens that I tried to get rid of several weeks ago? I found a perfect use for them. As I prepare for the machine embroidery workshop (hands-on) this weekend, I'm using the bags to sort the projects. 

The zippered bags are perfect for storage

So, I'm going to keep them. What I like about them is that they are 3-D, unlike the regular zipper plastic bags. Since they are cubes, you can put a good amount of stuff in them, and it doesn't bulge up in the center. Since the contents can be moved around, they can be stacked easily into a tote bag, which is perfect for traveling to retreats. Yep—thanks for not wanting those bags! I will always use them for retreats going forward. 

I measured these large pieces of fabric from Diane's stash, and they are now in the storage room with the other backings. I had sorted through a couple more bags of fabrics, and these large pieces have been sitting on the cutting table this past week. 

Fabric for quilt backings

I've still been puttering and trying to get things cleaned up in Studio B, but it's a challenge with time and mood. But slow and steady - that's all I can say. Do what you can when the moment hits. 

I have a few errands to run before I leave for the retreat tomorrow morning, and I want to make a few samples so I can take them with me. I also want to make a couple of samples for my final Zoom session of the week. It's been nice to have fewer sessions this week. For some reason, I've been tired and needed a daily nap. I don't mind, but why was I exhausted? I feel better today. 

Oh dear—Joseph was not at spin class, so we had a substitute. I think people saw that when they went to reserve a bike because the numbers in the class were way down. I didn't like the guy as much as Joseph, but then I don't like change! 

Finding decent paths to walk on in our neighborhood (and I'm sure this is the same everywhere) is a challenge. This is the sidewalk across from the elementary school. I guess they cleaned out the schoolyard and dumped it here. Thankfully, there's another sidewalk, but this is also one of the entrances to the forest. We can clamber over the snow, although I didn't. What will happen when it all starts to thaw? It's going to be huge blocks of ice! 

A plowed path to nowhere

This is one of the sidewalks that were plowed. I swear their plow wasn't strong enough, or the blade wasn't high enough to do a good job. I hate to say it, but it would have been better if they had not plowed it. It's a challenge to walk on this sidewalk because the snow is very soft, and it's worse than walking on sand because there are three separate and narrow tracks. 

A plowed sidewalk

Thankfully, the owners shoveled all the sidewalks in front of their houses—well, most of them. So walking there is OK, and the multipurpose path is clear. The girls and I have a new route, but it works. Murphy is quite thankful that we're not doubling back, as she doesn't like that. 

So my challenge for you today is to tackle those stabilizers, fusible web, interfacings, and batting (fusible fleece) and get sorting. Separate them into those four categories, then sort them further within each category. I was shocked at how much interfacing (Decor Bond) I found in the stabilizers. Good grief -- at the time, I probably didn't know the difference or didn't have a home for it. But you will use it if it has a home. If it's a jumbled mess, you will not! 

How do I know? Because I'm living proof of that. The amount of stabilizer I realized I had but wasn't using is - well, there's a lot. Now, I have it mainly organized, except for that last container. This is going to make it easy to find exactly what I need. Think of all the time I'm going to save! 

I watched the live stream of the Quilt Con awards ceremony last night. If you want to see the winners, check this link. There were some fantastic quilts and a few repeat winners. Emilie Tahran from Quebec won four awards. Great job, Emilie! Several other members went home with many prizes—Heidi Parkes from Wisconsin won five awards! Check out the Best of Show. It depicts that beautiful sculpture from South Dakota, and I think it sends a quiet message to the world. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I have samples to make, groceries to buy, and photocopies to print! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!