Have you seen THIS?

This is a drawstring bag that opens up to a 44 inches diameter containment system.  I think it is designed for Legos and toys, but wouldn't it be an awesome "play area" for LITTLE SCRAPS????

For those of us who use every last snippet of scraps, we struggle with organization so that little pieces of fabrics aren't migrating around the house, stuck to socks, shoes or the cat/dog/husband/kids.  But the scraps also need to be accessible.  I like ones with a little "rim" that helps contain the madness.

I have to say I am intrigued.  I am really more excited about the smaller versions, also pictured above, which I didn't find on the same website.  I think 44 inches would be a little large, although I could spread it out on the ping pong table. But if I go to a class or retreat it might prove a little clumsy if working space is an issue.

I wonder how may quilters it would hold at one time?

Hmm...

There are tutorials online for making something like this, ones to purchase on Etsy, etc.  Amazon even has different kinds and sizes.

I have worked pretty hard to tame my little scraps, opting to put some of them in little flat containers...they take up little space when pressed and ready to go.  

I pick through them with long beading tweezers rather than my fumbly, clumsy fingers.  Really easy, fast and convenient when I know what I want to use.  I set up and maintained several of these for making the music quilt, where I used brighter fabrics than I am currently using on the LITTLE TREASURE blocks made from reproduction fabrics.  I wish I had taken the time to make some little boxes for my repro scraps, but I had no idea at the onset that I would me making so many little blocks!

(These little containers are made by Iris, are really made for storing 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 photos, and can be gotten from Joann's and Amazon.  At my old Michigan Joann's I found them in the scrapbooking area, not the little containers near the fabrics. At the Joann's website, the 5 x 7 are here, and the 4 x 6 are here.  At Amazon, the 5 x 7 are here, and the 4 x 6 are here.)

But then I still have some larger scrap boxes like this...sorted into warm (red/pink, orange, yellow), cool (blue, green, purple), and brown/black colors.  Oh, and a fourth one for the neutral giblets.

These boxes fit well on shelves, but it might be fun to have a drawstring bag to dump them into while "fishing" for what I want, or when going to a class or retreat.  It is hard to "fish" through these without stuff spilling everywhere because they are basically at capacity.

Hmmm...may have to order a bag...no time to make one right now...

Stash and scrap maintenance is definitely on ongoing, ever-changing thing in my quilt cave.  I do very little permanent labeling for that reason (insert index cards that "peek through" the see-through containers and use easy-to-peel-off label tape in my label makers for drawers).

Anything to make the prepping of applique blocks and scrappy quilts easier, more organized, and streamlined is groovy to me.  I am always looking for ways to reduce the amount of time when I "sit and spin" or "wring my hands" or "tear hair and gnash teeth." Those activities waste time!

Happy stitching!

Teresa  :o)