Taking advantage of organization

The chair piled with projects and random fabric has been cleared off and the contents of the pile has been organized.  Two of my bigger design boards were near the bottom of the stack, and it was interesting to see what was on those boards - Quilt of Valor block parts.  

Seeing these reminded me that my red, white, and blue fabrics need some serious sorting and organizing too.  So that area should be the next area of my sewing room to get some attention as I continue the clean-up.  Some progress can be seen.  

Sometimes I even find forgotten things - like this package of applique stars.  This was also in the stack on the chair, but I have no idea what I had planned to do with them.  So now they're tucked into a drawer until something comes to mind for them.

During that sorting process this week I've cut a lot of scraps into sizes I use frequently, including 5" charms in pairs for Windmill blocks.  There is a shoebox size bin for these, and also ones for 2.5" and 3.5" squares.  I dip into those little bins frequently.  

I love these Windmill blocks - so bright and cheerful. 

Near the bottom of the pile was a 2.5" strip of black that worked great with the grey/red Canadian flag squares I had cut the day before for a Zipper block, but didn't use.  Now they won't be wasted, and one more Zipper block is hanging in the closet.

Also in that pile were several black and white strips (2.5") that I had probably cut for these Boxed Square blocks at some point.  And then they most likely got buried under that avalanche of scraps.  Those strips are now in the project box with the others.  

These blocks are adding up quickly, so I'm going to begin sewing them into "two-sies" and "four-sies" in preparation for assembling a whole quilt top during 2024.   

Thinking about 2024 has me making plans, and making new project lists.