Miracle in the Quilt Studio!

Have you ever felt like someone or something is trying to give you a message? The same topic comes up over and over from totally different places?
I got a message recently. It was "Time to say goodbye....to fabric you won't be using." It appeared in books, on blogs, and was even part of the Becky Goldsmith lecture at my guild meeting!
This is why:

And you know this is not the entire stash...

You have seen my studio in it's "natural" state, and this mess is usually behind closed doors....well, when it's possible to close them! Basically the stacks are done by color (the blues are in the lower part of the cupboard).
But what's here is mainly fabric I have had for a long time. A really long time.
I'd rather have all my batiks out their storage boxes and on display here...so I must say goodbye.
I started off with the reds. I thought I might be able to deal with this mess one stack at a time. I got about 6 fabrics out, and they sat for several days on my table.
Then, in a sudden burst of inspiration one night, I rooted through almost everything. I tried to be ruthless. This is what I got:

More than a laundry basket load!

Some of this will be donated to good causes, some given to friends, and the rest will be made into patchwork backings for quilts (the larger pieces) and anything else will be stripped up.
Eventually.
Now I have this to look at:

Who knew this cupboard has a back?

These fabrics will trade places with the batiks when I get to the next phase of this project. And there's the bottom section of the cupboard to do as well...never any lack of Things To Do!
It's important to remember that anything done is better than nothing done. Even avoiding one task by doing another is OK when you're making progress somewhere.
(at least that's what I tell myself....)
But it's still a miracle for this packrat's studio!

World's Greatest Project!

Yes! I have the World's Greatest Project!

But you're going to have to figure out what it is.
That is, you're going to have to figure out what your greatest project is.

I've been thinking about what makes a great project and why people keep a trend going. What is it that everyone is looking for?

I came up with three qualities for a Great Project:

1. Most materials are something you have on hand.
2. It won't take a very long time to complete.
3. It has lots of creative potential.

We all enjoy a reason to go shopping, but if you have anything remotely resembling a stash, then you like to make something using that fabric. It's much easier to buy special notions, patterns and supplies if you have the fabric already(or some to start with!).

There's nothing like an heirloom quilt...you know, the one with thousands of pieces, an applique border and all hand quilted every 1/4".
There's nothing like it in my house!
We all want to do a project that can be completed in a reasonable amount of time. The heirloom quilt is a wonderful thing to do, but it won't be under the Christmas tree until the next decade!

My favorite projects are simple ones. They are basic and uncomplicated. Once I can see how the parts go together, then my mind starts thinking about "What if...?" That's when the fun really begins and the creativity starts to flow!
I am very good at taking a simple project and making it unbelievably complex...but at least they're my own complications, not somebody's poor design or dense instructions.
(and a small tip-o-the-hat here for all the great quilt designers who do have their patterns tested by real people before going to print!)

Purses and aprons seem to be the going trend right now and I believe that's because they tend to meet the three qualities I mentioned. Easy block patterns, "jelly roll" strips and small quilts are also popular for the same reasons.

My most recent World's Greatest Project was a nine-patch quilt with an unusual setting.
What is yours?