Changing and rearranging

I like to be organized, as my regular readers know.  I'm always aiming for the perfect organizational system.  I will make changes that please me, and will feel that I'm finally "there".  Then time passes, my mind goes off in a different direction, and the organization no longer feels "right".  So I make changes and do some rearranging, until things feel "right with the world" again.

And so I've been reorganizing my left side bar AGAIN.  Putting projects in hibernation has never felt quite right.  It made me feel like I was "forbidden" to work on those projects.  I know - I can be very silly at times.  So I put returned the list to its former arrangement, and feel much better about it.

As many of you know, for years I was addicted to buying "kits".  Thus the list of 65 "Golden Hussies" on the sidebar, which really should be longer as I know there are some that never got added.  This list has been bothering me more and more.  I rarely buy "kits" any more - they defeat my goal to reduce the amount of fabric on my shelves.  And I have no place to store them.  Currently there are four large totes full of "kits" upstairs under the longarm, with more piled on top and to the sides of the bins.  I need this space to store yarn and fiber!  So one of the goals I've set for this year is to drastically reduce that number.

The majority of those "quilt kits" include applique.  So I've pulled many of the kits and prepared them so they are ready to be stitched whenever I pick one up.  I've already reduced the list by 23 kits!  Thirteen are currently sitting on the dining room table ready for tracing.  Since we rarely use that table any more - except as a junk mail catcher - I've set up a production station.  I'm thoroughly enjoying tracing and cutting out each pattern while I listen to audio books. 

So far, as soon as I prep half a dozen patterns, I've completed the applique and then the quilt top.  I will finish those currently in the sewing room, and then I plan to switch to quilting and piecing when I'm not preparing applique.  I've spent the last month doing little but applique, and I'm beginning to feel the pull of the machine.  I want to get back to my "shoofly" blocks, as well as my 30's baskets and my Civil War Diary.  I need to make blocks for another 30's swap.  Not to mention binding the five quilts that are currently waiting for their finishing touches.

Sorting by color

My friend Kathie at Inspired by Antique Quilts has been sorting and straightening her fabric stash.  We have been friends for quite a few years, though we've never met "in real life".  She lives in New England, and I live in the Pacific Northwest, so we have an entire continent between us.  The pictures she's posted lately are the first ones I've seen of her fabric stash.  We are alike in so many ways, and her stash is definitely equal to mine.  ( I really think it is bigger, but I'm giving her the benefit of doubt here LOL!)

Much of my fabric is sorted by color, which makes it easy to pull pieces when I'm making a quilt by "color".  The majority of these fabrics are my older - much older - fabrics.  I still like them all, will still use them, but many don't fit with the "19th Century eras" I'm so drawn to.

I have plenty of blues, greens, blacks, beiges, tans, lights, pinks and browns.  I have fewer yellows and oranges, but still a fair selection.  I'm sadly lacking in purples, having only a small stack of fat quarters.  That's OK - I don't go to these parts of the shelves much.

All my plaids and stripes are grouped together too, as you saw in this post.  My 30's and 40's fabrics are together in baskets in the closets.

Reproductions by everybody else

Jo Morton Fabrics

I think it is time I follow Kathie's example and get these arranged by color.  So much easier, don't you think?  So that is my next organization project - which I will (hopefully) do this weekend.  But first I want to finish Jo's Bittersweet Stars.

Good morning!

Give away news . . .

I've had great responses to my giveaways.  And guess what I discovered?  When I have stacks of magazine pages and patters on my cutting table and ironing surface I have no room to sew!  This will never do.  Even if I'm organizing instead of sewing.

So  . . . I'm moving the drawing up to Thursday - tomorrow - at 11:00.  I'm hoping I can have everything out of the sewing room and off to the post office by the end of the day on Friday.  I'm not going to worry about readers who check in only once a week or so.

Good news!  I eliminated 3 linear feet of 3-ring binder space on my bookshelves.  All my printed knitting patterns - both those I've printed from Ravelry and the Internet and those I've bought in yarn shops - are nicely organized in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet.  I'm thrilled!

Have a lovely day everyone!

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Gratitudes:

1.  A lovely day spent with spinning friends, resulting in a beautiful bobbin of spun singles
2.  The world's best grandson who turned 6 years old yesterday.
3.  A rescued pair of socks well on their way to being finished.
4.  A bowl of steaming, steel-cut oatmeal with brown sugar and almond milk
5.  A retired hubby who has taken on all the weeding in the flower beds

You think I'm organized . . .

Take a look at this quilter's system.  It puts mine to shame!  She obviously has lots of space, which certainly helps.  Space isn't an organization requirement - unless you can't control your shopping urges (raising my hand here and blushing in shame) - but it helps.  So does money, though this quilter has picked up much of what she has at bargain prices.  A system is what is needed, and each person knows how much of a system he or she can live with.  I've organized sewing rooms for my friends, but they don't stay that way because they aren't comfortable with that much organization.

This quilter has four different posts about organization.  Here are all the links.  I got some great ideas while reading these posts, and I'm very eager to put them to use. Here name is Teresa and she lives in Michigan.

Even if you don't crave organization take a look - you will be astounded by the pictures alone!  Also take a look at her blog, which is NOT where the organization posts are located. 


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Stash Organization

Please use the following links to access posts I've written about Stash Organization:

Fabric and Scraps: (October 23, 2010 on Stash Manicure)
http://stashmanicure.blogspot.com/2010/10/welcome-to-my-underwear-drawer.html

Patterns, Magazines, Pages, Ideas, and Books: (November 5, 2010 on Stash Manicure)
http://stashmanicure.blogspot.com/2010/11/keeping-up-with-paperwork.html

Patterns, Magazine Pages, Ideas and Books: (January 22, 2011 on Stash Manicure)
http://stashmanicure.blogspot.com/2011/01/need-to-feed-and-urge-to-purge.html

Quilt Archiving: (February 20, 2011 on Stash Manicure)
http://stashmanicure.blogspot.com/2011/02/give-those-quilts-and-projects-awaybut.html

I have a winner!

A super-quick post to announce the winner of the "Cabin in the Pines" patterns.

Congratulations Doreen B!  The Jan Patek patterns are yours.  Please send me your name and address ASAP so I can get them in the mail!  Comment #6 was the  winner.

A quick picture - my important rulers are back in place! (At the end of the cutting table.)  As soon as I move the knitting books off the shelf the other rulers and templates will be in place also.  Much easier to work this way instead of having to hunt through a drawer full of rulers!

I can access all my fabric!

So all is right in my world.  I found two shelves of tans, whites, off-whites, backgrounds, etc. that I'd completely forgotten were in bins.  Since I started quilting again I kept thinking I had more to choose from than what I could find, but figured I was dreaming.  Turns out I wasn't!

There was no way the 30's fabrics were going to fit on the shelves so I didn't even try.  But now they are all easily accessible instead of buried.  The big blue bin has my wool stash - also easily reached.  My favorite weight yarns are in the drawers and easy to reach.  My current knitting projects are just to the right inside the closet door.  All my fiber is upstairs and in tubs in the corner of the bedroom.

I didn't think I could organize this well for three hobbies, but I did it!  Now it is back to rearranging books.  All my knitting books are on the floor in the computer room, waiting for  me to donate the rest of the romance novels.

Where did it go . . . or what is wrong with this picture?

Remember this beautiful pressing station?  A huge surface for pressing large pieces of fabric.  Perfect for any quilter.

So what does it look like now?  It certainly doesn't look like a quilter lives here.

A bunch of magazine files - all knitting and spinning magazines.  A bunch of loose-leaf notebooks full of knitting patterns.  A design wall full of knitting and spinning info. 

So where am I going to iron the fabric for my final borders?  In the hall on the regular ironing board.
Shelves to the right, that used to hold rulers and other quilting stuff is now full of knitting and spinning books.

Obviously I need to do a bunch of adjusting in order to make my room work for three hobbies.  The catch is to stop sewing long enough to do the rearranging.  I'm trying to get myself motivated.

We have lots and lots of bookcases upstairs - they surround the entire family room - and at least 30% of the books are historical romances.  I can't remember the last time I read a book like this.  Must be at least 20 years.  I need to get those boxed up and given to the library.  Then I can move half of my quilting and knitting books upstairs so I can shift all this stuff into the computer room.  Just the thought of all that work makes me tired - which means I really need to do it because I need the exercise!  I know I'll be so much happier once it is done. 

But right now I want to finish the borders on this quilt top . . . .

Oh dear! Long time no post!

It's been WAY too long since I've written a post. Time has been flying by, and I've been as busy as one can possibly be, but I've done no quilting for almost a couple weeks. And when I'm not quilting I'm not thinking about blogging.

I started writing a post, which immediately became lengthy and wordy - you know me, when I tell a story it seems like it takes me forever. I figured no one would take the time to read it all, so I erased it. I'll just let a few words and lots of pictures tell the story.

I've refound my love of cooking, thanks to being on Weight Watchers and actually reading their cookbooks. So I reorganized my kitchen. It was organized fairly well before, but now it's still way better than it used to be.

The first picture shows a car full of stuff to take to Goodwill. There are still more things in the back seat. Clearing out things I've not used in years, things that are worn out, things no longer needed, and things that I'm replacing because they are flimsy and of poor quality.

I also took two large boxes of cookbooks I cleared off my shelves to the library for the book sale.

Staples for baking in the first cupboard to the left of the refrigerator.






More baking staples, plus plastic storage boxes for various cookie cutters, tart pans, and more. A Cuisinart Griddler is on the right of the bottom turntable - replaces and electric grill and an electric griddle.









Baking pans, bowls and liquid measuring cups to the left of the staple cupboard. Gone are all the duplicate pie, bread and cake pans. New little pans - 6" cake pans, pie plates and mini bunt pans are ready for me to start "baking for two".

Now I actually have counter space in this area to work on.









The cupboards for dishes and glassware have also been reorganized. Now that I've shrunk a couple inches it's much harder for me to reach that top shelf.

I can actually reach my pitchers and iced drink glasses now without a step stool! (Gotta love that Crystal Lite in so many different flavors!) I don't show them in a picture, but suffice it to say they are no longer above the refrigerator.






The other turntable - just below the dish cupboards, now holds cereal - much better than on the other side of the room where they were.

The bottom shelf has bins for potatoes, root vegetables and more. Cleaning out the pantry allowed me to move all the pasta from here into the pantry. Much better!


I've not shown pictures of everything, but you get the idea. It's much more pleasant to work here now. I can't wait to bake something! I think the first thing will be cookies for Fred - something that I won't find too tempting to resist! Since this burst of organizing energy I've been spending a lot of time reading cookbooks, marking recipes for trial (what did we do before Post-Its?), and watching Barefoot Contessa and America's Test Kitchens/Cooks Country. And after years of being bored out of my mind when cooking I'm enjoying it again.

Sewing Room Redo - Part 2

Some of you will remember that my dear husband agreed to a sewing room redo as my birthday gift in 2007 - so we were standing in line on opening day of IKEA-Portland, OR. IKEA has everything needed for changing your so-so sewing room into a dream room. Even if your room is really small like mine (8.5' x 12'). Their Billy bookcase system is perfect for fabric storage because you can get glass doors for each unit and the price is very reasonable. Some of the pieces in their free-standing kitchen line are perfect for cutting tables and more. (If you'd like to see "before" pictures of my room look here and here. After pictures can be found here.

I adore everything about the new room arrangement. It works beautifully. But lately as I've worked in the room I realized it could be even better. I could do something about all the wasted space under the ironing board. Wasted space is a really bad thing when your room is so small. I've also worried about how precarious this storage arrangement is, with the TV balanced on top of a rolling plastic cart. Though we don't live in southern California, we are still in an area prone to earthquakes, and are also supposed to get a BIG ONE one of these days. This would NOT survive such a shaking.

So . . . I've been looking at the IKEA website again. It's a great place to start - though going to the store is much better. I thought I knew just what I wanted - but changed my mind once I got there. My new ironing station will be made from this piece, which is from the same free standing kitchen line as is my center island. It gives me great storage underneath for things like baskets, quilting hoops on stands, and my jugs of water and Best Press. The iron can also go under here when not in use. My DSIL says he will make me a new big board that will fit on this piece. When not ironing I can use this as an additional cutting surface. I'm going to put casters on legs, so when I need to use my entire design wall (which is on the wall behind my ironing space) I can roll this out into the hallway. If I'm going to be sewing all day I can also roll it out there so I can accumulate more activity points on my pedometer! My current ironing board and big board will go upstairs for use in the longarm room. Right now I have to run up and down the stairs to press quilt tops and backs.

Here is what I got to replace the rolling carts. There are about 4" taller, which is a little taller than what I have now, but that's OK. I got two of them, plus a heavy glass top that will cover both of them together, plus a kitchen lazy susan (under $10) for holding the TV so I can rotate it as needed. These drawers are pretty much the same size as what I have, so I won't have to reorganize everything for switching over. I was going to buy a 4 drawer chest, but this is much better for storing what I have to store here. I thought I needed something in white to match the fabric cabinets, but this light birch matches my cutting island and my new pressing station.

If there is a gene for organization the it's one of my very strongest LOL! If you send me an airline ticket and promise to feed me and give me a place to sleep I will come redo your sewing room if you'd like!

Fabric Folding Tutorial

Many people have asked me how I keep my fabric looking so neat on my shelves, and how do I fold it so it fits so well. I developed my own method of folding my fabric long before someone came out with the idea of folding it around a ruler. Mine works very well for me and is very easy to do. For those of you who are interested, here is how I do it.

The first thing to do is figure out the width and depth of your shelves. Most shelves are a standard size - mine are 30" wide. The narrow shelves are just over 14" wide. The depth is 10 1/2". You will want to fold your fabric so you can get the maximum amount of fabric on one shelf with little or no room left over. A little math, or some trial and error if you prefer, will tell you how to fold your fabric. I fold large pieces - 1/2 yard and more - one way, and fat quarters and smaller pieces another way. I almost always buy fabric in increments of 1/4 yard rather than eights or thirds, as these increments fold the best using my system. You can certainly modify it if you buy fabric in other increments.

Half yard and larger pieces:

Fold the fabric as it came off the bolt. I prewash and iron first - I find that ironing each piece helps set the colors and patterns in my memory - so I iron it folded as if it just came off the bolt.












Now bring the folded edge to the selvage edge for a second fold parallel to the first. I do this for 3 yard and shorter pieces. If the piece is longer than 3 yards I fold crosswise once, twice or more first.












Now, if you have an even number of yards fold the piece in half crosswise, and then in half again। If you have 3, 6 or 9 yards fold in thirds and then in half. If you have a different number of yards you will need to adjust your crosswise folds at some point.

The object is to finish with a rectangle that measures about 10" or 11" wide - or 1/4 the width of the fabric, and a depth of 9" (1/4 yard).



Fat quarters:

There are two possible ways to fold fat quarters. Choose which works best for you by measuring the depth of your shelves. If they are 12" deep you can choose the narrower, deeper way of folding - this is how I folded them before my sewing room redo. If they are less than 12" you will need to choose the wider, less deep way of folding so they don't hang off the front of the shelves. I show both methods in the pictures.




Lay your fabric in front of you. For deeper shelves the 21"-22" side should be facing you. For narrower shelves the shorter side should be facing you. Fold the closest and the farthest edged to the middle, thus enclosing the raw edge in the fold.

Fold again in half.








Now fold in half crosswise once. Your piece will now measure approximately 5" x 9" or 4 1/2" x 11", depending on how you have folded it. The second is preferable if your shelves are deep enough as you can get more fabric on the shelf.

Now arrange your folded fabric on your shelf, with the single fold of each piece facing toward you. ( I fold my towels and wash cloths so single folds face front also - I know, I'm an incurable neat freak!) I can fit two stacks of the larger pieces and one stack of the smaller pieces on each wide shelf - or one large and four small stacks - or six small stacks. I can fit two fat quarter stacks or one larger stack on the narrower shelves, with a few inches remaining for books, patterns, or whatever.

Since I do mostly scrap piecing and appliqué, I usually cut only a small amount from each piece. As long as I can refold the piece on the fold lines so it fits neatly back on the shelf I do so. Once the piece is chopped up enough that I can no longer fold it neatly on the fold lines, I call it scrap, and cut it into strips, squares, triangles and bricks, with the smallest parts going into a basket of crumbs to give away to a friend.

I hope this helps at least one or two of you with your fabric storage! I've done it this way for so long that I can fold fabric VERY quickly for storage on the shelves.

Stashbusting goals - one more time!

I am addicted to fabric - I truly am. I love to gaze at it, stroke and pet it, play with it, iron it, smell it, use it - you get the idea. I know many of you share the same addiction and can relate completely to what I'm saying.

I'm also addicted to buying fabric. I love nothing better than going into a quilt shop and choosing new pieces for my stash, or getting online and ordering complete fat quarter or half yard collections of new lines as they are available. I get such a rush from getting boxes of fabric in the mail - it's like Christmas every time a new one arrives.

Since I've been quilting 30 years - give or take a year - this has become a real problem. I have a small but well organized sewing room with lots of stash storage. It is full. I've gone through the stash several times in the last ten to twelve years, culling completely outdated fabric (tiny multicolored calicoes - ugh!) and giving it all to charity. In no time the shelves are full again. Last month I made backings for a couple dozen quilts. I immediately filled up the space with newly washed and ironed fabric that had been laying under my big board waiting it's turn to join the rest on the shelves. I didn't show you a picture of the fabrics stacked up on my cutting table because I was just too horrified at the quantity - probably an additional 30 to 40 yards! And I can't even say that is the end of it, as I brought a bunch more home last Monday when I went to Momma Made It in Longview. Sharon has started her moving sale. I ask you - how can I resist backgrounds, plaids and remnants marked down 50 to 75%? They are now sitting on the closet floor waiting to be washed, ironed and added to the stash.

Ever since I started setting quilting goals I've promised I'll control my shopping and start depleting my stash. It doesn't happen. I've once again grown the stash this year. When one starts buying fabric by the bolt one goes backwards very quickly. Three 15 yard bolts of Kona Cotton later - a parchment, turkey red and a cheddar - and a 50 yard bolt of applique background for my historical quilts - so much for busting stash.

However, I'm still pledging to try. Judy has already started talking about busting stash in 2009 - she didn't do any better than I did this year. I've printed her pledge and signed it - I've pinned it to my design wall right over my big board where I'll have to see it every day. And I'm going to start keeping track of my efforts again. I stopped fairly early this year because as a scrap quilter it seemed too difficult to keep track of yardage used. Yesterday I read this post by Judy. My report doesn't have to be in yards! I can report emptied drawers, totes, baskets, plastic shoe boxes, etc. I can report a fabric stash decreasing in height by an inch or two. I can report any way that makes sense for the way I use my fabric. Hooray! That will work for me!

So - I'm committing right now - for the rest of 2008 and all of 2009. My goal by the end of 2009 is to have less fabric than I have right now.(Where have I heard that before!) This doesn't mean I'll stop buying - I think that's impossible - but I will - I WILL!!!! - use more fabric than I buy. And I'll do a weekly report along with the rest of Judy's stashbusters.

So with those things in mind I'll show you what the majority of the stash looks like right now (I just did a clean-up a couple weeks ago so I could put those 30-40 yards on the shelves). From top to bottom the pictures show:

Shelves on the south side of the room

Shelves on the west side of the room

Bolts of fabric on top of the shelves (there is also one in the closet)

One partial shelf holding the latest two kits I've purchased - they don't fit into the kit bins

Two kit bins under the longarm - you can tell by the list of "HSY's" (Haven't Started Yets) on my sidebar that I'm also addicted to kits.

Two more kit bins plus a cardboard box of kits under the other end of the longarm

I've not shown you any of my scrap storage - if you are interested in seeing that you can click on the "Organization" subject in the sidebar that will take you to pictures on past posts. Wish me luck with this - maybe the fifth or sixth try will be the charm!

I'm back!

I guess I took a bit of a blogging break. Didn't plan to, but that's just how things worked out. Now September is here, Fred is back to school, and hopefully I can get back into a regular routine. I have been busy - doing what I'm not sure - I just know that time is flying as usual.

After I ran the UFO marathon I had to do a bit of cleaning and organizing to make room for all the finished quilts. Storage of finished quilts hasn't been a problem before, but it's starting to be one now. First I cleaned off a shelf in the upstairs bathroom by organizing pieces of leftover batting. Looks like I have enough for at least six more quilts! I pieced battings for a couple of the quilts I finished, stitching them together on the machine for the first time. (I've always done it by hand before.) Worked great so it will do it that way from now on.

Once the shelf was clear I rolled up all my little quilts and put them together onto the shelf. Would you believe there are 20 little quilts stored here? This prevents wrinkles from setting in permanently, and each quilt is still easily identifiable.

I also refolded all the big quilts for the armoire in the living room. In my classes with Eileen Trestain I've learned never to fold a quilt in half - nothing is more noticeable than a permanent crease right down the center. So all were folded first in thirds, and then over and over crosswise. The fit into the shelves much better this way. I've added a couple more since I took this picture, and unfortunately there is no more room for large quilts. Small table runners can be rolled and tucked in the ends - that's about it. Will that stop me from making more quilts? Hah - that's not possible! I guess I'll just have to give more away.

Once all the new quilts were either stored safely or on display on a quilt rack I went back to the longarm room and started tackling customer quilts. I had three to quilt - one pantograph and two custom - and two large tops to baste for hand quilting. I spent most of the next week getting those done. Not sure which is better - having them all out of the house or having money in my bank account again. I think I'll go for having money - there are some new pantographs I want to buy and more new threads to order.

All my energy came to a screeching halt and literally disappeared come last Wednesday night when I came down with a head cold. This is the first I've had in awhile and it's knocked me for a bit of a loop. I've spent the last few days sitting in a chair reading or hand quilting. I think I'm finally on the mend, I'm happy to say. I did finish the quilting on one small top which I'll show you in the next post.

After

Much, much better, don't you think?

But I've still not found my missing quilt top! I guess someone is trying to tell me that quilting this top isn't supposed to be what I'm doing right now!