Sewing Room Cleanup - Day 3

Yesterday I tackled the dreaded corner.  What a mess!

Just piles of stuff.  Not very inviting, efficient or attractive.  First I pulled everything out and gave a good dust and cleaning back there.  It was very dusty, but no critters or skittering creatures, thank goodness.  All of this stuff was definitely not going back there, but I had to decide where in the world was it all going to go.

Here is how it ended up.  The filing and pattern boxes are now under the cutting table where they are a bit more accessible.  I moved one of the storage drawers to the corner.  (I will deal with the stuff on top of those tomorrow.)  Then I looked in each of the bins, baskets and box and started a list of the projects.  There were over 20!  No wonder I feel like I'm not making any headway.  I think I spend more time shuffling things around than I do sewing!

Even though the list is overwhelming, I have prioritized it and color coded it.  I have personal projects, projects for the quilt shop, projects for my Etsy shop, Pattern ideas, and projects for Island Batik.  I marked the ones that are highest in priority and will start getting those done first.  I'll never be a one project at a time kind of a person, but I think 20 is a bit overkill.  At least I won't be too tempted to start anything new for a while!

Plus, my room looks a lot more inviting without all the piles threatening to fall over!  Today, it's time to clean off the top of those storage drawers.  Who knows what treasures I will find there?  I'll show you my list as well.  Maybe it will help me to be more accountable if I actually make it public? Still thinking over how to set some goals to finish these up.  I don't want to over commit, but you know the saying, Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.  I want to make a plan to get on top of this craziness!

Sewing Room Cleanup Day 2

Yesterday I tackled the cutting table.   That tends to get pretty bad, but it's usually just stuff that needs to be put away.  You know, piles of fabric, marking pens, rulers, more fabric...

The pile of cut up baby clothes is a work in progress, so that got moved to the sewing table.  Rulers were re-organized into the ruler rack.  I went through the little storage bin and removed some of the excess items so it would be more useful to me.  The storage box was a project that I moved to the area that I store those in and I went ahead and cut up the charm pack that I set aside for another Cobblestones Table Runner.

While I am at it, I want to give a shout out to the Calibre Art Rotating mat!  I purchased it on Amazon a while back - it was a very reasonable price.  It is the 8 inch size and I love it - it rotates like a dream, and the cutting surface is awesome.  I have a larger rotating Olfa mat, but it doesn't rotate very well - maybe the size?  Anyway, the Calibre Art mat spins with a touch, but is super stable when cutting.  I purchased this mat myself, so this is not a paid promo,  just me recommending a product I like!

After that I tackled the scrap bin.  I didn't sew up any blocks, but I did do some sorting and trimming.  I put some larger pieces in my strip bins, and threw out anything that was not bigger than 1 inch wide.  I love scraps, but I have to draw the line somewhere!  Then I decided that the scrap bin needs to go on the storage units to the right, not on my cutting table.  The only things I want on my cutting table are my cutting tools and small storage bin to hold pens and other notions.  I want to be ready to use it when I walk into my sewing room every day!

Today's task is the dreaded project corner.  It contains several stacks of project bins, filing containers and odds and ends.  I think my biggest job is going to be coming up with a way of prioritizing my projects and keeping track of my progress.  Will have to think about that as I pull these things out and assess them!  I do know that my filing containers need to go somewhere else.  I don't use them as I should because they are at the bottom of the pile.  Taming paperwork needs to be another priority in keeping my sewing room functional!

With that, I suppose I should get busy and tackle it.  How do you keep your projects organized?  Do you have a secret for knowing what to work on and when?  I'd love to know!

Sewing Room Clean up Day 1

I decided to focus on cleaning up one area of my sewing room a day so that I don't make a bigger mess than I already have!  I am really trying NOT to just move piles from one area to another.  And I am just working on the piles, not on the insides of my storage pieces!

This is the top of my two narrow storage drawers.  I try not to pile too much on them, but as you can see, the layers were starting to build up!  I put away the cat fabrics for a project to work on in August, and cleaned off my white board so I could make a list.  This way I don't forget that I want to work on something in the near future!  The notebook was taken to the dining room so I can go through the paperwork and organize it in the evenings.

So I had a few things left in this area, but no towers of fabric and junk!  There is my Farmer's Wife box - so I remember to make a block here and there (once I find the book, that is!)  I left out the small  plastic bins to contain the bits for specific projects (leftover triangles are in one - I'll be playing with those soon!)  The small pile of fabric is for a fun Row by Row starting up in September - ready for Christmas?  And the box is what I use to add scraps for my Mini Dresden plate quilt.

I did have a pile of muslin foundations for string quilts that I had to put in the overflowing scrap pile, but other than that I didn't add to any piles!

And I found this tray that I've been looking for!  I wanted to use it to organize my tea supplies.  Now it looks like a purposeful collection of items, not random stuff left on my counter.

After all the cleaning was finished, I worked on cutting down a pile of baby clothes, then finished putting this top together for a shop sample:

I'll probably get that quilted next week.

Today, I tackle the cutting table.  Definitely needs some help, I'm tired of shuffling things around to make room for cutting!  And I need to tame the box I've been using to make scrappy blocks.  It is overflowing again, so maybe I'll just have to sew some blocks to tame it down :)

Have a fun day!

Passing the Time

Not too much to report when you are trying to recuperate from a cold!  I managed to finish those sewing projects that needed to be done, the replacement fabric for the curtain panels came in so those are complete, as well as the valance that needed some of the width taken out and a pair of pillow covers that were needed at the last minute.  Other than that, I've been pretty much occupying the loveseat, drinking tea and catching up on my blog reading.

Amy Ellis had a great post today on sewing room efficiency.  I could use a little more of that sometimes!  You can read that post here.

The weather is pretty nasty outside and we are supposed to get another 5 inches of rain over the next few days.  I am looking forward to doing some Christmas baking, but may need to send my sweet husband out for some supplies!  I have the PJ's to work on as well, so as long as the power stays on I am good for a few days of keeping myself occupied.  It's a good time of the year to be indoors as much as possible!

Taming My Quilt Stash

I finally found a source for all the plastic baskets I needed so I could work on organizing my fabric closet!  I've wanted to do this for some time, but didn't really want to have stacking baskets.  Once I got used to the idea, the next problem was finding enough of them!  I had to make a couple trips, but I finally gathered enough to get most of my closet done.  I still need a few more to do the Christmas fabric, but the rest is sorted, culled and basketed!

Here is the before picture:

This little closet is really great for storing my fabric, but storing it in piles just was not working.  The piles were always falling over and getting disorganized, resulting in a huge mess.  Now I have the colors sorted into baskets.  I allowed two baskets for my favorite blue fabrics, and everything else has one.  (Orange and Yellow share a basket)  Any fabric I had in excess of the basket allotted had to go into the donate bin.  I sorted out one banker's box of fabric to get rid of.  Most of which was fabric that I always pass over anyway!  I had to keep telling myself that it was silly to be emotionally attached to fabric and I could let someone else have it that will USE it and not just pet it!

Here is the after:

Much nicer, right!

We drove up to see our daughter in Eugene today and give her some encouragement.  It was a lovely day for a drive and I got the rest of my Dresden Plate blocks appliqued on the way home - I'll add the centers soon and give you a peek.  I'm excited to get this top done by the end of the week!  This one will be hand quilted with the queen size wool batt I bought this summer, I think.  I might give my husband the choice - I have three quilts in the same pattern and plan to keep one for myself.

 I hope to finish the pattern up this week as well.  It's a great beginners sampler quilt that teaches a variety of techniques...I just have to come up with a name.  Sometimes that is the hardest part!  Maybe I'll put a picture up on Instagram and Facebook and see if I get any good ideas.

In fact, here is the EQ7 version of the quilt design in brights.  What do you think would be a good name for this pattern?

WIP Wednesday - I need a shovel!

Yikes, not much quilting going on here this week.  I am cleaning out my attic space in preparation for a garage sale this weekend.  Half of said attic is full of the remainders of my girls childhood toys and stuffed animals.  Over 150 of the latter.  In case you were wondering, this is what it looks like when you pile them all on your futon:

The good news is that I now have at least half of the attic clean and ready to store other things in a more organized manner!

Before the great purge began I finished my February UFO!  

 Because the fabrics were so busy and I really wanted to finish it more quickly I opted for an overall swirl pattern, which looks great!  I used red Auriful 50 weight and only had two thread breaks for the entire quilt.  Love it!

 I used a black for the binding.

 Isn't it a nice quilt?  Very dynamic!  After finishing this one I was excited to see what I get to finish in the month of March.  I was hoping it wouldn't be a big project because March is always busy with wedding anniversaries and birthdays.  I got my wish!

I'm just calling this Big House for now.  It was a Joann Fabrics block of the month several years ago.  I did this because my group of ladies wanted a lesson in Machine applique.  I think it came out really cute.  I have some coordinating fat quarters, and pulled some additional fabrics to go with it.  I plan on making a variety of star blocks to surround it and call it good.  Instead of my usual method of starting sewing then seeing where the fabric runs out I am going to plan a little and cut out my backgrounds first.  I think I'll have to mix and match, but I have plenty of options.  Then I'll make my blocks and get this show on the road!  Well, at least I will after the garage sale.  Wish me luck - two more days of sorting!  

Go check out the Quiltsy Blog for more Wednesday WIPs!

A Pleasant Distraction

I started out today intending to get the closet in my sewing room cleaned out.  I managed to pull most of the stuff out of the top shelf, but made the mistake of starting to go through a box of fabric I had set aside...uh-oh, that led to a little piecing and quilting!

I've always liked this panel, but never really could decide what to do with it.  Today, I thought of just adding a row of 2 inch squares all around.  I've been cutting them to use for a project, so I just had to dig for some nice colors.

I added some pale pink backing and a cotton batting, then quilted it all over in a small stipple.  Good practice time!  (This is a great way to get some machine quilting practice time in - just make a little project and quilt it all up nicely....you'll see improvement in every project you do.)

I think my stitches look pretty good!  No stitch regulator, just me and my Juki :)  After I finished this I got busy and put everything away again - another couple  bags of stuff I don't need are ready to go out my door....things are getting more organized every day!  And this little cutie will be listed in my Etsy shop just as soon as I can get some good pictures of the finished quilt.

Farmer's Wife, Football and Freedom!

It was a nice quiet weekend, that is if you don't count the really crazy thunderstorm we had Saturday afternoon!  Lots of bright lightening and booms of thunder shaking the house.  At least it did not last very long and we never lost power.

We had friends over for a late lunch and football yesterday - it was fun and I got to advise my friend on some Etsy stuff - when she starts up her shop I will let you all know so you can check it out!  She's a wonderful quilter and I'm excited that she is going to start putting some things up for sale.  I always enjoy discussing Etsy with other people - it sharpens me up as well, and it is fun to encourage other people.  I know that there are many who are unhappy with all the changes and things that happen on Etsy, but I have just enjoyed the outlet of being able to sell my quilts and share them with other people and love to share that with others.  Definitely has been a blessing for me, and for many others.

I've been really struggling with trying to get my sewing room in better order.  Too much stuff in there and it really is hard to work when there is so much clutter around.  My local library is having a craft sale and has asked for donations, so it's a really good time for me to get rid of some of my overflow, but it means I actually have to pull stuff out and go through it now!  So far I have 4 large paper bags and a big box full of stuff - you know, the easy stuff like all the corduroy I've had for years and haven't done anything with, and a bunch of heavy fabric that I haven't touched in ages.  I need to go through some magazines and books as well as things like zippers and trims.  I have a lot of older things that I'm not going to use and need to let go off.  I'm  looking forward to having more freedom of mind when I can get some of the clutter gone and not have to deal with all the piles!

I enjoyed working on some Farmer's wife today - after I spent a bit over an hour trying to find my book - oops.  In all my cleaning I somehow managed to put my book in a bag with the American Girl patterns I was organizing earlier in the week (oops - see what I mean about the clutter!).  Happily I did figure out where it was and promptly got to work making these:

I know, some people would not classify using 40 pieces to make a 6 inch block, including odd shaped pieces and lots of triangles, but I love a good challenge!  It is quite satisfying when you can get most of the points to match and even fussy cut some cute little christmas motifs to go in the corners.  I'm working my way through the book from front to back, just because that seems like the simplest approach to me.  It looks like next weeks blocks are easier, these were a couple of tough ones, but enjoyable for sure.

I've got my work cut out for me next week - I have a set of drapes to sew as well as a wedding gown to create, so definitely enjoyed my quilting fix for the weekend!

How to get ready to do some machine quilting!

Perhaps if I were a bit neater in my sewing room it wouldn't be such a production (and sometimes it really isn't, honestly) but for today, this is what I need to do before I can even take one stitch - clear some space on the sewing table:

• Take rulers back to cutting table



• Put papers with phone numbers in organizer to be filed later



• Put away misc. spools of thread from the weeks sewing



• Throw away blue jean scraps from mending job



• Put patterns for quilt shop where I will see them when I go out



• Put package of cording in drawer with other supplies



• Put away small and large rotary cuts (mental note, find hooks or nails to hang these with)



• Take daughters headband to bathroom to put away (ignore laundry, finish that later)



• Sort paperwork for future project, put with fabric on tray to keep together



• Move table runner projects to cutting table to work with later (I hope!)



• Found - 1 coffee punchcard, put in wallet (ignore piles of paperwork on desk - later)



• Diaper coupons - put near purse and make a note to take to church on Sunday!



• Joann's flier, need to look and see what I need on sale this weekend!



• Put away new fat quarters purchased on Wednesday



• Put stack of potholder supplies on cutting board



• Put pens in drawer at desk and pins in drawer on shelf!



• Move stack of misc magazines, notebooks, and calendars



• Put scraps on pile to be processed for scrap quilts



• Dust off table

Now it's all clean and ready for a weekend of quilting (ignore organizer full of paperwork to be filed, I'll work on that tonight!). But first I need to clean out my machine, oil it, and wind some bobbins - then I'll be ready for some fun!

A Productive Weekend

Three day weekends are really nice! One of the best things is not having to get up early - just knowing that I can get up and start the day at a slower pace is so great. I really love it! I set myself to get busy and get some straightening up done in the sewing room. I have way too many piles of projects ou in various stages and I really need to get some of them cleared up - the above picture is a before shot. I took an after, but it really didn't look that much different, so I decided one picture would be plenty - it might take a few more weekends to make much of a dent in all that clutter! And isnt it interesting how much better it looks in black and white?

One of the projects I got a good amount done on was my sample for the February class I am teaching. The pattern is Crosswalk in Paris by the Cozy Quilt Company. Love it! Very simple and fun to see come together. This class will be a pure pleasure to teach, so I hope I have a full house to teach it to! I still need to add a border, so now I have to get to the quilt shop to choose one. I was thinking I might get it quilted this week, but I'm not sure if I want to make that a top priority or not this week.

I also put together a table runner I am working on as a personal challenge to myself - it's now ready to quilt after I get it basted, I even have the backing ready to go. I put away a lot of random project parts, did a little bit of mending and put together and quilted a lap quilt (promise to show you more of that in a couple days). Today I did some fusing and blanket stitching on a customer quilt, so only three more blocks to go on that one. Hopefully the rest of my week will be as productive as the last three days have been!

In Stitches,

Pamela

Stripping away!

This is my drying rack being taken over with strips I have pressed and prepared for making my blocks for the Quiltsy Strip Scrap Swap. I have already made 9 blocks, and there seem to be no fewer strips than when I first started! Are they multiplying when I turn my back on them? Who knows?

I am having fun looking at all the strips, but there are one or two of them that I have picked up and thought to myself that I recognize the fabric, but have no recollection of making anything using it! Very interesting! Actually I suspect that those strips just may be runaways from the quilt shop. Often Sharan will hand me a handful of scraps and say "Can you use these?" Are you kidding? I can always use fabric. Or at least hoard it for a while! Who am I to say no to pretty fabric coming home with me? I have no will power when it comes to fabric. At least when it comes to new fabric. I am getting better at not taking home other peoples old fabric. At least the old, not so nice fabrics!

I've been wanting to move the furniture in my sewing room, but that may have to wait a bit, because I like having the rack in here at the moment to hold my strips and keep them from getting all wrinkled again. Maybe eventually I will have to install a permanent sort of rack to hold pieces like this. It sure makes it handy to use them! Maybe just a long curtain rod at a good height would work. Something to think about, anyway.

Doing The Work

Last week I was pretty excited about the opportunity that presented itself - this week I am in the middle of the reality of making all those bags! Believe me, it's not free money, I will have earned that paycheck when I am finished, and while I do love sewing and creating, I also get tired and would rather play than work - just like any other human being. Not to mention I have a stack of quilts that I'd really rather work on!



I have all the outside panels cut and sewn for the bags, so right now I am working on constructing the bag bodies with lining. I am binding the seams of the bag because it's a nicer finish than just zig-zag stitching them. I have 7 of these done, so I have to do 9 more, then I'll make all the handles and attach them to the top of the bag. At that point they will be ready for the lining strip that goes on the top, a little top stitching and the bags will be done. I am also making matching tags, so those will need to be done also. I have to go get some grosgrain ribbon for those. I have made each tag different, to match it's bag as much as possible. These will make really nice gifts, I think

I also have a home project today. I bought my husband two 6 foot bookshelves from Staples yesterday and have to put those together today so he can get going on moving his music stuff to the upstairs room. He is really having a time with it because he likes to know how everything is going to fit and look before he gets it done. I keep telling him to think of it as a work in progress and he can always move things around later if he doesn't like it the first time around! So far I haven't had to do too much of the moving stuff (hurray!), but when he gets ready to move the stereo equipment I will probably be called into service. It's fun to see him excited about having his own space. I remember how thrilled I was two years ago when I got to have my own sewing space. I rearrange my room quite often, still haven't found the perfect arrangement, but it doesn't bother me so much. I got an area rug for my floor and it is fantastic - lot's nicer to stand on that the old linoleum that is in there, and really lightens up the room a lot.

Pamela - getting busy on those bags!