Organizing my Longarm Quilting

I like to organize things.  Sometimes I struggle to keep it that way, but my joy is in the organizing.

When I am quilting, I wear an apron.  

Each pocket has something important in it.  My scissors and chapstick are in the first pocket. Then, the small clamps for my Red Snappers.  The next pocket holds my seam ripper and tissue.  The last one is for my phone.  By keeping an item in a certain place, I may find it more easily.  Of course, the scissors don't always go back in my pocket, so I'm hunting for them quite frequently.

Next up, this ceramic bowl I made in a class a few years ago.  I pulled it out of a box about 6 months ago, I had completely forgotten about it.

Now it holds my empty bobbins.  It usually sits next to the bobbin winder, so it's easy to grab an empty and wind it up!

I love my Red Snappers!  They make loading a quilt so much quicker.  There's also the added bonus that I don't bleed when I use them like I do pins.  The clamps are a bit unwieldy to store, so I bought an umbrella stand.

It works so well!  Since it doesn't rain here frequently, I don't have many umbrellas to worry about.  

Last is my thread storage.  I use a china hutch for thread, books, pottery, and sewing notions. Each drawer has a color selection, so I know where to look for a thread.  This is my top drawer...

I love using things I have, or things that are originally for something else, and putting it to a good use in my quilting studio.  If you have something you like to do to keep organized, let me know!

Keep on Sewing and Quilting!

Sewing Room Disaster Makeover

This post is a little embarrassing.  The "before" pictures of my sewing room reveal how much this room was out of control.  However, the "after" pictures make me feel a little bit better.  I still have more projects to complete than I should, and I am slowly working on those.  At least now I can find things.

 This is where my machine usually sits.  Only, this summer it has been on the kitchen table as I work on projects that are a little bit bigger.  Still, I couldn't easily get my machine back in here without some serious cleaning up.

 So, here it is cleaned up.  I didn't sort through all the boxes on the shelves, because I really had only part of a day to do this.  I still know what is in the boxes, and I am looking to get better boxes to replace some of the bags of projects.  I also am using the cute quilts on the wall as design walls.  I can pin a quilt in progress to it and not hurt a thing!

Then, there was the cutting area.  I was grateful to have this cutting table, as it was given to me.  However, it had outlived it's usefulness.  I wanted a cutting table that was a solid surface, no hinges.  I also wanted space underneath for storage.  I found a design I liked and got a bid for a custom cabinet.  Over $1,000. (gulp).  Then I saw a post here, and she had put together a work table.  It would almost work for me, except it needed a center support.  So, off to IKEA I went.  and I came back with a fabulous solution for just over $200. (yeah!)

So, here is the messy "before".  Except I started clearing off before I took the picture.  My cat loves sitting on here by the window.  And my rulers have to sit in the window.  The table looks like it is ready to collapse.

Now, a nice solid surface, with support and storage.  It has a bigger surface area on top than the custom cabinet.  It has more storage than the custom cabinet.  It takes less space than the first table.  The cat now has to sit on the window sill, but the rulers fit underneath.  I am loving this new space.

Then, there was the closet area.  It seems I wasn't putting things away very well.  Just kept marching onto the next project.

So, I took out a few things to donate.  Stored some things (like books) on my new shelf, and made space for other things.  Nothing much in front of the doors now.  Just some legos my son and I need to build and return to a neighbor.

However, the reality is I haven't finished going through everything.  I have the blue tub on the left that is full of all the things I took off the old cutting table.  Most of it needs to be filed away.  Plus, there is the 3-drawer unit on the right.  It doesn't fit in the closet, and I'm not sure how to deal with it yet.  I'll figure it out, but until them I am happier with my happy place.

All in a day's work, and soon I'll have another day to make it even better.  But until then, let's just...


Keep Sewing!