pastormarilyn

I had to find a system also because I was keeping too many old magazines. What I did is this: I tare out the pages that I want and put them in three ring protector sheets in a large binder. If two overlap pages, I just make a copy o the one sheet that overlaps another paper and put it in the book. I also have sections that tell me what is in the binder like: bags, full size quilts, queen size, etc. Try it, I have order.

MargeD

I've used sticky notes to mark patterns in magazines BUT, then I would put the magazine in a magazine holder for my bookshelves and forget. I did try arranging the magazines by magazine name, but that didn't work either. The problem I have is that I will look through a magazine and find nothing; however, a few months or years later, I find something I have to make. My latest system is putting magazines with projects I want to make into smaller totes, such as putting Christmas patterns together, Thanksgiving, etc., etc. Plus, when I find a pattern, particularly for a seasonal wall hanging, I will put the magazine, as well as fabrics to make the project in one of those large 2.5 (I think) gal. zip lock bags, then everything stays together. Also if a project comes in a series of magazines, I do the same thing to keep them together when I'm ready to make them. Sometimes my warped organizational methods work and sometimes not, but it's getting better; although it's hard since we have downsized and I have only a small sewing area, which is problematic; and DH will not let me put anything on the walls as we live in an apt. now.

wildyard

I also copy just the pages that have the patterns I might want to make. I have a file folder for different kinds of quilts: 9P, 4P, stars, misc., etc. and file the copy in this folder. It's easy to pull the folder and look thru just one kind of quilt or lots of kinds.
I pass on the magazines, all pages intact, to quilting friends or by leaving them in waiting rooms of my physicians.

ube quilting

I really don't find a need to keep an entire magazine when I only want one or two patterns from it. I tear them out and keep them in plastic sleeves in three ring binders and I sort them by special catagories like baby, wall hanging, paper Piecing, Halloween, Christmas, etc. I love to browse through my catalogs for inspiration and I only have patterns I find interesting.
peace

ILoveToQuilt

I, too, tear out the pattern I want from the magazine (recycle the remainder), put pattern in a plastic protector and then in a binder. However, I have multiple binders and sort patterns by type - applique, traditional, paper pieced, etc. I have a "table of contents" at the beginning of each binder so I can see quickly what's inside. This works well for me.

nwm50

I take the pAges out of ones I really,really like and put them in notebook in alpha bit orders in the protective covers and give mAgs to other friends. If the pAge is going to interfere another page on back, I just copy it so as not to mess a instructions page up

lwbuchholz

I like this idea!! Thank you. I had thought of scanning in the patterns and directions and saving them to a file and I may do this but to have a file with thumbnails and info of where they are stored would be wonderful.

Thanks again
Lynda

jmoore

That's a good suggestion... I use this method for recipes. After I have put them in sheet protectors, I organize them with dividers in a 3 ring binder.

solstice3

I put the pattern, directions, etc in a page protector and store in a three ring binder. I try to keep holiday patterns in a separate binder. For me, that is a little easier than a huge stack of magazines and it takes up less space

nanac

For a long time, I tore the sheets out for a specific pattern, and put them in plastic sheet protectors, then into a 3-ring binder. When I had 4 binders full, I finally figured out I could scan them into my computer and look them up that way, and print out the pattern as needed.
Now, I have figured out that I will need to live to be about 1003 to be able to make all the patterns that I have on my computer, all my quilt books, and pictures from this board.