We will be traveling for most of January so can not start now, but have vowed to begin when we return and get all the Holiday things stored. I am not sure I am brave enough to show a before photo. Everything in my sewing craft room must be removed, sorted and reorganized. Hopefully this group's mission to "save" ourselves will be the push I need.

Hi Kim, just took a look at your pictures. Zoned in right away on the U of M/Piston project. I've got a T-shirt quilt 'started' for my son, that is the T-shirts are cut up, that I was going to give him at the end of his freshman year at Western. He's a senior now, luckly it will take him 5 years so maybe he will get it before he graduates. I found Western Michigan Univ. fabric that I'd like to incorporate somehow. Where in SE Mi are you? I'm in Livonia, west side of Detroit. Take care and your room is in much better shape than mine is at the get go. Thanks for inspiring us to "get going and get organized"!
Wendy

Grandma cindy, you could darn near use the whole door as a ped board.

i will say that i only have a couple of nail holes in my walls..the peg board is one of them

..for everything else, i use the command strips...they have never ruined a wall/paint or wallpaper when removed.

How about Cracker Barrel, I love going there?

Is that the product made by 3M?

I had mine organized as I had just remodeled the room in August. Now I have more fabric and stash. So far still neat and tidy, but will keep watching to learn from everyone.

I also made a "big board" to place on my ironing board. It makes ironing fabric easier. Also shelves and drawer units, large and small organize items and fabrics. I sort my fabrics by color, then other drawers for prints, kids, and holidays, and fat quarters. I'm also blessed with 2 large closets in this room. It was originally our oldest son's room. He has his own house now! Here are some more pics.

yes...3M..great stuff!

Yeah, I be a Cracker Barrel fan, also. But ... I should have made it clear that I meant a permanent swap-out, not just getting away from them for a lunch break. Some days they're worth a bit more than a Happy Meal (toy included), some days less, and some days they are keepers and I'm not in a swapping mood.

I am in Taylor, South of Detroit..!

Enjoy your family and have a Happy New Year...

Updated Photos..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24578155@N05/sets/

as they are posted here..i will put them in with the group!

Is this a joke or are you looking for someone .

[quote=watterstide]I vow, yet again, to get my sewing area organized..
( i do this once a year ) 8-)

Anyone want to join me, and give updates?

Even pictures.before ,during and after? :shock:
Now don't be embarrased..!
Won't it feel just ducky to get our area more workable! :thumbup:
We can give each other pats on the back..ideas for storing,folding fabrics,thread storage...etc!

Pictures??? You gotta be kidding! I worked about 3 hours yesterday and didn't even make a dent. I needed to make my DH room to get his walker in "his computer" room. HA! Well, he can at least get to his closet and the computer chair.

Thanks much and the same to you!

Very, very nice sewing area, Piney River Quilter. You done good!

Ellis Granny B has a beautiful room too!

What a gift I received before Christmas. My (non-quilting) best friend neighbor asked if there anything that she could do to help me in my basement sewing room. I thought.... what a great chance to have her go through pieces and cut some strips and squares for scrap quilts. I am going to busy myself with some quilts and have her do her thing, that way I won't be checking to see "if there is anything I need to save"...which is my excuse for saving everything. She is very organized, so I think that I am blessed. I told her that I am 'sure' we can find enough to make her grandchildren each a quilt. How is that for a wonderful way to begin the New Year? HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL, LOIS

Well, folks. Here they are... my BEFORE photos! Wish me luck! Will put Christmas decs away and see if I can combine things and get empty bins. As you can see, the desk takes up the most room. But I think with a little creative organizing, I can get this all cleaned up. Under the yellow cover is my new Baby Lock Quest, under the white cover is my Necchi. Still learning to use both.

Piney River Quilter. Your OC is showing I am turning green with envy! My ironing board fits on the bar in the kitchen! They are sold for college kids. We live in a micro apt in a senior apt complex. I still manage to have room to quilt. Its storing the stash of material that is a problem!

Does she travel??

okie-dokie, watterstide...here's where I'm at:
I kind of do an almost whole-house thing ever Thanksgiving-NewYears+.
I have done a lot of the house, and have worked a bit on the s. room, but am not finished.
My digital camera needs a new card right now, so I will take some pictures of my progress on my disposables, and in a few weeks when I get them developed I will post.
So, go ahead and start, or is this the thread?
We're in chit chat arent' we?
Can't tell since we changed formats...can't scroll down and read comments like we could before...not complaining...sniff, sniff,...just miss that feature's all...
anyway...
You start the new thread in Pictures? and I'll be in and out, as I go along...sucking up the pics, and will share mine, when I get them. Ok? :-D

nativetexan...I'll show you what hoarding is...just hang on to your hat...I got to get pics taken and developed.
Can't use digital right now, and got to wait on some moolah.
Besides, I have to work when the energy is there...well, I wouldn't exactly call it energy...but when my butt aint dragging so bad...then when it hits the floor, I drag it to a chair for a while....LOL...what a visual...:lol: :lol: :lol:
(at least I have the floor swept :wink: )

I will start a new thread tomorrow..you can share your pictures when you get them! no problem!
We are doing this picture thing to shock the neat people!

naaa..just to let others know, that our area is not as bad as we thought...ROFL. and to see our progress, thats all.
I still have to do some seardhing for hits and tips to post...blogs on sewing rooms..so if you have any, hang on to them until we start the new thread..so it will all be together..in the mean time, i will add the lastest pictures.to flicker..

that'll be great, :thumbup: bc I am on dial up, and don't know how to post to flickr.
I'm a sew/book/psychology, geek, not a computer geek...:roll: - :-D

Ladies, Ladies...there are the neat little things called, "sliders"...don't pull your backs!
now, I have to interject one stipulation for my room.
I have a LOT of stuff...so far, it's not that any of the pictures I've seen couldn't use a little sprucing up...but so far, you guys don't have all the stuff I do...I inherited, bought and hoarded,...tons...lol....I'm not kiddddding....
so, my stipulation is: I get to decide when it's in order...even if it doesn't look orderly to anybody else.
I have to put stuff where I can, so I can work.
It really is a pretty organized room when I vacuum and clear the tables...it's just so full, that I can't back up enough for the pictures to look nice.
If you were standing in there, you could see a LOT of organized stuff.
I'm only keeping what I need...(lol)....:mrgreen:

This topic caught my eye this morning. I read through what you were all working up to and was greatly inspired.
I've never made New Year's resolutions, but this has been a difficult year. I decided I needed to make some changes and well the New Year was fast approaching and it seemed like a good time to get started. Organizing our entire home is at the top of my list. And, the sewing room....perhaps the worst room of all. Sorry......rambling.

I don't have any pictures, but I'm happy to report I spent this afternoon organizing fabric. I do believe it's all sorted into bins, unless I find some tucked away somewhere.
I have all the notions, elastics, interfacings, stabilizers, etc. sorted into proper bins. I didn't dust or vacuum yet, but I've definately made a noticable difference.
Thanks for the nudge I needed to get to work.
Now, I can start a project.

Marveen, could we see some photos? I can't visualize the cardboard, is it separating the stacks or floating in between colors?
:oops:

I'm in, My understanding is we post them here and watterstide will post to flicker? I will add photo in the next day or two.

I'm having trouble getting the slide show to work. I do not do Flicker, or any other cool stuff, do well to walk, talk and chew gum at the same time. lol

I was running "my mouth" earlier in this thread about my awesome organizational skills (yes, I am now making fun of myself!). Watterstide wisely suggests we share tips, so I have one here to share.

My "problem" may not be your problem, so this info. may not be useful, but here goes: I get overwhelmed by huge quantities of anything, notably of fabrics and the vast array of different colors and shades and values and what fabrics go really well together, etc., so when I go fabric shopping, sometimes I think my eyes will start spinning around in my head just like the googly eyes on a toy. (Does this help explain my clutter phobia?)

Your photos show me that many of you have fabulously neat rows of fabrics, by color, in drawers or on shelves, but I cannot do that; I have to divide and conquer. On one deep shelf (out of the way behind other things) I have all my really ugly fabrics. When I need something to practice on, for example, I know exactly where to look. On 2 other shelves, I have bolts or partial bolts of coordinating fabrics; on another are smaller pieces of fabric, also more or less coordinated and on another, yardage that I'll probably use for quilt backs. In a huge plastic box, I keep small pieces for future applique. When I use the term, "coordinating fabrics" it means I store by fabrics that complement one another rather than by color chart; I do those match-ups on the day that I bring the fabric home from the store. More often than not, I already know when I buy a fabric exactly what other fabric(s) I want it go with.

If you are overwhelmed by your fabric stash, as in where and how to store, you might want to consider my 'divide and conquer' method. It can also cut down on "mess" when you get to digging around for "a fabulous quilt idea" fabrics ... it allows you to "home in" on a specific area ... or at least one area at a time.

Has this long "tip" made any sense at all? If I can be of help to just one person, I'm happy!

I went to my sewing room for some elastic, two plus hours later I had worked on my book cases and magazines; they still need a little work. Then there is all the loose paperwork, patterns, etc.....

I'm with you. I saw the pics and wanted to start organizing rooms that aren't mine. I would LOVE to be an organizer and have been called overly organized. I need a neat place to work. I'll post my pics after it gets changed to pics, and will help with suggestions to help out. This will be fun!

thank goodness, brushandthimble! a lady with some real hoarding skills...so I don't feel so lonely!
Looks like a treasure chest to me:wink: (SLURP!) :P

DITTO:)
Hubby washes almost all my fabric; he will help me pick out fabric too. Now if I could only get him to iron it for me LOL.

ok, April...yours looks about like mine has at times...bc there's little room to move.
Ladies, it's not that we are messy, or have too much stuff, it's that we have too little space to keep it in!!!
that's my story.....:XD:

P.S. to my long "divide and conquer" spiel. When I said that your photos show neat shelves of fabric, let me be perfectly clear here ... the photos I was referring to were of the "neat" sewing rooms, not the "OMG, a tornado just whipped through here!" areas. Just wanted to clarify that for ya!

P.P.S.: Just FYI: I think you all are a hoot! You keep me so entertained and, as one of the more corny Southern phrases goes, "I just love you to death".

well, weezie, I'm not a perfectionist, but I do tend to stay on the more organized end of the spectrum, bc like you, clutter makes me crazy.
I can't cook if the dishes are piled up.
I can't stand laundry piled up.
I can't stand messy floors, bc I like to go barefooted in the house,
and I can't sew in a cluttery mess. It makes me think that my stuff is camoflaged and i can't see anything but mess!
So, I sew, make a mess and clean,...and then start over.
I get claustro. if I don't know where things are.
But, I will say...nobody should be embarrassed, bc the reason I clean is bc it gets.....eeeeyiiiiiooooowwwwyyy! in there!!!! (no words for it...just moans!:wink: )
but when it's clean?...ahhhhh!!!!! :wink: (happy camper)

here are a few more pic of the upstairs sewing room.

The only sewing I do up there is on the HQ, it is all fabric storage, books, etc.
I have a mess in the living room too, where I have a small table and sewing machine. One of the machines:)