How do you organize the patterns you find in magazines that you want to make (someday), but yet you don't want to tear the magazine apart?

Do you make copies of it and put them into a binder under different sections?
Sounds the most logical, but would love to hear how you do it.

Phyllis

I bought a box of clear plastic sheet protectors and put the pages in those. Then I have binders for each subject, kids, scraps, totes & bags, etc. Helps me find things in a hurry.

I did the same as born2quilt only I make copies and make note of what magazine it is in

Ditto.

I used to keep mine in plastic but I recently started scanning the pages I want. I have on computer and flash drive (in case computer dies). I have one file with the patterns and ones just pictures so if I'm looking for something new I just browse the pic files so I don't have to wait for each pattern to open. Then once I'm done with the magazine I pass along to other quilters. With so many free patterns I have cancelled all my magazines.

Not Me...I have lots & lots of magazines !!!

wish I was better organized... I need to hire an organizer... I just put one of those little tabby things with stickum on the page and stack up the magazines... doing anything additional takes too much time for me... time away from making quilts... LOL... never enough time for quilting... and the QB!

My mags are in mag holders by name and date then stored on a bookcase.
I used to keep a list in a notebook of projects I was interested in but found my taste has changed.
Will need a second bookcase soon.

I like the scanner idea. I'll take any extra room I can get for the long arm quilting business and my own quilting projects.

Have you heard of EVERNOTE? It's software that allows you to store things on line and then you can retrieve them from any PC anywhere. I could go to quilting friend's homes and we could look at my stash of patterns without hauling all the magazines. I can sit in my recliner and peruse them on my iPad. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Three thumbs up for this idea!

Okay, I know I'm a dinosaur but I go low tech. I take my magazine to Walmart and copy the pages I really want and put them in my accordian idea folder. It takes a bit of time and effort but I find that weeds out the "maybe" patterns from my "to do" list.

I stick the pattern folded up in the fabric that I want to make it with and stick it the cabinet. Then when I'm ready to make it, its all right there ready to go!

Scan or make copies, then notes to refer back to the magazines they came from :D:D:D

I did this with my scrapbook magazines and will be doing this with all of my quilting ones as well. I scan to the computer then burn a disk with them so I always have a spare. That way I can pass on the magazines or if I have a book with one I want the same thing. Now I have them on one little disk and clutter free space--plus I can label them in files by type and have easy access to them.

I'm not nearly as organized as you all. I just save the magazines in boxes, but I do put little sticky flags on the patterns I like. Takes a while to go through them, but sometimes I get inspired by things I saw before but didn't like then.

Sewmagic just posted this question yesterday ... titled "organizing quilt patterns." You might want to read the responsses she has recieved.

ali

To make it easier to find: http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-141004-1.htm

piney

Let me know how it works. I was researching to see if there was an online storage I could access thru my smartphone. We use a virtual office here at work and can access every document we have online from anywhere via internet and I've gotten spoiled. Imagine taking your patterns everywhere.

I tend to use post it notes to mark the pages. Interestingly enough when I pull out the magazine I end up finding a different pattern to make. My how tastes change from season to season

I have an old PDA (circa 2002, I think), with a foldup keyboard and have an old dababase program on it called HanDbase. I wrote an aplet that has fields that describe the project by publication, date, author, colour, fabric, type of block, fabric and a field for whatever. Most of the fields are just dropdown menus that I can check off. It takes me maybe 2 minutes maximum per project.

Every time I buy a new publication, I put all the projects into my database, even the ones I am not interested in.

Basically, I outsource my memory!

I do surgery with a small utility knife, put in clear holders and into a binder, then try to get rid of the rest of the magazine. If it is butchered too badly, it goes to recycle. I tried to find sources to take the remains,like nursing homes, but no such luck. At least, I didn't bury the remains in the ground, they will end up in a new magazine, or something.

I just save the magazine. I find my tastes change and what I once wanted to do I don't anymore, and other times I want something more challenging. Of course I do have a lot of magazines. lol

I do the same as zhillslady.

I have some that are scanned on two flash drives (two different colors). I do have some in binders also. The free ones I print from the internet are in a plastic sleeve in a binder. My two older granddaughters keep my indexs up to-date-for me. It helps me keep organized and improves the typing and organizational skills of the grands. The index list for the flash drive is titled "Blue Flash Drive - Dec 2009 - Dec 2010, etc 1. Cross-Stitch (name of patterns under that title) 2. Plastic Canvas (name of patterns under that title), just an example. Another ex. Binders are label such as: Quilting, Plastic Canvas, Crochet, Crossstitching, etc. Then the indexs are labeled:Accessories, Children, Home Decor, Speical Occassions, Quilt, Totes, etc. Grandchildren and small children get a kick out of helping with this. When I have grandchildren over or even on a rainy they, keep my Index and books up to date for me. I have plastic stackable binds (3) with drawers that I keep some of my notions and patterns in. My patterns are sorted the same as the index tabs in simplicity magazines. I also have magazine racks for my thin pamphlets. Their reward was something I made for them until they started learning to sew. Hope this helps.

OK I thought I was the only one except mine are on a shelf.

jljack - that might be low tech but this is exactly what I do too! Besides, that is how some of us know exactly what pattern others are talking about when they can't remember where they saw it. :-)

Thanks for the tip. Never heard of Evernote bit sounds like a good way.
I have hit my saturation point and have decided that I cannot keep it all so have been tearing the pages out of magazines. I hate doing that since someone else would enjoy these magazines but enough is enough. I know I will never get all the quilts done anyway. I also have stopped subscribing to them and only buy those I really want since so many these days seem to be full of nothing I am interested in. Not that they are bad, I think I have just zeroed in on styles I really like. I know at this age, that I won't be able to do them all.

I have not renewed my subscriptions. I have more patterns than I will live to make!

I just keep all my mags!!! My "want to dos" change every time I go thru the magazines.....what I may have wanted to make last month may not be what I want to make this month. The times I'm sick and don't feel like sewing (yes, that happens) are the days I pile the mags next to my chair and thumb thru them. Drives my DH batty :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

like bomtoquilt, you don't need the whole magazine, cut out what you want, put in those plastic sleeves then get rid of the mag. be it give it away or whatever. then put in the folders to save for later. Been there &done that!

I use the little post-it notes that are for marking places on pages. They're only about 2" long and 1/2" wide, and I just stick them in the magazine, jutting out, and keep all those magazines in one clear plastic case. I even color coded them, since the post-it notes come in a mixed color lot. I used blue one for quilts, pink for wall hanging or pot holder-types (smaller than bed quilts), yellow for knitting, green for crochet, etc. Then with all the magazines in one container, it's easy enough to find what I'm looking for.

Scan it on your computer and put it on a usb drive.

I had thought about organizing in some way, but I find my tastes change and some fabric just beg for a pattern that never interested me before. I've just decided to stop getting quilt magazines so I don't have sooooo many to look through every time I need a quilt idea. I do take a black marker and write on the front of a magazine the name of a pattern and page number of quilts I have done that I may need to find the pattern for when someone asks about it.

I spent hours going through and organizing patterns from a craft magazine that I got years ago using notebooks and page protectors, but I rarely use them now. It was really not worth all the work. So I've decided not to do that with quilting Mags. Just not let my collection grow too large.

I do a lot of scanning. I was just tearing out and filing the pages I wanted to keep. Scanning is great. I love the idea someone mentioned about a file with just the pictures. That is the next thing I'll do. I keep them on an external drive. Also, have you heard of cutepdf.com This is downloadable software than I have found is about the most valuable item around. It is a free download. When you fin something you want to keep. click print and cutepdf should come up as a printer. Click this and it will ask where you want it to print to. Open up the file you want it in, click print and it saves it to that file. You can also just highlight a selection and you will be able to save that selection when you do the print. It is the most wonderful thing for saving patterns and ideas, recipes and about anything else.

Sorry this got so wordy. If you have any questions, let me know.

no fair. your room is too neat.

i make a copy of the pattern and then give the magazine to my quilt guild.

Me too! And sometimes I just rip out the patterns I might want to make someday and throw the rest of the magazine away. I have too many!

I have lots of magazines. I have a wicker basket for my quilting magazines, when it gets full I weed some out and give to my quilting group. I put magazines by months. So If I want something for fall, I pull out the Sept/Oct. ones. I keep my Christmas magazines with Christmas fabric and just got through sorting them. I keep the magazines because over the years my tastes change and sometimes I need a present for someone that doesn't have the same tastes that I have so out come the magazines for ideas/patterns.

I keep my magazines intact and store them in huge 3-ring binders (with the 3-hole insert, of course); I mark pages with small colored plastic paper clips. I have some Post-It colored tabs that are certainly less bulky, they don't seem to stay stuck.

iPad Users,
Have you tried JotNotPro? You don't need a scanner, you just take a picture with your iPad and then you have it. You do have to mess with the settings a little to get a good, readable picture, but it works great! I store my patterns on my iPad in JotNotPro and being as my iPad and I are joined at the hip, I have my patterns wherever I go. Love it!